Horus Energy Company offers modernization services for hydrogenerators. The proposed hydrogenerators are distinguished by the availability of structural elements for installation and maintenance, high reliability, increased actual life, maintainability and environmental safety.

What is a hydrogenerator?

A hydrogenerator is a device consisting of an electric generator and a hydraulic turbine acting as a mechanical drive, designed to generate electricity at a hydroelectric power station.

An electric generator is a device in which non-electric types of energy (mechanical, chemical, thermal) are converted into electrical energy.

Typically, a hydroturbine generator is a synchronous explicitly polar electric machine of vertical design, driven by a hydraulic turbine, although there are horizontal generators (including capsular hydrogenerators).

The design of the generator is mainly determined by the parameters of the hydraulic turbine, which in turn depend on the natural conditions in the area of ​​construction of the hydroelectric power station (water pressure and its flow rate). In this regard, a new generator is usually designed for each hydroelectric power station.

Hydroturbine generators usually have a relatively low rotational speed (up to 600 rpm) and a sufficiently large diameter (up to 20 m), which primarily determines the vertical design of most generators, since horizontal design makes it impossible to provide the necessary mechanical strength and stiffness of their elements designs.

Hydraulic turbine vertical generators usually consist of the following main parts:

• Stator;
• Rotor;
• Upper crosspiece;
• Lower crosspiece;
• A thrust bearing (a thrust bearing that accepts vertical load from rotating parts of a hydrogenerator and a hydraulic turbine);
• Guide bearings.

By design features, hydroturbine generators are divided into suspended and umbrella. In outboard generators, the thrust bearing is located above the rotor on the upper crosspiece; in umbrella generators, the thrust bearing is located under the rotor in the lower crosspiece or rests on the cover of the hydraulic turbine (in this case, the upper crosspiece in the generator is absent).

Hydraulic storage power plants use reversible generators (motor generators), which can both generate electrical energy and consume it. They differ from ordinary generators in the special design of the thrust bearing, which allows the rotor to rotate in both directions.

Horizontal capsular hydrogenerators are part of a sealed capsule containing, in addition to the generator, a hydraulic turbine and a support system. The capsule is placed directly in the flow part of the hydroelectric power station.

Reliability indicators.

High rates of economy and reliability of hydrogenerators are ensured through the use of modern materials and technologies.

The use of state-of-the-art materials:

• Materials for thermosetting stator winding insulation;
• Stator cores are made of state-of-the-art electrical steels;
• State-of-the-art epoxy varnishes;
• Non-magnetic rotor pole pressure jaws;
• PTFE coating of thrust bearing and other bearing segments.

The use of state-of-the-art technology:

• Vacuum-pressure impregnated rotor poles;
• Soldered excitation windings;
• Laser-cut rotor rim segments;
• Stator core assembly “into a ring” at the installation location using hot stator core pre-tension.

In the design and research, modern calculation tools are used, including computerization of calculations using modern computing packages, as well as computerization of design drawings.

The main types of hydro generators offered are:

• Vertical indirect air-cooled hydrogenerators with a maximum capacity of 420 MW;
• Vertical hydrogenerators with stator winding water cooling and a maximum capacity of 720 MW for HPPs;
• Bulb hydrogenerators with forced-air cooling and a maximum capacity of 54 MW for HPPs;
• High-speed hydrogenerators with a maximum rated speed of 750 RPM;
• Hydrogenerators with a capacity of over 4 MW for small HPPs.