The 10 et 11 June In the coming years, the small and medium hydroelectric ecosystem finds itself at France Hydro Electricity Meetings at the Valence Convention Center. Faced with the challenges of availability and performance of your facilities, the team MERGER will be present to share its technical expertise and field solutions.
You can find us at the stand 54.
Among the topics we can discuss on site, we propose three questions to assess your facilities:
Your screening equipment:
Environmental regulations, flood peaks: are your trash racks sized to meet the new constraints?
Hydroelectric power plants are subject to regulations concerns increasingly strict regulations (such as the Water Framework Directive in Europe). In parallel, to adapt to the downstream some fishoperators must install " grids Finnish (sometimes with spacing of only 15 to 20 mm between the bars) to prevent fish (eels, salmon) from being sucked into the turbines. However, a fine screen mechanically requires much more frequent and robust cleaning than before. This is why older screens with wide mesh (50 to 100 mm) can no longer keep up and wear out prematurely.
Furthermore, the river regime has evolved over the past few years. Prolonged periods of drought followed by flood Sudden and violent storms now carry significant volumes of sediment, leaves, plastics, and heavy debris (including wood and tree trunks). During these pics de charge, screening must provide maximum effort continuously. If the mechanical transmission is not perfectly sized or if the teeth are worn, the system can jam or break at the precise moment when the operator needs it most.
That is why we support operators in finding a solution that meets the increased production rate, resistance to fatigue and protects the drivetrain.
The mechanical audit:
What is the benefit of a mechanical audit of your hydroelectric installation?
Wait for the temperature to rise or a noise suspect is equivalent to suffer a breakage The mechanical system is in full production. The audit allows for the detection of pitting (surface fatigue of the gear teeth) or a wear bearings before the speed variator jams in the middle of the season and to check if the current system is still suitable for the water flow.
It is particularly important to ensure that the torque is distributed evenly across the entire width of the teeth. Indeed, a bad scope reveals a misalignment or a deformation of the crankcase, causing premature wear.
Our audit provides a criticality assessment. It allows you, for example, to plan the unit shutdowns in a rational manner, to anticipate the replacement consumables (bearings, seals) and securing the availability works during periods of high activity.
The efficiency of your installation:
How can you improve the efficiency of your installation? Are you generating the maximum power allowed under your contract?
Each kilowatts mechanical energy lost by friction or vibration between the turbine and the alternator is a kilowatt that will not in your billOn hydroelectric installations, slight misalignments (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and the wear Progressive changes in the gear profiles of speed multipliers and variators create silent efficiency losses. In the long term, these deviations can prevent the installation from reaching its rated power and saturate the limit of its contract.injectiondirectly penalizing the return on investment.
MERGER will be available to listen to you at the France Hydro-electricity meetings to discuss the levers mechanical which directly impact the smarter investing of operation.
ALSO FIND OUR ARTICLE ON BEST PRACTICES FOR MAINTAINING SPEED MULTIPLIERS:
Oil, vibrations, analysis: how MERGER supports you in increasing the lifespan of your equipment.
Would you like to know more about our services for the hydroelectric sector? Contact our dedicated team via our contact form.