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Greenfield Projects Services
CHC has successfully completed a number of Greenfield hydro projects, working closely with developers to help them select and acquire a site for a proposed new hydro development. CHC provides early engineering support and works closely with the developer’s engineers to select the plant design and equipment configuration that will best suit the site, maximize the economic potential of the project while minimizing construction costs and environmental impact. CHC can also provide valuable input and assistance to facilitate and accelerate project approvals and permits as well as support the customer’s efforts with funding or grant applications the project may qualify for.
CHC has completed or is conducting research and development in the following areas:
- Development of CHC’s next-generation Axial Flow Pit Turbine;
- Development of state-of-the-art hydraulic blade actuation systems for high head vertical Kaplan turbines;
- Design and fabrication technologies for large scroll cases;
- Development of advanced pattern methods for large castings;
- Improvements in the accuracy and usability of advanced machine tooling;
- Improvements in turbine runner and blade manufacturing processes;
- Open flume turbine technology;
- Controls technology.
In 2016, CHC joined forces with a team of graduate students and professors at Queen’s University to work on a 3-year research project that will result in advanced computational fluid dynamic (CFD) capabilities being brought to CHC. The research focuses specifically on documenting the way water flows through and around CHC’s pit design, helping our engineers to better predict and even improve the performance of the pit turbines. The University’s faculty of Engineering and Applied Science will be conducting the research and testing in its brand new laboratory. The lab is home to OTTER - the Optical Towing Tank for Energetics Research - where the flow of water in relation to the size and shape of a CHC submerged pit will be captured and recorded using high-speed laser cameras and measurements.
The Enerdu Expansion project located on the Mississippi River in Almonte, Ontario, where a pair of 2000 mm axial flow pit turbines are being installed, is the perfect opportunity for CHC to confirm its engineering data, bring CFD capabilities to the company and provide a fully operational demonstration site to other potential CHC customers.
The joint research project allows CHC to take advantage of a research grant program offered by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC).