Valves for hydropower and small hydro plants
The main gates of a hydro plant are specialist hydromechanical equipment. Around them, though, dozens or hundreds of ordinary gate valves, butterfly valves and check valves serve the auxiliary systems.
TAZ Engineering Team · · 5 min
Cooling water
Cooling water for generators, bearings and transformers is drawn from the penstock through strainers, gate valves and check valves. This is the bulk of the valves at a plant.
Drainage and dewatering
Unit dewatering and station drainage use pumps piped with gate valves and check valves rated for the pump head.
Bypasses and filling
Bypass lines with gate or globe valves equalise pressure before the main gates open. These are critical valves working at high differential pressure.
Small hydro
At the small hydro plants being built across Central Asia, valves often sit on the main penstock too. Large gate valves and butterfly valves with gearboxes and electric actuators suit them.
Checklist
- plant system
- head and pressure
- DN
- differential pressure
- actuators
- water quality