Question

1.A river flowing steadily at a rate of 240 m3/s is considered for hydroelectric power generation. It is determined that a dam can be built to collect water and release it from an elevation difference of 50 m to generate power. Determine how much power can be generated from this river water after the dam is filled

Answer 1

Answer:

the power that can be generated by the river is 117.6 MW

Explanation:

Given that;

Volume flow rate of river v = 240 m³/s

Height above the lake surface a h = 50 m

Amount of power can be generated from this river water after the dam is filled = ?

Now the collected water in the dam contains potential energy which is used for the power generation,

hence, total mechanical energy is due to potential energy alone.

$E_{mech}$ = m(gh)

first we determine the mass flow rate of the fluid m

m = p×v

where p is density ( 1000 kg/m³

so we substitute

m = 1000kg/m³ × 240 m³/s

m = 240000 kg/s

so we plug in our values into ( $E_{mech}$ = m(gh) kJ/kg )

$E_{mech}$ = 240000 × 9.8 × 50

$E_{mech}$ = 117600000 W

$E_{mech}$ = 117.6 MW

Therefore, the power that can be generated by the river is 117.6 MW