Modeling of Hydrodynamic Parameters of the Kouilou-Niari River for Energy Efficiency of the Sounda Gorges Hydroelectric Power Plant in Republic of Congo
The paper models Kouilou-Niari River hydrodynamics at Sounda to estimate hydropower potential using long-term (1952-2013) flow data and energy-balance relationships. It quantifies seasonal discharge contrasts and propagates these into power and annual energy estimates for candidate turbine configurations. The main result is that a 4-Francis configuration at a net head near 68.5 m yields the best reported compromise, with high installed capacity and capacity factor relative to the other variants.
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