Report on siphon penstocks for hydroelectric projects

This report on the use of siphon penstocks for hydroelectric installations has been prepared under DOE Contract DE-AC07-82ID12356 by Acres International Corporation and draws extensively on the information and data assembled by the following organizations: The purpose of the study was to review the design, construction, operation, and maintenance considerations for siphon penstocks. The discussions, data, and information presented are based on experiences with the following operational siphon penstock plants: A general description of siphon penstocks is presented in Section 2. The benefits and drawbacks of siphon penstocks are summarized in Section 3. Sections 4, 5, 6, and 7 contain a review of the design, construction, operation, and maintenance considerations. The comparative costs of siphon penstocks versus conventional designs are discussed in Section 8. Recommendations for future design, based on the experiences with the above listed projects, are presented in Section 9. Section 10 contains the conclusions which have been made from the review of siphon penstock installations.