Pump as Turbine: Dynamic Effects in Small Hydro

This work focuses on the hydraulic aspects of a Pump as Turbine (PAT) when subjected to different working conditions, including accidental situations. This will provide useful information for the choice of the most adequate solution and will ensure a co rrect design and safe operation of the installed equipments. This work is supported by experimental data obtained in a series of tests performed at the university’s laboratory and by calibrated computational modelling. The obtained data was used to perform a sensitivity analysis on t he relation between discharge variation, runaway time and rotational speed and make inferences about the expected peak overpressure in an accidental situation. Based on the results, the hydropower system may be characterized by a r elevant set of calculated parameters that are of extreme utility in the construction and calibration of a computational model capable of accurately predicting different scenarios and alternatives.