skip to main content
Objects and Methods : Power Reservoir Methods : User Methods : Avoidance Zones
Avoidance Zones
This category depends on selecting the Unit Power Table method and contains methods for modeling the existence of undesirable regions of operation for turbines. There are two methods in this category, one which does not model avoidance zones at all, and one which
* None
This the default, do-nothing method; avoidance zones are not considered.
* Unit Head Based Avoidance Zones
This method allows the user to specify a table that defines the conditions in which the turbines should not be operated.
Slots Specific to This Method
Note:  Many of these slots have column or row dimensions based on the number of units. The rows snf columns of these slots are expanded at the beginning of the run to match the value in the Number of Units slot. When first configuring this method, the user must enter the Number of Units, then run the model (stepping through one timestep is enough) to grow the slots to the right dimensions.
 Unit Avoidance Zones Table
Type: TableSlot
Units: Length, Power, Power
Description: This table represents zones in the Unit Power Table that should be avoided for operations.
Information: The avoidance zone table has one block per unit and three columns per block: head, power at bottom of the avoidance zone, power at the top of the avoidance zone. This table effectively removes regions from the Unit Power Table. The regions removed might have to be interpolated between points in the table. Heads that appear in this table must appear in the Unit Power Table as well.
I/O: Required Input
 
Unit 1
Unit 2
Operating Head (ft)
Min. Power at Zone Bottom
(MW)
Max. Power at Zone Top
(MW)
Operating Head (ft)
Min. Power at Zone Bottom
(MW)
Max. Power at Zone Top
(MW)
100
4.5
6
100
8
9
200
5
6.4
200
9
9.5
300
6
7
300
9.2
9.9
Method Details 
In Simulation, the dispatch method will execute this method once head and power are computed for each unit. This method will determine if the computed head and power fall inside an avoidance zone. If so, the method will issue an error but not stop the run. If the method is called and there is no valid Unit Power, then the method is exited without performing any computations.
Revised: 12/06/2024