The need to ease pressure from the depleting fossil fuel reserves coupled with the rising global energy demand has seen a drastic increase in research and uptake of renewable energy sources in recent decades. Of the commonly exploited renewable energy resources, hydropower is currently the most popular resource accounting for 17% of the world's total energy generation, a portion which translates to 85% of the renewable energy share. However, despite the huge potential, hydropower is dependent on the availability of water resource, which is affected by climate change. During wet seasons, hydropower system operators are faced with a deluge of floods which results in excess power generation and spillage. The situation reverses in dry seasons where system operators are compelled to curtail power generation because of low water levels in the hydro reservoirs. The later situation is more pronounced in drought prone regions such as Southern Africa where some hydropower plants are completely shut down in dry seasons due to water shortage. This dissertation focuses on the application of optimal control to hydropower plants with pumpback retrofits powered by on-site hydrokinetic and wind power systems. The first section of this work develops an optimal operation strategy for a high head hydropower plant retrofitted with hydrokinetic-powered cascaded pumpback system in dry season. The objective of pumpback operation is to recycle a part of the downstream discharged water back to the main dam to maintain a high water level required for optimal power generation. The problem is formulated as a discrete optimisation problem to simultaneously minimise the grid pumping energy demand, minimise the wear and tear associated with the switching frequency of the two pumps in cascade, maximise restoration of the reservoir volume through pumpback operation and maximise the use of on-site generated hydrokinetic power for pumping operation. Simulation results based on a practical case study show the pumping energy saving advantages of the cascaded pumping system as compared to a classical pumped storage (PS) system. The second section of this work develops an optimal control system for assessing the effects of ecological flow constraints to the operation of a hydropower plant with a hydrokinetic-wind powered pumpback retrofit. The aim of the control law in this case is to use the allocated water to optimally meet the contractual obligations of the power plant. The problem is formulated as a discrete optimisation problem to maximise the energy output of the reservoir subject to some defined technical and hydrological constraints. In this system, pumping power is met primarily by the wind power generator output supplemented by the on-site generated hydrokinetic power. The excess hydrokinetic power is exported to the grid to meet the committed demand. Three different optimisation scenarios are developed: The first scenario is the baseline operation of the hydropower plant without any intervention. The second scenario incorporates the hydrokinetic-wind-powered pumpback operation in the optimal control policy. The third scenario includes the downstream flow constraint to the optimal control policy of the second optimisation scenario. Simulation results based on a practical case study show that ecological flow constraints have negative effects to the economic performance of a hydropower plant. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program / Centre of New Energy Systems / University of Pretoria / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / MEng / Unrestricted

No description available.

Invånarantalet i Stockholm ökar och därmed också efterfrågan på dricksvatten. Stockholm Vatten VA AB fastslog i sin senaste prognos att kapaciteten hos deras vattenverk i Norsborg och på Lovö kommer att vara otillräcklig inom femton år och därmed måste ökas. Båda vattenverken tar vatten från Mälaren och renar detta genom flockning, sedimentering, snabbfiltrering, långsamfiltrering, UV-bestrålning samt tillsats av kloramin. Baserat på de senaste årens drifterfarenheter har långsamfiltrens kapacitet skrivits ned och är ett begränsande produktionssteg på båda verken. Detta examensarbete syftade till att fastställa orsakerna till kapacitetsminskningen och föreslå åtgärder. Undersökningen begränsades till Lovö vattenverk, men resultaten anses relevanta även för Norsborgs vattenverk.   De senaste åren har långsamsandfiltrens drifttid mellan rensningar minskat och tryckfallet i genomsnitt ökat. Här sågs att tryckfallet direkt efter rensning var högre i den undersökta periodens slut än under periodens början. Då filtrens belastning undersöktes konstaterades att filtreringshastigheten inte ökat och vattenkvaliteten inte försämrats. Utifrån detta drogs slutsatsen att kapacitetsminskningen inte berodde på ökad belastning.    Med hjälp av rör satta i filtersanden kunde tryckfallets fördelning över filterbäddens djup undersökas. I två av de undersökta filtren sågs ett kraftigt tryckfall i filtrens undre del. Då provgropar grävdes i filtren sågs ett tydligt gråaktigt lager vid den nivå där tryckfallet skett. Analyser av sandprover från filtren tydde på att en ackumulering av finkorniga sandpartiklar och organiskt material samt en lågporositet, gav det gråa lagret en låg mättad hydraulisk konduktivitet. Ackumuleringen av finkorniga sandpartiklar skulle kunna bero på att finkornigt material lyfts från filtrens hörn, där sandlagret är tunnare, och fördelas över resterande delar av filtret vid återfyllnad efter rensning.   Mätningar av porositet visade att filterbädden kompakteras då det belastas av de fordon som används vid rensning. Resultaten tyder dock på att packningens utbredning och omfattning är sådan att den inte har någon större effekt på tryckfallet i filtret. / Stockholm is growing and with it the demand for drinking water. To meet the demand the capacity of the two water treatment plants in Norsborg and at Lovö must be increased. Both plants use water from the lake Mälaren which is treated using flocculation, sedimentation, rapid filtration, slow sand filtration, UV-light and the addition of chloramine. The estimated capacity of the slow sand filters has decreased at both plants during the last few years and is limiting the total production capacity. This study aims to find the cause of the capacity decrease and make suggestions for how the capacity could be increased. Only the water treatment plant at Lovö was examined in this study, but the results are considered to be relevant for the water treatment plant in Norsborg as well.   During recent years the runtime of the filters has been decreasing and the overall loss of hydraulic head has increased. In several filters it was noted that the hydraulic head loss after filter cleaning had increased over time. Filter load was examined during the period in which the loss in capacity took place. Neither had the filtration rate increased nor had the water quality decreased. A higher load could therefore be ruled out as the source of the capacity loss.   Hydraulic head loss distribution over the depth of the filter beds was examined using steel pipes placed in the filter bed at different depths. In two filters a large hydraulic head loss was found at a narrow section in the bottom of the filters. Holes were dug in the filter beds, from which a distinct grey layer could be observed. Sand analyses showed that an accumulation of fine sand particles and organic matter combined with a low porosity could have been what caused the large hydraulic head loss in the layer. This material could have originated from the corners of the filters. During filter refill, fine material was observed being suspended from the corners and spread across the filter.   Measurements of sand porosity suggested that the filter bed is compacted by the machines used to clean the filters. This however seemed to have a negligible effect on the hydraulic head loss in the filters.