Role of the consulting engineer in hydro and pumped storage systems

From the earliest stages in the development of a hydroelectric scheme, economists, planners and engineers must work closely together. Within the engineering group, collaboration is even more essential and it will be most effective if civil, mechanical and electrical engineers have a sympathetic understanding of each other´s technical problems. This collaboration should continue from the initial planning stages to the commissioning and testing of the complete installation. The paper discusses some of the problems which may arise at the various stages in the design and construction of a scheme. It is assumed that a decision has been taken to build a scheme of a certain ultimate capacity, and the paper considers the economic and technical planning, for example, to determine the rating and number of machines together with the programme for the construction of the civil works and installation of plant. For the project design, many aspects call for joint studies involving civil, mechanical and electrical engineers, for example, the head and rating, to determine the type of turbine and the approximate speed. Hydraulic design requires close collaboration between the three disciplines, to determine an economic system for the range of loading conditions to be imposed on the plant. The preparation of technical specifications proceeds concurrently in all three disciplines, for which a continuous exchange of information is essential, and the adjudication of tenders must take into account the interaction of plant and civil works. Detailed design proceeds after the placing of contracts, when further refinements are made. At the commissioning stage, close collaboration is essential, during the first filling of the hydraulic system and subsequent tests involving the hydraulic and electrical transmission systems, to prove satisfactory performance.