Penstocks at the Grand Coulee Dam's third powerhouse.

Penstocks are sluices or gates or intake structures that control water flow, or enclosed pipes that deliver water to hydraulic turbines and sewerage systems. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (960x1280, 206 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Penstock ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (960x1280, 206 KB) Summary Licensing File links The following pages link to this file: Penstock ... Grand Coulee Dam Grand Coulee Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam on the Columbia River in Washington, built by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. ... A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate. ... Tokyo floodgates to protect from typhoon surges. ... Kaplan turbine and electrical generator cut-away view. ... The word sewerage means the provision of pipes etc to collect and dispose of sewage. ...

Penstocks for hydroelectric installations are normally equipped with a gate system and a surge tank. Flow is regulated by turbine operation and is nil when turbines are not in service. Maintenance requirements may include hot water wash, manual cleaning, antifoulant coatings, and desiccation. Hydroelectric dam diagram The waters of Llyn Stwlan, the upper reservoir of the Ffestiniog Pumped-Storage Scheme in north Wales, can just be glimpsed on the right. ... WWII era steam turbine used for ship propulsion. ...

Penstocks are also used in mine tailings dam construction, the penstock is usually situated fairly close to the center of the tailings dam and built up using penstock rings, these penstock rings control the water level letting the slimes settle out of the water, this water is then piped back under the tailings dam back to the plant via a penstock pipeline.

Similar structures which are not enclosed are head races or leats (non elevated), and flumes (elevated). A leat (occasionally and archaically spelt lete) is a name, particularly common in the south-west of England for a man-made watercourse, or a makeshift aqueduct. ... This flume diverts water from the White River in Washington to generate electricity A flume is a waterwork with open water table, that leads water from a diversion weir completely aside a natural flow. ...

External links

• Penstock crossections for the Grand Coulee Dam