Small dams series at Euphrates river upper to improve hydraulic properties and generate hydroelectric power

Abstract

Small dams are one of the worldwide water resources management structures, which besides their activity in storing water become important source for electricity generation from the small hydropower stations using low head hydropower turbines. A 37500 m long of Euphrates River reach between Haditha and Al Baghdadi cities at Anbar province was selected to evaluate the usefulness of constructing system of small dams series by calculating the range of improvements in the hydraulic properties and estimating the hydroelectric power potential of the study reach. A geometric numerical model has been created with geographic information system (GIS) based program called Global Mapper (Ver. 11) by using digital elevation model (DEM) combined with surveyed cross-sections of the river bed. A computer program was established with visual basic programming to evaluate the power potentials according to economical methodology based on the cost benefit ratio (CBR) to balance between the system estimated cost and the power profits through a group of equations to calculate the optimal height and number of small dams along the study reach. The study area was evaluated and the results recommended establishing a system of three dams with height of (4.3 m) each with the possibility to generate expected power of (45 MW) within (99%) of CBR. The numerical model simulated with (HEC-RAS 4.1) to examine the reach behavior against three different discharge values (270, 543, 815 m3/s) to compare the hydraulic changes in the study reach before and after the dams establishment. XII The results illustrate improvement in the reach hydraulic properties through (28 %) increase in the average depth with (27 %) decrease in the variation caused by discharge changes. Also it illustrate the reach tendency to store water in average of (35%) of the reach flowing water against (5 %) average expansion in the reach surface area specially in cases of low discharges which makes the small dams the optimal solution for the deficit in Power and water resources