Equalization basin

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Riedplätz equalization basin of the Muotakraftwerke , volume 50,000 m³
Andelsbuch compensation basin , built in 1908

A balancing reservoir is a reservoir , the production of a uniform as possible discharge of water in a river is used or provides a balance between two series-connected variable quantities of water processing power plants. They must be used in particular with storage power plants, as these are usually only in operation at peak load , or with run-of-river power plants that are only operated at partial load at times. More generally, compensation basins serve to decouple systems with different flow rates, so that more flexible operation is possible.

function

Storage power plants often only work a few hours a day. If the water from the underwater channel were to flow directly into the flowing water, the water level in the flowing water would rise sharply in the form of a single advancing wave front when the power plant was started up and thus cause a surge ; conversely, when the power plant was switched off, the outflow into the flowing water would drop sharply, so that this could fall completely or almost dry, this effect is known as sunk . Both effects are undesirable and because they have negative effects on the ecosystem of the flowing water, see surge operation .

The equalization basin ensures that water is evenly released into the flowing water by storing part of the underwater when the power plant is in operation, which is only released into the underwater when the power plant is switched off. The size of the equalization basin determines the duration of full load operation of the power plant. At the beginning of full load operation, the pool should ideally be empty; as soon as the pool is full, full load operation must be reduced to partial load operation.

As a rule, the power plant operators have to meet requirements that define the maximum and minimum amount of water to be released into the flowing water. In Switzerland, the requirements have been tightened with the new water protection law, so that most power plants will have to build additional compensation basins by 2030 in order to reduce surge and surge.

The water released from the equalization basin into the running water can be used in a small run-of-river power plant to generate electricity.

literature

  • Jürgen Giesecke, Emil Mosonyi: Hydroelectric power plants . Planning, construction and operation. 5th, updated and expanded edition, revised by Jürgen Giesecke and Stephan Heimerl. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg / Dordrecht / London / New York 2009, ISBN 978-3-540-88988-5 , doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-540-88989-2 (standard textbook on hydropower plants).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Water Dictionary . equalizing reservoir, p. 209 (English, google.ch ).
  2. Josef Frank: Non-stationary processes in the supply and discharge channels of hydropower plants: translational waves in open channels, water locks in pressure tunnels . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-642-47363-0 , pp. 97 ( google.ch [accessed on May 9, 2020]).
  3. Fritz Süchting: Problems from machine science and electrical engineering: A collection with detailed solutions . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-663-04183-2 , pp. 31 ( google.ch [accessed on May 9, 2020]).
  4. Federal Office for the Environment FOEN: The KWO opens compensation basins to dampen artificial fluctuations in runoff (flood-sunk). Retrieved May 9, 2020 .