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📘 A reservoir stores elevation difference

A dam can raise the upstream water surface above the river downstream. That vertical difference is called head, and it represents gravitational potential energy. The reservoir also provides a controllable supply, so operators can release mo

5
lessons
~25 min
to learn
Adults
level
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What you’ll learn

  1. Capture the headExplain how reservoirs, intakes, penstocks, head, and flow make water's elevation useful.The plant controls a water path whose head and flow determine available energy.
  2. Turn water into rotationCompare reaction and impulse turbines and describe how gates, runners, and draft tubes transfer energy.Turbine geometry matches site head and flow while converting water motion into shaft torque.
  3. Turn rotation into electricityTrace shaft rotation through the generator, transformer, and grid connection.Electromagnetic induction and voltage transformation carry mechanical power into the electrical system.
  4. Control the river safelyDescribe spillways, gates, tailraces, fish passage, and the water-management duties around a powerhouse.Generation must share the river with flood safety, downstream conditions, and ecological passage.
  5. Operate the whole plantConnect dispatch, pumped storage, losses, and plant coordination into one operating system.A hydropower plant is a flexible but constrained hydraulic and electrical system.

Questions this course answers

What does hydraulic head describe in a hydropower plant?

Head represents the energy available from the water's elevation or pressure difference.

Match each turbine type to its typical operating idea.

Turbine geometry and control are selected for the site's head and flow.

What does the generator convert?

The turbine shaft supplies mechanical rotation and the generator converts it through electromagnetic induction.

Put the main power path in order.

The plant converts elevation and flow into rotation and then electricity.

Why does a hydropower plant need a spillway?

Spillways route excess or otherwise unsuitable water around the generating equipment while protecting the dam and downstream channel.

Explain why both head and flow affect hydropower output.

Head represents energy available per unit of water, while flow represents how much water passes each second; together, reduced by efficiency losses, they determine useful power.

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