A dam forms a large reservoir of water with a large elevation difference. The difference in elevation between the water behind the dam and the river downstream generates potential energy, which can be converted to mechanical energy by rotating turbines. Hydroelectric turbines spin like a carousel around a vertical axis to spin magnets within an electrical generator.
Hydroelectric Power is a Function of Height and Volume, the formula is given as:
P=ηtQρgh
Where:
- P is power [Watt]
- ηt is the dimensionless efficiency of the turbine
- ρ is the density of water [kg/m3]
- Q is the volumetric flow rate [m3/s]
- g is the acceleration due to Earth’s gravity [m/s2]
- h is the height difference between the inlet and outlet [m]
Table of Contents
Potential and Kinetic Energy From Falling Water
Potential energy is the energy of water when it is stored in a reservoir or lake. Water has kinetic energy when it rushes through a river, a waterfall, or a hydroelectric power plant.v Water’s potential energy is converted to kinetic energy as it falls from a great height or moves down an incline. As a result, a falling stream of water loses potential energy while increasing kinetic energy.
Important Terms
- Hydroelectric power plant: A power plant that uses water turbines to generate electricity.
- Hydroelectricity: Electricity is produced by the energy of running water.
- Mechanical energy: Energy that can be used to do work. It is the sum of an object’s kinetic and potential energy.
- Renewable energy: Energy that is made from sources that can be regenerated. Sources include solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, ocean and hydro (water).
- Turbine: A machine in which the kinetic energy of a moving fluid is converted into mechanical energy by causing a series of buckets, paddles, or blades on a rotor to rotate.
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