How Dams Work (Hydro Dams)

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In this video we’re going to look at how dams work. We will look at all the main components of a dam, and the advantages and disadvantages associated with this type of hydro power plant.

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▶️Introduction

Humans have been harnessing the power of water for thousands of years. The potential energy of water has been used to drive mills, rotate pumps and for numerous other applications. However, converting the potential energy of water to electrical energy, is a relatively new concept.

To generate electricity using a hydro dam, you need two things, an abundance of water and an elevation difference between the outlet and inlet sides of the dam; this difference in elevation is referred to as the ‘head’.

The headwater is located upstream of the dam and the tailwater downstream; the dam separates the headwater and tailwater. The headwater consists of a large body of water, this ensures a constant supply of water can be used for power generation. A water conductor -known as a penstock- connects the headwater to the power house at the base of the dam. The powerhouse contains all the equipment needed to turn the potential energy of water into electrical energy.

How Hydro Dams Work

Water enters the penstocks through one of the main inlets. The water then travels down through the penstocks until reaching the hydroelectric turbines located within the powerhouse. As the water passes over each turbine runner, the runners rotate, and we obtain mechanical energy. The mechanical energy from the turbine runners is passed to an electrical generator, which is connected on a common shaft. We have now converted the water’s potential energy into electrical energy and can distribute this through a transformer and high voltage national grid. To end the process, the water flows from the powerhouse through the draft tubes until reaching the tailwater. The entire process is continuous, which leads to a constant and reliable form of power generation.

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savree-d

Ok, the photo @0:17 is from the Daio Wasabi Farm located in Azumino, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. You might say I'm very familiar with that area and you guaranteed my attention to the vid! I'm getting late in life and was thinking about rounding out my working life by getting into some niche of Hydroelectric or dam technician or maybe even HSE for nuclear plants. You are my first stop for videos in considering this route. Seeing the Daio Wasabi Farm that's so familiar to me makes me think this might be fate/destiny reaching out to me. LOL! Thank you very much for the vid!

maikutsukino

Not many people may notice but, Hydroelectric powerplants are actually very similar to Nuclear powerplants. Both have a high initial cost, Can cause catastrophic disasters if you cut too many corners, otherwise VERY safe, And are cheap to operate.Lets not forget About the fact that they both can be turned on or off therefore increasing the stability of the grid(idk how to phrase this bit so sorry if i phrased it wrongly). What about the downsides? Well hydro kinda changes the environment however they do generally have some way to preserve marine life. They dont completely dry up a river downstream(you have to let a percentage of flow through where i live). Nuclear’s downsides? Well its very expensive so massive investment and also public opinion on it is the exact opposite of what it is (its the safest energy sıurce but public opinion thinks its the least safe).

snowdrop

Wow... This is very helpful for UAE SOS which is my class right now.

Iballyou

Nice video, very informative. I think it is also important to mention that the huge amount of energy that is required to produce contrete is generally taken from non-renewable sources. This reject a lot of CO2 in the atmosphere (usually with a ratio of 10kg concrete / 9kg CO2). So, in the end, dams are green once they are built, but not so during their construction.

theroaringllama

This version was easier to understand than the yank one. Thx

nassermj

Tried to explain 5th grader how dam works, very little success until this video showed up.. Thanx man👍

DicitAmos

*Thanks for the great graphics video man*

ahmadnajmiroslan

I'm a year late, but thank you for the video. Simple explanation, easy to understand. Thank you again!

fogggggoooo

May I have permission to use this video in the eLearning I am working on?

ScottyMcNeill

The video shows some os the most important dams in Portugal. I am wrong? ( Venda Nova, Alto Lindoso and Alto Rabagão) :)

ricardoalves

thanks very much super helpful for my essay.

Mich_el.N

Thanks for the video it was educational

marijailic

Some penstocks can be located many kilometers away because of various reasons. There are some located at the bottom of lakes.

Mayangone

One downside to hydroelectric that is not mentioned in the video is that changes in weather patterns can render them basically useless if the region goes through a period of severe drought.

guilima