ME-401A – ENERGY SYSTEMS II

Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Kanpur

EXPERIMENT 1
PELTON TURBINE

GROUP NO. B2
Ayush Singh (150177)
Bhanupratap Niranjan (150182)
Bhuvan Beejawat (150190)
Biswajeet Rath (150194)
Brajesh Kumar (150196)

Date of Experiment : 23/08/2018

Date of Submission : 30/08/2018
Objectives:

 To learn the design and function of a Pelton turbine

 To determine the characteristic curves of a Pelton turbine

Introduction:

Water turbines are important components of hydroelectric power stations. Their task is to convert
the potential energy in water into mechanical energy which is provided to power electric
generators. Pelton turbines are the preferred turbines for hydro-power when the available water
source has relatively high hydraulic head at low flow rates. It is an impulse type water turbine.
Depending on water flow and design, Pelton wheels operate best with heads from 15–1,800
metres, although there is no theoretical limit.

Experimental setup:

The experimental setup consists of an impeller, a needle nozzle used as the control device, a band
brake for loading the turbine. The impeller is housed in a transparent front panel so as to see the
water flow through impeller and the nozzle during operation. The diameter of the nozzle is 10
mm. The cross-section of the nozzle and the flow rate are modified by adjusting the needle. The
blades have the shape of a double cup separated by the splitter.

The volume flow rate is measured by calculating the time required to fill the tank from 20 to 30
litres. A digital tachometer is used to determine the angular velocity. The pressure is noted from
the manometer. The torque acting on the runner is measured from the net braking force imposed
by the band brakes.

Working principle:

In Pelton turbine, the water jet is accelerated in a nozzle and emerges with atmospheric pressure.
After free flight, water jet strikes the blades of the impeller tangentially, and diverted by about
160⁰ to 165⁰ which creates a change in angular momentum. The energy available at the turbine is
only kinetic energy and it works under atmospheric pressure.

The spear at the end of the nozzle is used to control the volume flow rate of the incoming water
jet. The rotating part of the turbine is called the runner which has buckets attached to its
periphery. A casing is present in the front to prevent the splashing of the water and to discharge
water to the tail stock.
Results and Discussions:

Sample calculation:

Spear position: 0
Pressure: 0.3 bar
10
Volume flow rate, 𝑄 = 21.06 = 0.475 𝑙/𝑠
𝑝.𝑄 0.3∗0.475
Input hydraulic power, 𝑃ℎ𝑦𝑑 = 1000 ∗ 105 = ∗ 105 = 14.245 𝑊
1000

Torque (M) at the shaft,

𝑀 = 𝐹 ∗ 𝐿𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑟𝑚 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠
where lever arm D = 0.05m
0.05
Hence, 𝑀 = 4.7 ∗ = 0.1175 𝑁𝑚
2

Power (Pav) at turbine shaft,

𝑀 ∗ 2𝜋𝑁 0.1175 ∗ 2 ∗ 𝜋 ∗ 460

𝑃𝑎𝑣 = [𝑊] = = 5.66 𝑊
60 60
Efficiency,
𝑃𝑎𝑣 5.66
= 𝜂= = 39.73%
𝑃ℎ𝑦𝑑 14.245
(𝑇 + 0.012) ∗ 𝜔
𝜂′ = = 43.71%
𝜌𝑔𝐻𝑄
where 𝜂′ is the efficiency without the shaft seal

Performance curves:

0.18 6
0.16
5
0.14
Torque (N-m)

0.12 4
Power (W)

0.1
3
0.08
0.06 2
0.04
1
0.02
0 0
150 350 550 750 950 150 350 550 750 950
Speed (RPM) Speed (RPM)
 50
45
40
35

Efficicency
30
25
eta
20
eta'
15
10
5
0
150 350 550 750 950
Speed (RPM)

Figure 1: Performance curves for spear position 0

0.16 6

0.14
5
0.12
4
Torque (N-m)

0.1
Power (W)

0.08 3
0.06
2
0.04
1
0.02
0 0
150 350 550 750 950 150 350 550 750 950
Speed (RPM) Speed (RPM)

50
45
40
35
Efficiency

30
25
eta
20
15 eta'
10
5
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Speed (RPM)

Figure 2: Performance curves for spear position 1

 0.1 3.5
0.09
3
0.08
0.07 2.5
Torque (N-m)

Power (W)
0.06 2
0.05
0.04 1.5
0.03 1
0.02
0.5
0.01
0 0
150 350 550 750 950 0 200 400 600 800 1000
Speed (RPM) Speed (RPM)

45
40
35
30
Efficiency

25
20 eta
15 eta'
10
5
0
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Speed (RPM)

Figure 3: Performance curves for spear position 3

45 50
40
35 40
30 eta'0
Efficiency

Efficiency

eta0 30
25
eta1 eta'1
20
eta3 20 eta'3
15
10 10
5
0 0
150 650 150 650
Speed (RPM) Speed (RPM)

Figure 4: Comparison of η (left) and η’ (right) for three different spear positions
Maximum power is obtained at different load conditions for the three spear positions. Efficiency
can be increased by removing the internal friction torque which has also been plotted for
comparison.

Conclusions:

 The graph of load vs speed is a constantly decreasing curve as torque is inversely

proportional to speed.
 Maximum power output for a turbine occurs at a particular load-speed condition. This
value is different for the three different spear positions.
 The maximum efficiency also occurs at the same conditions as maximum power as the
input hydraulic power is constant.
 A complete range of readings are not possible due to increased vibrations at high load.

Sources of error:

 Error can be induced while measuring time using stopwatch for calculating volume flow
rate.
 There can be parallax errors while taking the reading of volume and while taking the load
reading in the band brakes.
 The vibrations induced at higher loads can also lead to incorrect readings for the load.
 The value in the digital tachometer, while measuring the angular speed, was also
fluctuating. This could lead to some error in the final results.