Niagara Falls 100.000-Hp. Development

Niagara Falls 100,000 Hp. Development [5 of plans. In addition to those engineers who have con- tributed to this symposium and installments which are to follow it is desired to express appreciation of the effi- ciency and co-operation of Ross R. Coddington, general superintendent, whose aggressive and efficient personal direction of the construction work made possible the balance and speed with which the various parts of the work were completed in proper co-ordination without sacrifice of quality or perfection in workmanship. Also Benjamin F. Lee, operating superintendent, whose re- sourcefulness and experience overcame all obstacles in operating the older plants of the system during the in- terference of both mechanical and electrical construc- tion by the building of this extension. General Engineering Problems Involved in the Development Steps Taken to Assure Ample Water in Winter—Verti- cal Units Allow for Large Fluctuations in Tailwater Elevation—Study of Draft Tube Requirements By George R. Shepard Assistant chief engineer Niagara Falls Power Company AT THE time of the United States’ entry into the war . the Niagara Falls Power Company was entitled to draw from the Niagara River not to exceed 8,600 cubic- foot-seconds (240.8 cu.m, per second) and the Hydraulic Power Company was entitled to 6,500 cubic-foot-seconds (182 cu.m, per second). Very soon thereafter the need for power for war industries became so great that the War Department issued additional permits to both com- panies to cover the maximum output of the apparatus then installed. After the merger of the two companies and the agreement of the consolidated company to pro- ceed immediately with a new development, a permit was issued for the entire amount of water available at Niagara Falls under the treaty, or 19,500 cubic-foot- seconds (546 cu.m, per second). Fifteen thousand one hundred second-feet (422.8 cu.m, per second) of this could be utilized by the normal capacity of the existing plants, leaving a balance of 4,400 cubic-foot-seconds (123 cu.m, per second) for the new development. The total diversion can be obtained continuously be- cause the Niagara River is the natural outlet of a drain- age area of about 300,000 square miles (750,000 sq.km.), making the variation of the river flow from normal comparatively small, although there is a small seasonal variation. Variations of greater amount are caused by winds and occasionally by ice jams but last only for a short period of time. Therefore, except for severe ice conditions, the river fluctuations are not an operating problem, nor will they be until there is considerably more diversion. The combination of extremely uniform flow and a fixed maximum diversion limit placed the company in a posi- tion where load factor was, as it still is, the controlling economic element. Unless the company maintains con- tinuously its maximum diversion, there is a certain FIG. 3—AVERAGE OVER-ALL HYDRAULIC PLANT EFFICIENCY AT DIFFERENT OUTPUTS amount of energy absolutely lost not only to the com- pany but to the country in general. If the Niagara load were combined with a steam plant, economy would re- quire a reversal of the usual custom and a supply of the base load by the hydraulic plants and the peak by the steam plant. It seems therefore that Niagara power is economically suited for industries requiring a continu- ous twenty-four-hour load and that any service with an inherently low load factor represents an economic waste. The dire necessity for extreme speed in the develop- ment of power to meet the war demand for electro- chemical products decided the power company in utiliz- ing as far as possible its existing development to facili- tate the new development. The existing development consisted of a surface canal 100 ft. wide and 15 ft. deep, passing from the upper FIG. 4—EFFICIENCIES OF TWO TYPES OF DRAFT TUBES USED AT DIFFERENT RATES OF DISCHARGE river through the city about 5,000 ft. to a forebay overlooking the high bank of the lower Niagara River. At this point is Station No. 3, which took water from the canal through thirteen steel penstocks built outside of the cliff, though now concealed from view by a face wall. The water was delivered under a 212-ft. head to thirteen horizontal turbines of 10,000 hp. each.