ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Modeling the Profit from Hydropower
Plant Energy Generation Using
Dimensional Analysis
Mária Čarnogurská1, Miroslav Příhoda2, Martina Zeleňáková3, Marián Lázár1, Tomáš Brestovič1
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1Technical University of Košice, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Department of Power Engineering,
Košice, Slovakia
2VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava, Faculty of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering,
Department of Thermal Engineering,
Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
3Technical University of Košice, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Environmental Engineering,
Košice, Slovakia
Submission date: 2015-08-04
Final revision date: 2015-10-12
Acceptance date: 2015-10-12
Publication date: 2016-01-25
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2016;25(1):73-81
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ABSTRACT
Our work presents the original mathematical model, which can be determined on the basis of the actual
profits from electricity production in pumped storage hydropower plants (PSHP). The derived relationship
was obtained by the dimensional analysis of the relevant physical parameters describing the production of
energy. The main purpose of this paper is to prove whether a dimensional analysis can be a useful tool to
describe the economic aspect of the phenomenon, as proved by its worth when examining technical phenomena.
The mathematical model has been derived for PSHP Ružín in Slovakia, but its validity, based on
the similarity theory, can be extended to any pumping power plant that works with the influx of water into
the upper storage reservoir, and/or without the feed, respectively. The article discusses the effects of various
parameters on the operating profit for the turbine operations and the costs associated with the pumping
operation.