HyCon™

Digital turbine governor

Voith Hydro is a global leader in hydropower plant single source to ensure complete service and seamless avail-
­equipment and services for both new and modernization ability for your hydropower plant and all of its components and
projects. systems.

Our reputation for excellence in products and services is Our automation solutions are based on a variety of subsys-
based on reliability, trust and commitment in long-lasting, tems that ensure a safe, reliable and cost-effective operation
partnering relationships with owners and operators around the through our long-term process know-how and control system
globe. expertise in hydropower applications.

This applies to overall plant engineering as well as to single From these systems, the turbine governor is central to control
component and system design in electrical and hydraulic ma- the hydro electric process. Our HyCon digital turbine gover-
chines, including the entire range of hydropower plant control nors offer perfect solutions for hydropower control.
concepts and systems. We offer hydro automation from a
At a glance

Today’s technology meets long-term experience. Our governors has been sucessfully implemented in a vast
tailor-made solutions help you to control the process. number of hydropower plants of every type and size all
The proven control philosophy applied in HyCon turbine over the world.

The ability to control a hydropower unit and the quality of the Remarkable features of the HyCon digital turbine Main functions Other features
electric power it provides largely depends upon the perfor- governor • Excellent dynamic performance

mance of the turbine governing system. Voith Hydro is devel- The HyCon digital governors offer a wide extend of control • Flexible to stabilize pressure oscillations in complex

oping and manufacturing the core components of the turbine ++ All operation modes available modes to operate any kind of turbine in a safe and dynamic water passages
governor systems for more than 115 years. Today over 18.000 ++ Meets and surpasses all relevant international standards manner: • Primary and secondary control

complete turbine governors were delivered and installed ++ Advanced control concepts • S peed control • Quick step response

worldwide by Voith. ++ Open communication standards • Power control • Advanced stability for reference action of the control loop

++ Parameter access and change without engineering tools • Water level control • Advanced stability for disturbance action of the

The HyCon digital governor is designed as an integral part of ++ Independent local operation • Flow control control loop
our HyCon Control System family. Our digital governors com- ++ Wide range of redundancy concepts • Pump control • Optimized interaction with our Thyricon excitation system

bine leading-edge technology with concepts that have proven ++ Hard- and software diagnosis in the PLC controller
their reliability and performance under all operating conditions ++ Flexible remote access solutions Furthermore, our extensive process know-how as a turbine
over many years. By using the best hardware and software manufacturer enables us to supply
available it offers the highest availability. Because of its modular • optimized functions for surge control

and flexible design, the governor can be customized to satisfy • individual servomotor control

the requirements of every type of turbine. Our governors are • multi-needle control.

designed to meet the high level of safety standards embedded

in all Voith products. The HyCon digital governor has included The system is designed for fully automatic operation. How-
all control modes required for any type of turbine. ever, the operator can get detailed information about the
­status of turbine and governor via local and remote operator
stations. This makes sure a safe and efficient operation and
monitoring.

Limberg II, Austria

Governor control structure

Head

Speed
Speed Opening
limiter Position control loop
PID(P) controller Logic

Amplifier Servomotor
f
M
Freque. I Turbine
Infl. N
Pilot characteristics
Head

Start openings Geno

Gate position
Power/ transducer
frequency
PI control
Digital governor
Output

Frequency

2 3
 Solutions for added value

HyCon digital turbine governors provide outstanding

reliability, functionality and safety.

Hardware Software Flexible system Independent local operation

The HyCon digital turbine governor is based on Siemens The HyCon digital turbine governor software is based on well Due to its modular structure the system can easily be applied As an added value, our HyCon turbine governor provides for
­SIMATIC S7 components, which represent a globally accept- known SIMATIC standards like Step7, CFC (Continuous Func- to both large and small hydropower plants. In addition, the independent local operation using an operator panel. This is
ed and well established industrial standard, characterized by tion Chart) and WinCC. concept flexibility of the HyCon governor fits well for both new helpful in special cases like commissioning, recommissioning
• Highest quality and reliability plants and modernization projects. It is our mission to have a after maintenance work or in emergency cases. All functional-
• Worldwide availability of spare parts and support We offer: solution for any hydropower automation challenge. ity to operate the system and detailed information about the
• Proven technology applied in a wide range of industries • Modular and flexible systems status of turbine and governor is available at the panel.
with highly demanding requirements • Graphic user interface Due to the extensive possibilities for parameterization, the
• Easy and efficient parameterization digital turbine governor can be set up and adapted easily with- Open communication
Electric – Hydraulic Interface • Extensive diagnostic functions for fast and optimal out having the need to do any kind of programming. This ”Profibus DP used as the preferred solution of HyCon gover-
The interface between the digital part of the turbine governor maintenance. means flexibility and integrated safety by using well-tested nors to communicate to decentralized IOs is the most widely
and the hydraulic part can be realized in several different components. used field bus system with more than 28 million installations
ways. One Voith Hydro’s own development is the so called Furthermore, the hydro specific functions of our HyCon gov- worldwide. In addition a wide range of open interfaces includ-
VCA3 output amplifier card. This is a power amplifier for servo ernors allow for meeting various demands for different turbine ing IEC 60870-5-101/103/104 and IEC 61850 is supported.
valves of the moving coil type with closed loop control for ser- types and specific operation modes of hydropower machines. Redundancy concepts Also widely used communication standards like ModBus or
vomotor position. Additional current or voltage output for con- As a result of perfect design and the use of highly reliable ProfiNet are supported by the HyCon Governor.”
trol of servo valves or proportional valves with integrated am- The HyCon digital turbine governor is designed as an integral components, single systems without redundancy offer an ex-
plifier is provided. The VCA3 is providing performance features part of our HyCon control system family making it more traordinary high level of reliability. In addition, we offer solu-
differentiating this solution from others like: ­beneficial for operation, maintenance and spare parts tions to further increase the availability of the system. These
• Servomotor position control with both proportional and management. scalable redundancy concepts fulfill all needs from redundant
switchable derivate components CPUs to redundant actors and sensors.
• Capable of changeover to manual set-point with built-in It is also compatible with third-party control systems due to its
push buttons open and flexible interfaces and can be integrated into new as
• Opening limitations adjustable via analogue signal well as into existing hydropower plants.
• Current or voltage input for set-point

• Completely drift free

• Programmable interface and manual parameter/

set-point adjustments

Hardware integration Independant local operation

Unit control

Turbine governor

Actors, sensors

4 5
Components for an optimum control

Intelligent add-on modules implement our long-term

­process know-how to extend and optimize the usability
of HyCon governors.

Real-time simulator Cam curve optimization Safety Hydraulic mechanical governor components
Due to its modular structure the HyCon turbine governor can The basic data for the programmed gate-blade relationship, Our turbine governor is designed to meet the high level of Optimally aligned hydraulic mechanical governor components
be easily adapted to specific plant conditions based on a the so called cam curve, of Kaplan and bulb turbines contains safety standards embedded in all Voith products to ensure an help the digital turbine governor to play its strength. To add
wealth of sophisticated and well-tested modules. unavoidable inaccuracies. This leads to more or less discrep- optimum of safety for the user, the equipment and the envi- matching actuators to the digital governor, we design and de-
ancies in the unit and plant output compared to the optimum. ronment. liver:
For critical water passages or complex closed-loop controlled • Electro-hydraulic amplifiers

systems, Voith Hydro offers a hardware-in-the-loop simulation We offer a module to fully automatically optimize the cam An alarm system provides detailed information for the opera- • Control valves

based on SimsenRT that provides the simulation of a com- curve that directly results in optimizing the profitability of the tor. The clear representation of this data allows fast and effi- • Precisely positioning servomotors

plete hydropower plant for testing the specific governor imple- hydropower plant. cient tracking of any faults.
mentation under realistic conditions. This can be done even in Voith delivers all components for further hydraulic control
the factory. systems like:
• Ring gate controls

Simsen and its real-time variant SimsenRT, both developed at • Butterfly valve controls

Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), are soft- • Spherical valve controls

ware packages for simulation of hydropower plants and elec- • Sleeve valve controls

trical grids including all components. • Gate controls for intake and draft tube

• Torque converter controls

Using this tool, specific plant conditions can be investigated in • Pressure relief valve controls

detail including optimization of existing functions and the test-

ing of new control strategies.

1 Test rig for individual gate control

2 Hydraulic mechanical components

Real-time simulator Model of Power Unit within simulation

Transformer Generator
y = f(x)
VH
VReg Prog

Voltage regulator

Satur

Turbine governor

Turbine

PC with SimsenRT
Turbine governor

VH
Lag SReg UDLimit.

1 2

6 7
 1 2

1 Estreito, Brazil
2 Akköy II, Turkey

1891 First mechanical governor 2010 Salto Pilao, Brazil

t3356e
2 x 93 MW Francis turbines
1998 Guangzhou II, China:
4 x 350 MW Pump turbines 2011 Budarhals, Iceland:
2 x 40 MW Kaplan turbines
2003 Gibel Gibe II, Africa:
4 x 125 MW Pelton turbines 2011 Frades II, Portugal:
2 x 380 MW variable speed pump turbine
2004 Foyers, Scotland:
2 x 150 MW Pump turbines 2011 KARGI, Turkey:
2 x 52 MW Francis turbines
2006 Rheinfelden, Switzerland:
4 x 25 MW Bulb turbines 2011 Rongnichu, India:
2 x 48 MW Pelton turbines
2006 Limberg II, Autria:
2 x 240 MW Pump turbines 2012 Alfalfal II, Chile:
2 x 140 MW Pelton turbines
2007 Estreito, Brazil:
8 x 135 MW Kaplan turbines 2012 Cambambe 2, Angola:
4 x 175 MW Francis turbines
2008 Akköy II, Turkey:
2 x 117 MW Pelton turbines 2012 Las Lajas, Chile:
2 x 142 MW Pelton turbines

Voith Hydro Holding GmbH & Co. KG

Alexanderstraße 11
89522 Heidenheim, Germany
Tel. +49 7321 37 0
Fax +49 7321 37 7828

www.voith.com

A Voith and Siemens Company