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How to Calculate Dam Outflow

The U.S. enjoys the benefits of the abundance power from the renewable energy of dams. All over the world, countries have constructed dams to take advantage of the natural flow of water for power generation. Some experts are concerned with the amount of water that passes through these dams. Using a standard efficiency metric, you can calculate the dam outflow from the power generated.

Instructions

- 1
  Determine the amount of watts (or joules/second) the dam you are observing is generating. In addition, find the height of the water level above the dam generator and the efficiency of the generator. These can be obtained from the power company or public information about the dam.
- 2
  Use the standard equation for hydraulic power. The equation is energy is equal to the mass of the water, times the height it is falling times the force of gravity: E = mgh
- 3
  Solve for the actual energy produced by the falling water dividing the generated energy by the efficiency. If we assume the efficiency is 75 percent and generated power is 40 megajoules/second, the equation would follow: 40/.75 = 53.3 MJ/second = 53,333,333 joules/second
- 4
  Replace the new energy in the formula and solve for the mass per second that is passing through the dam. Gravity is equal to 9.8 meters per second squared and we can assume the height is 200 meters above the generator. The dam outflow is equal to:
  
  E=mgh
  
  53,333,333 = m(9.8)(200)
  
  m = 27,194 (Kg/second)

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