Suspended sediment measurements and hydro-abrasive erosion
Turbines in hydro power plants can suffer severe wear and tear from suspended particles in the water, leading to significant maintenance costs, reduced efficiency, lower production, and thus lost revenue.
To limit efficiency reductions and maintain operational safety, turbine components are regularly overhauled or replaced. To increase the abrasion resistance of the components, coatings are increasingly being used, but these can also be damaged by large amounts of fine sediment, cavitation, or high local stress caused by stones occasionally contained in the water. Since the suspended sediment concentration in the water varies greatly depending on glacier development, the season, the hydrological situation, and the weather, another option is to temporarily shut down intakes or entire hydro power plants, e.g. during floods after thunderstorms.
The correct measurement of suspended sediment concentration is fundamental to all subsequent analyses.
etaeval's services relating to suspended sediment measurements and hydro-abrasive wear:
- Determining methods for real-time suspended sediment measurements (choosing the right measuring device)
- Evaluating suspended sediment transport events and annual hydrographs
- Creating suspended sediment balances in the hydraulic system
- Calculating a shutdown concentration for the short-term decommissioning of an intake or the entire hydro power plant
- Measuring abrasion on turbines/pumps, layer thickness measurements
In the field of suspended sediment measurements, etaeval works closely with Aquased and Dr. David Felix.
In addition, etaeval offers a monitoring platform, which is summarized under the product etahydro.