Advances in Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering: Modelling, Performances, Optimization Application and Environmental Effects

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2024 | Viewed by 2608

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Water and Environment, Chang’an University, Xi’an, China
Interests: hydropower; dispatching of hydropower station; renewable energy; hybrid power system; fluid mechanics; stability and control; dynamical model; transient process; risk assessment

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Guest Editor
School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Interests: renewable energy power system; hydropower generation; distributed energy storage systems; control strategy; virtual power plants; pumped storage power plant; smart grid

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Guest Editor
School of Water and Environment, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, China
Interests: hydrological modelling and parameters optimization; hydrological change detection and attribution research; hydrological statistics; information mining of hydrological data; application of deep learning algorithms

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Hydropower plays an important role in providing clean and sustainable electricity. With the ever-increasing penetration of renewable energy into the electric system, there are considerable environmental and economic benefits from hydropower complementarity. Simultaneously, for the development and application of water conservancy and hydropower engineering, the following problems are critical: improving operational performance and regulating the capabilities of hydropower, evaluating the complementary potential of hydropower such as reducing carbon emissions and replacing fossil fuels, improving the accuracy of hydrological forecasting in optimal hydropower scheduling, and achieving safe and efficient complementary power systems. For this Special Issue, we invite scholars to submit their research that converges on advances in hydropower research and hydrological forecasting concerning the modelling, performance, optimization application and environmental effects.

We are seeking papers surrounding knowledge of mathematical models, optimal operation, fluid mechanics, computational hydraulics, artificial intelligence, data mining, stability analysis, and other advanced techniques or approaches. To reflect the current trends in water conservancy and hydropower engineering, authors are also invited to submit their innovative ideas to address the coordinated operation of hydropower with renewable energy by analyzing hybrid power ‎systems in terms of models, flexibility, control, low-frequency oscillation, unit commitment, optimal scheduling, energy potential, economic and environmental subjects. Renewable energy in these hybrid power systems can include solar, wind, and geothermal energy that reduces pollutant production and dependence on fossil fuels.‎ Although priority will be given to fundamental issues, papers focusing on important unconventional or emerging applications of broad interest are also welcome.

The topics covered by this Special Issue include but are not limited to:

  • Advanced models, stability analysis, and controllers in hydropower and renewable energy systems;
  • Artificial intelligence and data-mining techniques in water conservancy and hydropower engineering;
  • Experimental studies on hydropower systems in transient processes;
  • Computational methods in fluid dynamics, nonlinear dynamics, and structure dynamics;
  • The optimization of models and coordinated strategies of renewable energy systems;
  • Analyses of the stability, flexibility, complementary potential, and environmental benefit of hydropower in hybrid power systems;
  • Risk assessment and residual service life prediction of fluid mechanical components;
  • Hydrological models and hydrological forecasting under changing climatic conditions.

Dr. Huanhuan Li
Dr. Runfan Zhang
Dr. Tian Lan
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • water–energy nexus
  • renewable energy
  • solar energy
  • wind energy
  • common hydro and pumped hydro
  • hydrological forecast
  • fluid mechanics
  • coordinated operation
  • stability and control

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 5495 KiB  
Article
Statistical Analysis and Scenario Modeling of Non-Stationary Runoff Change in the Loess Plateau: A Novel Application of the Generalized Additive Model in Location, Scale and Shape
by Shuqi Zhang, Tong Zhi, Hongbo Zhang, Chiheng Dang, Congcong Yao, Dengrui Mu, Fengguang Lyu, Yu Zhang and Shangdong Liu
Water 2024, 16(7), 986; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16070986 - 28 Mar 2024
Viewed by 544
Abstract
The hydrological series in the Loess Plateau region has exhibited shifts in trend, mean, and/or variance as the environmental conditions have changed, indicating a departure from the assumption of stationarity. As the variations accumulate, the compound effects caused by the driving variables on [...] Read more.
The hydrological series in the Loess Plateau region has exhibited shifts in trend, mean, and/or variance as the environmental conditions have changed, indicating a departure from the assumption of stationarity. As the variations accumulate, the compound effects caused by the driving variables on runoff variations grow complex and interactive, posing a substantial risk to water security and the promotion of high-quality development in regions or river basins. This study focuses on the Tuwei River Basin in the Loess Plateau, which experiences significant changes in vegetation coverage and minimal human disturbance, and examines the cross-driving relationship between the runoff change and its driving variables (including hydrometeorological and environmental variables). A quantitative statistical analysis method based on the GAMLSS is then developed to estimate the interacting effects of changes in the driving variables and their contribution to runoff changes. Finally, various anticipated scenarios are used to simulate the changes in driving variables and runoff disturbances. The findings indicate the following: (1) The developed GU, LO, and NO distribution-based GAMLSSs provide a notable advantage in effectively capturing the variations in groundwater storage variables, actual evapotranspiration, and underlying surface parameters, as well as accurately estimating the impacts of other relevant variables. (2) The precipitation and groundwater storage variables showed predominantly positive contributions to the runoff change, but actual evapotranspiration had an adverse effect. The changes in underlying surface parameters, particularly since 2000, increase actual evapotranspiration, while decreasing groundwater storage, resulting in a progressive decrease in runoff as their contribution grows. (3) The scenario simulation results reveal that alterations to the underlying surface have a substantial influence on the evolution of runoff in the Tuwei River Basin. Additionally, there are cross-effects between the impact of various driving variables on runoff, potentially compounding the complexity of inconsistent changes in runoff sequences. Full article
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18 pages, 3706 KiB  
Article
Multi-Scheme Optimal Operation of Pumped Storage Wind–Solar–Thermal Generation System Based on Tolerable Energy Abandonment
by Hao Zhang, Shuai Wu, Huanhuan Li, Jie Zhang, Chao Zhu, Hekuan Zhou and Yaofei Jia
Water 2024, 16(4), 576; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16040576 - 15 Feb 2024
Viewed by 723
Abstract
In multi-energy complementary power generation systems, the complete consumption of wind and photovoltaic resources often requires more costs, and tolerable energy abandonment can bring about the more reasonable optimization of operation schemes. This paper presents a scheduling model for a combined power generation [...] Read more.
In multi-energy complementary power generation systems, the complete consumption of wind and photovoltaic resources often requires more costs, and tolerable energy abandonment can bring about the more reasonable optimization of operation schemes. This paper presents a scheduling model for a combined power generation system that incorporates pumped storage, wind, solar, and fire energy sources. Through a comparison of schemes, the energy regulation function of the pumped storage power station was verified and analyzed. The CPLEX solver and MOPSO algorithm were employed to solve the daily output of a pumped storage power station in the Gansu region under various scenarios. The incorporation of pumped storage power plants has the potential to provide many benefits, including a reduction in operating expenses by about CNY 1.1163 million, a decrease in carbon emissions by 491.24 t, an enhancement in the stability of thermal power by 2.39%, and an improvement in the combined system capability to absorb additional energy. The correlation between the indicators of the combined system and the penetration rate of renewable energy is non-linearly influenced by changes in the power capacity configuration. Ultimately, the multi-objective optimization computation yields the ideal operational scheme for each power source, taking into account a tolerable energy abandonment mode. Full article
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19 pages, 3473 KiB  
Article
Operational Characteristics Assessment of a Wind–Solar–Hydro Hybrid Power System with Regulating Hydropower
by Yulong Li, Zhoubo Tong, Jingjing Zhang, Dong Liu, Xuhui Yue and Md Apel Mahmud
Water 2023, 15(23), 4051; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15234051 - 22 Nov 2023
Viewed by 890
Abstract
Renewable energy generation technology, as an alternative to traditional coal-fired power generation, is receiving increasing attention. However, the intermittent characteristics of wind and solar energy pose certain challenges to the stable operation of power grids. This requires a better understanding of the operational [...] Read more.
Renewable energy generation technology, as an alternative to traditional coal-fired power generation, is receiving increasing attention. However, the intermittent characteristics of wind and solar energy pose certain challenges to the stable operation of power grids. This requires a better understanding of the operational characteristics of renewable energy to improve the comprehensive efficiency. To achieve this, firstly, four indicators (i.e., average fluctuation magnitude, Richards–Baker flashiness, average climbing rate, and change in the time-averaged value) within a single-evaluation-indicator framework are proposed to quantitatively evaluate the fluctuation characteristics of wind, solar, and hydropower and a wind–solar–hydro hybrid power system. Secondly, a comprehensive evaluation indicator is developed by scientifically assigning and recombining the four indicators using entropy weight theory. Furthermore, the comprehensive evaluation index is applied to the wind–solar–hydro hybrid power system to determine the operational characteristics of subsystems and a complementary system at different time scales. Finally, the load tracking coefficient and coupling degree are used to quantify the complementarity degree of the hybrid power system. It is found that the fluctuation degree of the hybrid power system is smaller than that of the individual power system. Meanwhile, both fluctuation and complementary characteristics are strengthened with the increase in time scale. The proposed methods and results shift the volatility from an abstract concept to concrete representation, providing a new perspective and reference for evaluating the operational characteristics of the hybrid power system to achieve power system planning and scheduling. Full article
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