Tonstad-Hydropower-Desander - Tonstad - High Head Hydro Power Plant - Norway

Tonstad Hydro Power Plant with its 3,6TWh annual production and a capacity of 960MW is the largest HPP in Norway. Due to competent rock quality, the power water way is unlined and at the surge tank location a rock-sand trap is installed to prevent gravel transport to the turbines. The increase of capacity led to higher turbulences caused by mass oscillations and negatively influenced the performance of the rock-sand trap. With the help of numerical investigations the dynamic behavior of the power water system is analyzed and improvements to the hydraulic performance are developed at Graz University of Technology. The physical model test of the scheme is set up at Trondheim technical university. This cooperation provides an excellent opportunity for scientific knowledge exchange between Norway and Austria.