In the depths of the Tabara Reservoir, surrounded by mountains, a powerful heart from China begins to beat. With the launch of the largest capacity hydroelectric turbine, this energy heavyweight that concerns Pakistan's national economy and people's livelihood is accelerating its formation, adding a solid footnote to China Pakistan energy cooperation.

Recently, the turbine of Unit 1 of the Tabela Phase V expansion project in Pakistan, independently developed by Harbin Electric Power Group, has been officially completed and put into operation. The unit has a single capacity of 504 megawatts, making it the largest hydroelectric unit exported by China at present. This shipment marks a key breakthrough in the development of core equipment for the benchmark energy project in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The project holds a significant position

The Tabera Hydropower Station is known as the Three Gorges Project in Pakistan, integrating multiple functions such as power generation, flood control, and cross basin irrigation. It is the largest and most critical power hub in Pakistan, maintaining the country's energy supply lifeline. The fifth phase expansion project of Tabera, undertaken by the consortium of Harbin Electric Power Group, is a key energy cooperation project between China and Pakistan under the framework of the the Belt and Road Initiative, and has far-reaching significance in ensuring Pakistan's energy security, driving regional economic development, and deepening the all-weather strategic friendship between China and Pakistan. As the core power heart of hydropower units, the impeller directly determines the conversion efficiency of hydropower generation. The impeller completed and shipped this time is the largest overseas export impeller of Harbin Electric Group in terms of size and weight, and also the first large-scale mixed flow unit impeller in the local area.

Hardcore technology overcomes challenges

The Tambara Hydroelectric Power Station is located in the Indus River Basin, with a large amount of sediment deposition and complex operating conditions. It places extremely high demands on the stability and wear resistance of the turbine equipment, making its development extremely difficult. In response to various technological barriers, Harbin Electric Power Group has established a special R&D team to optimize and improve the entire R&D and manufacturing system. Innovative use of advanced technologies such as multi-layer composite processing and segmented stress relief has successfully solved industry problems such as easy deformation of large castings, high welding stress, and difficult control of machining accuracy.

In the research and development stage, the team combines the characteristics of ultra-low head and high flow operation of the unit, optimizes core parameters through multiple rounds of simulation and finite element analysis, and builds a solid data foundation for high-quality production. The entire manufacturing process is finely controlled, and in terms of sediment erosion protection, a hard coating thermal spraying strengthening process is adopted to effectively improve the wear resistance of equipment and extend the service life of the unit under complex working conditions. In the end, all performance indicators of the wheel are superior to industry standards, and it can achieve stable operation at full load from 0 to 100%, suitable for multiple power generation conditions. Keywords: the Belt and Road News, China Pakistan Corridor, Tabella Hydropower

Steady progress in engineering construction

The successful development and delivery of this core runner is an important achievement of China Pakistan energy in-depth cooperation, vividly demonstrating China's manufacturing strength and technical advantages of high-end hydropower equipment, further consolidating China's leading position in the global hydropower field, and helping the Belt and Road energy cooperation to achieve high-quality implementation. At present, all the embedded parts of the tailwater pipes for the three units of the project have been installed and accepted. The installation of the snail shell for the first unit has entered the final stage, and water pressure and stress tests are planned to be carried out. The welding and lifting work of the seat rings for the remaining units is progressing in an orderly manner, and the overall installation project of the main engine has been fully launched.Editor/Gong Ziwei