Numerical simulation of a hydropower plant operated in pump mode

Livia Pitorac, Leif Lia, Kaspar Vereide

Nowadays, hydropower plant developers encounter more and more challenges when it comes to being topical. The industry has to reinvent itself in order to integrate in the renewable-energy focused power system. Thus, the operational strategy of hydropower plants needs to change accordingly. Moreover, worldwide, development of large hydropower schemes is criticized from an environmental impact point of view. All these challenges need to be addressed and solved, and redesigning old hydropower plants to pump storage plants could be one solution. The aim of this master thesis is to investigate numerical simulations of a hydropower plant operated in pump mode. The work is focused on analyzing the effect of a booster pump, over the hydraulic system’s mass oscillations.  Investigations regarding the mass oscillations in the tailrace tunnel are of most interest, and the final scope of the study is to analyze possible mitigation (redesign of downstream surge tank). The numerical simulations will be carried out using 1D tool implemented in the LVTrans software.