Historical image of Keokuk Power Plant, and Lock and Dam 19

I grew up in Keokuk, Iowa, exploring the rugged, tree-covered bluffs of the Mississippi River, overlooking the monolithic Powerhouse of Lock and Dam 19. The megastructure, completed in 1913, put Keokuk on the international map as home to the largest, single powerhouse, electricity generating plant in the world.

As a kid, I took tours of the Powerhouse and was awed by the rows of humming and hot generators. It was a little scary to be so close to so much electricity being produced. While there is often controversy over the environmental impact of dam construction, hydroelectric power is, at its best, clean, renewable energy. According to Ameren Corporation, the owner and operator of the Keokuk power plant, an average day of operation of the plant saves the equivalent of nearly 1,000 tons of coal.

Dams are also amazing feats of engineering.

The sheer size of the structures that were built prior to the use of computer aided engineering (CAE) make dams, such as the Hoover Dam, even more awe-inspiring. With the addition of CAE to the engineers toolbox, the size, complexity, and power generating capacity of hydroelectric dams have grown substantially.

With CAE, engineers are able to virtually test the structure of the dam, its components, and systems to gain greater confidence in the safety and reliability of the dam and its power generating systems. Finite Element Analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics software are being used, not only for the design of new plants, but also for the monitoring of performance and structure integrity of existing dams and modernizing and upgrading power plants to improve power output, ensure their safe operation, and extend their operational life.

Three Gorges Dam

Today, the world’s largest hydroelectric dam by total capacity is the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River in China. Since its construction, there has been extra attention given to the testing and analysis of vibrations in the powerhouse structures caused by various kinds of dynamic loads. Researchers at School of Civil and Hydraulic Engineering at the Dalian University of Technology have written a paper on their use of Abaqus FEA from SIMULIA to analyze the strength of concrete substructure and superstructure in powerhouse #15 undergoing natural vibration frequencies.

Engineers at Norconsult, a global, multidisciplinary engineering and design consultancy located in Norway, use Abaqus FEA to perform static and dynamic structural analyses of arch dams, single and double-curvature shelled structures, and slab and buttress dams. According to their Dam Engineering brochure, their engineers also use Abaqus for permeability flow modeling of porous material in embankment dams and temperature gradient modeling, calculation of crack width, reinforcement and stress and strain in concrete dams.

Abaqus is not the only solution from Dassault Systemes being used in by dam and power plant engineers. Recently, we announced that the HydroChina Chengdu Engineering Corporation (CHIDI) selected our PLM solutions to facilitate investigation, design, and collaborative management of hydropower plants. CHIDI has significantly shortened project timelines, reduced total costs, and improved the collaboration between cross-functional teams of designers and engineers.

Having grown up overlooking a historic dam and power plant, I know a little about the power generating process, but I really take it for granted. I know the water falls over (or flows through) the dam, causing turbines to spin, and generators then create electricity. But, that’s about the extent of my working knowledge.

So, I found this short video on how hydroelectric power is created to be  informative.  Check it out, you’ll gain a better understanding of the complex, multiphysics that engineers have to take into consideration in the design and operation of a dam and power plant. 

The next time you see a hydroelectric power plant in action, you will know that indeed, there is more to it than just water spilling over a dam.

Power Me Up, Scotti.
Tim

P.S. – This is the first in a series on how realistic simulation is being used in all energy sectors to improve energy exploration and production of energy to power our world. Stay tuned.

My first thought was the lights were out due to a storm, an accident, or a fire. But there was no evidence of any such calamity. Then I remembered that, to save money, my town of Plainville, Massachusetts was planning to turn-off the street lights. Apparently, tonight was the night for a majority of the lights to be turned-off. The town’s action reminded me of mother always saying, “Shut off the lights, you’re causing our electricity bill to get out of control”.

As a kid – I thought electricity was magic and endless, and I certainly thought it was free! I finally realized that electricity was not free when I received the first bill that I had to pay on my own.  Electricity is so pervasive, especially in developed countries, that most of us take it for granted, and maybe just a bit magical, until we find our streetlights turned off, or experience a multi-day power outage like I did after the Loma Prieta earthquake in California in 1989 and again in 2003 during the major Northeast blackout.

Electricity, as most of us know, is produced in a variety of ways. While Nuclear generated power gets a lot of attention, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, it only produces about 20 percent of the electricity in the United States. More than half of the U.S. electricity comes from burning coal. The remainder is produced through hydroelectric, or natural gas and even smaller amounts are created by wind and solar power systems.

Energy discussions can quickly devolve into controversy. I plan to leave the eco-political debates to others and focus a series of blog posts on the innovative use of realistic simulation to improve the efficiency and safety of energy creation and exploration.

Ensuring Nuclear Power Safety

From the onset of the civilian nuclear power era, there has been a strong awareness of the importance of safety. Originally designed for 30- to 40-year operating lives, the systems, structures, and components of nuclear plants  simply wear out, corrode, or degrade. Identifying and correcting such issues can extend the operating license of a plant by several decades, which is why the upgrading of older facilities is now a major focus of nuclear regulatory bodies and plant operators.

Wolfgang Hienstorfer, TÃœV

Recently, my team had the privilege of interviewing Wolfgang Hienstorfer, head of the department of structural analysis at TÃœV SÃœD ET, a leading global technical service corporation, located in Filderstadt, Germany.  “The structural integrity and operational management of nuclear facilities must be secured far into the future — whatever the type or age of the plant’,” stated Mr. Heinstorfer”. His team at TÃœV independently tests, inspects, and certifies nuclear facilities for licensing by the German government.

To assist in the accurate evaluation of nuclear plant systems, structures and components, the group employs Abaqus finite element analysis (FEA) software from SIMULIA.  

Pressurized thermal shock analysis of a reactor pressure vessel

Abaqus eanables the engineers to analyze stress loads over a wide range of scenarios such as rapidtemperature and/or pressure changes, earthquakes, and radiation embrittlement. The software analyzes everything from key mechanical components —including pumps, piping systems, vessels, supports, and tanks — to fuel assemblies, building structures, and lifting devices such as cranes.

Hienstorfer sees FEA as having an integral role to play in both operational evaluation and ongoing monitoring of nuclear facilities to assist in complying with regulations. “We depend on FEA for computer modeling and virtual testing of reactor pipelines, vessels, and materials under extremes of stress and time,” he says.  “It definitely provides guidance to engineers to build both safety and longevity into their nuclear power plant designs.”

Read the complete TUV case study online at Power Magazine or you can download a PDF of the story from SIMULIA’s INSIGHT Magazine.

Do you think engineers can continue to make Nuclear Energy safe?

What do you think of my town’s decision to save money by turning off the streetlights? (Maybe they should have positioned it as a ‘Green Initiative’?).

Check back soon or subscribe to 3D Perspectives for additional posts on Energy and Realistic Simulation.

Enjoy the magjic of electricity,

Tim

Issues surrounding the Oil & Gas sector like climate change concerns, high prices and geopolitical uncertainties have forced many countries to seriously focus on alternate sources of energy.

One of the trends in the Energy industry is renewable energy sources—such as solar, wind, and hydro–as their engine of growth.

Already the United States, India, and several European countries have set goals to produce a substantial amount of their electricity using wind energy, making this a truly global phenomenon. For example, the European Union has set their sights on producing 20 percent of their electricity with wind power by 2020.

With this tremendous growth in wind energy, turbine manufacturers have to plan for exponential growth in their throughput. They have to update their manufacturing processes and production facilities to achieve their desired throughput. They have to move toward more automated production facilities and use new technologies like composites and resin transfer molding.

Since this industry is fairly new, it is in an enviable position to adopt cutting edge technologies, without having the weight of legacy data and processes to slow them down.

Wind turbines are the most expensive component of a windmill – costing as much as 75 percent of the total windmill cost.

It is imperative that these components be produced in the most cost-effective manner possible while maintaining the high quality and demand requirements.

By building the product right the first time in a virtual environment, manufacturers can take the guesswork out of validating their latest product design, manufacturing process and production facility—thereby reducing these costs.

Working in a virtual environment, eliminating the need for physical prototypes, scrap and wastage can be completely eliminated. DELMIA provides for a sustainable manufacturing environment minimizing the impact on the environment, making the world a greener place in more ways than one.

Working together I think we can indeed achieve 20% wind power by 2020, don’t you?

Best,

Karun

P.S. There’s more info on energy in general you mind find useful here:

www.plmv5.com/delmiaenergy