This is a detailed analysis of the power generating capabilities of Bagnell Dam given known operational parameters. What I've done is to analyze the performance of the dam, based on licensed flow rates, energy sales, efficiency analysis and the geometry of the dam itself.
The analysis avoids anything above high school algebra so it shouldn't be too hard to follow, but it is rather detailed. In the end, we discover that the dam design matches well to flow rates for the Osage river basin but within licensed flow rates is still in fact capable of producing over 10% more energy than it currently does.
On a personal note, this took me far longer to do than I thought it would. I wish I had paid more attention in my civil engineering class.
How Much Electricity Can Bagnell Dam Produce?
