Investigating the velocity distribution in the vicinity of power plant intake structure (Case study: the Tebbin New Power Plant intake structure)

In terms of the importance of investigating the velocity distribution in the neighboring area to the power plant under different operation modes, this study was initiated. The velocity measurements, in this study, were performed in order to check the navigation safety in the segment of the river attached to the cooling system and to ensure that the navigation is possible. The Tebbin Power Plant was chosen to be investigated as a case study. A physical model, with undistorted scale of 1:50 was constructed. A comprehensive model test program was designed to cover the different river flow conditions and operation modes of the power plant. Different alternatives of submerged vanes at the entrance of the intake structure were tested. They were mounted vertically at an angle to generate a secondary circulation in the main flow, to re-distribute the flow within the channel cross-section. For comparison purposes, a case was tested in the absence of vanes. The results of the study showed that the submerged vanes play an important role in modifying the velocity distribution in the vicinity of the intake structure. The results might help in investigating the effect of submerged vanes on the morphological changes in the vicinity of submerged vanes. This is attributed to the fact that velocity distribution gives an indication to the sediment movement and bed changes.