Chapter Five

Water Conveyance Structures

Part I-Intakes
Contents of part I

Intake and types of intakes

Trash racks and Skimmers
Losses in intakes
Air entrainment and vortex formation in
intakes
Inlet aeration

2
Intakes

The intake is a structure constructed at the

entrance of a power canal or tunnel or pipe
through which the flow is diverted from the
source such as a river or reservoir.
It is an essential component of hydropower
schemes and provided as an integral part or in
isolation from the diversion, weir or dam.
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Functions of Intakes
The main functions of intakes are:
i. To control flow of water in to the conveyance
system.
 The control is achieved by a gate or a valve.
ii. To provide smooth, easy and vortex or
turbulence free entry of water in the
conveyance system which is to minimize head
loss.
 This can be achieved through providing bell-
mouth shaped entrance.
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Functions of intakes cont’d.

iii. To prevent entry of coarse river born trash

matter such as boulders, logs, tree branches
etc.
 Provision of trash racks at the entrance
achieve this function.
iv. To exclude heavy sediment load of the river
from entering the conveyance system.
 Special devices such as silt traps and silt
excluders are used to control & trap the silt.

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In high-head structures the intake can be either
an integral part of a dam or separate; for
example, in the form of a tower with entry ports
at various levels which may aid flow regulation
when there is a wide range of fluctuations of
reservoir water level.
Such a provision of multi-level entry also permits
the withdrawal of water of a desired quality.
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Classification of intakes
Intakes are conveniently classified in to the
following types depending on the power
plant type and its layout.
i. Run - of - river intakes
ii. Canal intakes
iii. Dam intakes
iv. Tower intakes
v. Shaft intakes
vi. Intakes of special type

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Run - of - river intakes
The components are:
Bell mouth entrance guarded by R.C or steel
grid forming the trash rack structure;
Control gate situated immediately d/s of the
bell mouth entry;
Upstream of the gate may be provided with
stop-log groves for provision of access to the
gate for repair;
Special de-silting arrangement may be
provided in silty rivers.
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9
Canal Intakes
Like run-of-river intakes, these are also low head
intakes.
In this case, however, instead of leading water
directly to the turbines, the intake admits water
into the diversion canals.

The following are its major appurtenances;

 The inlet invert level of the intake is raised
to form a sill so as to prevent entry of rolling
bed load into the canal;
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Canal intakes cont’d.

 A skimmer wall (a diaphragm which extends

below the water surface) abstracts the floating
material from entering into the canal;
 The coarse rack (trash rack) to trap trash,
equipped with either manual or automatic
power-driven rack cleaning devices;
 A settling basing (sand trap) followed by a
secondary sill (entrance sill) diverting the bottom
(sediment-laden) layers towards the de-silting
canal;

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Canal intakes cont’d

 The flushing (de-silting) sluice to flush the

deposited silt;
 The scouring (tunnel) sluices in the diversion
weir to flush the bed load upstream of the inlet
sill;
 Vertical lift gate with motorized operation to
control the flow into the canal.
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Example of canal intake layout 13
Location and alignment of an intake

The river reach u/s of the intake should be well

established with stable banks.

As the bottom layers of the flow around a bend

are swept towards its inside (convex) bank, it is
obvious that the best location for an intake (to
avoid bed load entry) is the outer (concave)
bank, with the intake located towards the d/s
end of the bend. 14
15
16
The secondary current near the bed,
transports sediment away from the region and
draws in water from the top layers where the
sediment concentration is relatively low.
Since the sediment concentration is highest at
the bed the water diversion structure should be
located where the flow near the bed is away
from the intake.
Such conditions occur at river bends where the
spiral current carries sediment towards the inner
bank away from the outer bank.

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A natural scour hole forms at the outer bank
with its deepest point approximately twice the
river width downstream of the intersection of
the upstream axis with the bank
An off-take at 900 to the main flow is the least
desirable one
The structure should be aligned to produce a
suitable curvature of flow into the intake, and a
diversion angle of around 300 – 450 is usually
recommended to produce this effect.

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 In addition, an artificial bend, a groyne island or guide
vanes may be designed to cause the required curvature of
flow.

Intake layouts with

induced curvature to
Flow (an artificial bend)
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Use of artificial groyne (e.g. island) to induce
desired curvature to flow at intakes 20
Guide vanes layouts upstream of intake for sediment exclusion

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Dam intakes

For valley dam plants, the intake structure is

provided usually in the body of the dam;
The penstocks are embodied in the dam;
the main feature of such an intake are:
A trash rack structure in front of the dam,
A bell-mouth inlet in horizontal or inclined
alignment,
A control gate installed either at or after the
bell mouth,

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Cage-shaped intakes resting against the face of the dam
and support on slab cantilevered from the dam provide
larger area of entry than the penstock intake area, thus
reducing entrance losses.

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Tower Intakes
The tower intakes are normally on hillsides, not
far off from the dam, when it is not convenient
to provide the simple intake directly on the
upstream face of the dam.
In multipurpose reservoirs built for irrigation,
drinking water abstraction, flood regulation, etc.,
the water can be withdrawn through towers with
multiple level ports, permitting selective
withdrawal from the reservoirs vertical strata.

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Tower intake cont’d

They are also used when there are large

discharges or when there is a wide fluctuation in
water level of the reservoir.
Tower may be connected with main dam
through a bridge when the tower is near the
dam.
Flow into the pressure conduit is controlled by
vertical lift gates.
The structure should be strong enough to
withstand hydrodynamic pressure, earthquake,
wind forces, etc.

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Tower Intake
26
Shaft Intakes

This is a vertical or a nearly vertical shaft that

carries water to the penstock tunnel.
It consists of the following parts:

The entrance structure with trash rack and

rounded inlet.

The vertical shaft followed by an elbow and

transition connecting the shaft with the tunnel.

27
Shaft intake cont’d.
The intake gate (cylindrical) and sometimes a
stop-log closure.

28
Trash racks and Skimmers
• Debris carried in the incoming water can have
adverse impacts on a hydropower scheme in
that:
It can obstruct flow along the conveyance
structures, interrupting power generation or
causing the water to overflow and possibly
undermine the structures;
It can cause rapid deterioration of the penstock
or turbine or cause a catastrophic failure, such
as rupture of the penstock through a sudden
blockage of flow through the nozzle (in the case
of reaction turbines).
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Cont’d.

It is therefore, essential that the quantity of

debris which enters the conveyance system of a
hydropower scheme be minimized.

This can be achieved with the help of trash

racks and skimmers.

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Trash racks

31
Trash racks

32
Trash racks

33
Trash racks

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Trash racks
A trash rack intercepts the entire flow and
removes any large debris, whether it is floating,
suspended, or swept along the bottom.
Frequently, it is located in the intake structure to
prevent debris from entering the water
conveyance system.
It can also be placed just before the inlet to the
penstock to remove smaller debris as well as
other trashes which may have entered the water
conveyance system downstream of the intake.
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Trash racks cont’d.

A trash rack is made up of one or more panels,

each generally fabricated of a series of evenly
spaced parallel metal bars.
The bars are parallel and evenly spaced because
a rake is commonly used to clear the debris off
the rack.
In this case, it is essential that the teeth of the
rake mesh into the parallel bars without binding
so that the rake can be pulled along the bars
easily to scrape off accumulated debris.

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Trash rack bar spacing

Bars on a trash rack before the inlet to the

penstock should be spaced no closer than is
necessary to remove debris which might be
detrimental to the turbine’s operation.
Otherwise, head losses may be high and the
rack may fill up quickly with debris.
With a Pelton turbine, the space between bars
usually is not more than half the nozzle
diameter (or a quarter, if spear valve is used)
to prevent the nozzle from choking.
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Trash rack bar spacing cont’d.

For Francis turbines, the space between bars

should not exceed the distance between the
runner vanes.

Approach Velocity
The approach velocity of flow should be kept
within such limits that it will not cause damage
to the rack structure.
A design approach velocity of 0.5 m/s is usually
used.
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Approach velocity…

If a trash rack is located immediately in front of

the inlet to a penstock and the penstock
velocities are significantly higher than 0.5 m/s,
the trash rack can be built in a circular area to
increase the area of the trash rack and
correspondingly decrease velocity through it
Trash rack cleaning mechanism
Cleaning of the trash racks can be performed
either manually (for small schemes) using
manual rake or mechanically (for large schemes)
using automatic cleaning machines.
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Trash rack orientation

The trash rack is usually placed vertical or nearly

vertical (< 250) from the vertical.
Placing the trash racks in an inclined position
makes the cleaning easy apart from giving less
resistance to flow.
Clogging of racks is objectionable on account of
the operational trouble and loss of energy
production involved, and of the unbalanced load
created on the rack causing partial or total
damage thereof.

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Allowing for partial clogging, racks are
generally designed to withstand a head
ranging from 1 to 2 m under normal
conditions and from 4 to 5 m under
exceptional circumstances.

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Skimmer Walls
A skimmer wall is an obstruction placed at the
water surface, usually at an angle to the stream
flow which skims floating debris from the
passing water.
If the water level changes markedly as, for
example, at the intake of stream, the skimmer
can be a floating piece of timber secured at both
ends.
If changes in water level are small, a fixed
skimmer, a trash rack is still necessary.

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Skimmer walls…

Because some debris usually pass under the

skimmer, a trash rack is still necessary.
However, a skimmer reduces the frequency with
which the trash rack has to be cleaned.
Skimmer walls are made, for the most part, of
reinforced concrete with a service bridge on top.
They are designed usually for a horizontal
pressure of 1000 kg/m2 acting on the
submerged surface.

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44
Losses in Intakes

The intake losses include

• Entrance loss,
• Trash rack loss, and
• Head gate loss.

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a) Entrance Losses

The entrance losses at an intake depend on:

• The change in direction of the flow (entering
the intake),
• The extent of contraction, and
• The type of trash rack provided at the inlet.
 They are expressed in terms of the velocity head
as KV2/2g.
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Loss due to change in direction

The
  entrance loss due to a change in direction of
flow (intake at an angle α with the main stream)
is given by;

Where,
• V is velocity in the diversion canal
• Vf is velocity of flow in the main river
• C is a constant which depends on the off-take angle of the
diversion canal

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According to Massonyi, C is equal to 0.8 for
300 off-take angles and 0.4 for 900 off-take
angles.

  𝟐
𝐕
𝟐
𝐕 𝐟
∆ 𝐡 𝐞= −𝐂
𝟐𝐠 𝟐𝐠
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Loss due to sudden contraction of the
area at the inlet section.

This
  given by:
Where,
K is a constant, which depends on the shape of
the entry;
K = 0.03 for bell-mouthed entry;
K = 1.3 for sharp cornered entry

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Rack Losses
There
  are numerous expressions available for
predicting head loss across trash racks.
One such expression (Kirschmer’s formula) (with
flow parallel to rack bars), is:

Where,
• Kt is trash rack loss coefficient (a function of bar shape),
• t is bar thickness,
• b is spacing between bars,
• Va is approach velocity, and

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Rack losses cont’d.

If
  the grill is not perpendicular but makes an
angle with the water flow ( will have a
maximum value of 900 for a grill located in the
sidewall of a canal), there will be an extra head
loss, given by the equation.

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52
Gate Losses

Head
  loss due to gates (at part gate opening) is
given by:

Where,
• Q is flow in the canal or conduit,
• A is area of gate opening, and
• Cd is discharge coefficient which varies between 0.62 and
0.83

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Velocity through trash racks
Velocity
  should be sufficiently low to avoid high
head loss and should be sufficiently high to
avoid large intake and trash rack cross section.
• The following are suggested limiting entrance
velocities:
1. Justin and Creager formula

h = head from center line of gate to normal water

surface

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2.  Masonyi’s formula: to eliminate eddies and
vortices

USBR’s criteria: permissible velocity in the range

of 0.6 to 1.5 m/s.
 The trash rack is designed so that the approach
velocity (Va) remains between 0.60 m/s and 1.5
m/s.
 The total surface area of the screen will be given
by the equation:

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Air entrainment and vortex formation at
intakes

Air entrainment at gate entrances is due to

development of vortices and also due to
potential gate opening that facilitates hydraulic
jump formation.
Effects of air entrainment are:
o Additional head losses,
o Reduction in discharge, and
o Drop in efficiency of turbines.
 Minimizing vortex formation and avoiding
hydraulic jump formation help in preventing air
entrainment 56
Cont’d.
 A vortex which forms at the inlet to power
conduit occasionally can cause troubles by itself.
o It can induce loss of turbine efficiency,
o Possible cavitation,
o Surging caused by the formation and dissipation of
vortices, and
o Flow reduction as air replaces part of the water
through the inlet,
o It can also draw floating debris into the conduit.
 Thus, it is necessary to prevent formation of
vortices at intakes and air entrainment

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Cont’d.

 Vortices are formed due to the following factors:

o Hydraulic jump formation;
o Velocities at intakes;
o Submergence at intakes;
o Geometry of approaching flow at intakes
 Designing for a low velocity into the conduit and
increasing submergence of the inlet can help
prevent the formation of vortices.

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Cont’d.

 For low submergence, an intake structure can be

prone to vortices.
 A vortex is a coherent structure of
rotational flow. It is mainly caused by:
• The eccentricity of the approach flow to a
hydraulic sink,
• Asymmetric approach flow conditions and
• Obstruction effects among other reasons
 Can also set up vortices

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60
Disadvantages of vortices

 Air entrainment, with effects on hydraulic

machinery,
 Swirl entrainment, with increase of head loss
and reduction of efficiency in hydraulic
machinery,
 Enhancement of cavitation and vibration with a
reduced longevity of important mechanical parts,
and
 Entrainment of floating material such as wood or
ice, and blockage of screens, or damage of
coatings.
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Ideally, the transition from free surface to
pressurized flow should be uniform, steady
and of single phase,
Air entrainment is the worst consequence of an
intake structure, and an acceptable hydraulic
design has to avoid this condition in particular.

Flow approaching the intake

asymmetrically is more prone to vortex
formation than symmetrical flow.
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Cont’d.

It
  is therefore important that flows upstream of
the inlet area be as straight and uniform as
possible.
For the condition of no vortices at intakes, the
following empirical relations may be used:

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Cont’d.

Where,
Ys is necessary submergence depth
V is velocity of flow into the conduit
D is diameter of the conduit

• Another remedy to vortex formation is provision of a floating raft or

baffle which disrupts the angular momentum of the water near the
surface.
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Inlet aeration

Intakes normally have a bulk head at the front

and a control gate inside on the downstream
side.
An air vent is always provided just
downstream of a control gate
The functions are:
 Admission of air to nullify vacuum effect, which
could be created when the penstock is drained after
control gate closure.
 Intake gates operate under conditions of balanced
pressure on both sides of the gate.
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Inlet aeration cont’d.

 Thus the conduit is required to be filled with

water through a by-pass pipe.
 The entrapped air is therefore driven out
through the air vent.

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 Size
  of the air vent: There are several
recommendations:

Where, Qa is discharge of air in m3/s

a is area of vent pipe in m2
C is constant (normally with a value of 0.7)
P is pressure difference b/n the atmosphere and
pressure in the penstock in kg/cm2

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2. Fourth Congress on Large Dams
Guideline (ICOLD)
Area of Air Vent = 10% control gate area

3. USBR Design Guide

Capacity of Air Vent = 25% Conduit discharge

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