5.

Special Purpose Vehicles and basic hydraulics

Syllabus:

 Purpose and Types of SPVs

 Farm Tractors

 Earth Moving Vehicles

 Fluid properties

 Flow of Fluids

 Oil power hydraulics and pneumatics

 Hydraulic machinery
 1. SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES
1.1 INTRODUCTION
The Indian automotive industry is one of the biggest in the world and
growing rapidly globally. The Indian automobile industry produced 2,90,75,605
vehicles including passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, three-wheelers, two-
wheelers and quadricycle in April-March 2018 as against 2,53,30,967 in April-
March 2017, registering a growth of 14.78 per cent over the same period last
year. In terms of the global ranking in manufacturing output, India is the second
largest in two-wheelers, eighth largest in commercial vehicle, sixth largest in
passenger cars and the largest in tractors.
The automobile segment comprises the following four broad categories of
vehicles.
 Two-wheelers and three-wheelers

 Passenger vehicles

 Commercial vehicles

 Special application vehicles

Two-wheelers, being the most popular means of personal transport, account for
about 80 per cent (as per 2015-16 data) of the total automobile production in
India, while passenger vehicles account for nearly 16 per cent of the production.
However, owing to their lower price, two-wheelers account for only around
32 per cent of the sales in terms of value, while passenger vehicles account for
around 62 per cent of sales.
In this Unit, we will study the different types of vehicles used in our
country viz., two-wheeler, three- wheeler, passenger vehicles, commercial
vehicles, agricultural vehicles, construction equipment vehicles and special
application vehicles.
 1.2 TWO-WHEELERS AND THREE-WHEELERS
1.2.1 TWO-WHEELERS
As the name suggests, two-wheeler refers to vehicles that run on two
wheels. Two-wheelers are used all over the world. In developed, rich
countries, two-wheelers are used more for recreational purpose, whereas in
our country it is an important means of transportation of passengers, both in
urban as well as rural areas. India has the largest population of two-wheelers.
More than 5.4 million two-wheelers are produced in our country every year.
Motorcycles, scooters and mopeds are the categories of two-wheelers used in
our country. Motorcycles account for about 78 per cent in the two-wheeler
segment. Remaining 22 per cent comprise scooters and mopeds.
India is the second largest manufacturer of two-wheelers in the world. In
the last few years, the Indian two-wheeler industry has seen massive growth.
The country stands next to China and Japan in terms of production and
sales, respectively.
Majority of Indians, especially the youngsters, prefer motorcycles over cars.
Holding a large share in the two- wheeler industry, motorcycles and scooters
cover major areas, in terms of usage. Large varieties of two-wheelers are
available in the market that adopt latest technology and provide enhanced
mileage.

Benefits of Two-wheelers
A motorcycle is a motor-powered two-wheeler, similar in construction to
bicycles.
Two-wheelers are the most popular and highly sought after medium of
transport in India, as they offer many benefits, like —
(i) Economical price
(ii) Safety

(iii) Fuel-efficiency

There is an increasing trend of owning high- performance imported

motorcycles like Suzuki Hayabusa, Kawasaki Ninja, Suzuki Zeus and Honda
Unicorn.

Identification of Two-wheelers
You must have seen various types of two-wheelers in your locality or on
the roads. Every two-wheeler has a sticker of its model type and name of the
manufacturer. You can identify the make of the two-wheeler by the sticker or
logo fixed on its body. Two-wheeler manufacturers produce different models
each with different specifications. Popular brands of two-wheeler manufacturers
are Hero, Honda, Bajaj, TVS and Suzuki. Some of their popular models
include
Hero — Impulse, Splendor, CDdawn, Pleasure, Passion Plus
Bajaj — Pulsar, Discover, Platina
TVS — Apache, Star, Scooty Streak, Scooty Pep, Star City
Honda — Activa, Dio, Aviator
Suzuki — Access, Intruder M800, Zeus
These models vary in size, weight, dimension type and engine capacity.
1.2.2 THREE-WHEELERS
A three-wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels, either ‘human - or people-
powered vehicles’ (HPV or PPV) or motored vehicles in the form of a tri-
motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) or automobile.
Autorickshaws (often called auto) are common all over India, and
provide cheap and efficient transportation. Autorickshaws are found in villages,
cities and in the countryside. The new autorickshaws operate on CNG
(Compressed Natural Gas) and are environment-friendly. The average mileage of
an Indian-made autorickshaw is around 35 kilometres per litre of petrol.
Many major nationalized banks in India offer loans to self-employed
individuals seeking to buy autorickshaws. Important autorickshaw manufacturers
in India are Mahindra & Mahindra, Piaggio Ape, TVS Motors, Bajaj Auto,
Kerala Auto Limited and Force Motors (previously Bajaj Tempo).

Mostly, two types of autorickshaws are used in India — the older

versions in which the engine is fitted below the driver’s seat, and the newer
versions in which the engine is fitted in the rear portion. These autorickshaws
run well on petrol, CNG and diesel. A three-wheeler autorickshaw can
accommodate four persons including the driver. Some parts of Maharashtra
have six-seater rickshaws. In cities and towns across India, autorickshaw is
the backbone of city transport. Fare rates of these autorickshaws are
controlled by government agencies.
Several types of three-wheelers run with the support of motorcycle-based
fitted machines, which are called trikes. These trikes have a front single wheel,
the mechanics are quite similar to that of a motorcycle and the rear axle is similar
to that of a car. Many times, these vehicles are constructed by local
mechanics using a portion of the rear engine.
Similarly, many trikes including All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) are specially
constructed for off-road use. Mostly three-wheeled vehicles have either one
wheel at the back and two at the front, or one wheel at the front and two at the
back.

1.3 PASSENGER VEHICLES AND COMMERCIAL

VEHICLES
1.3.1 PASSENGER VEHICLES
A passenger vehicle refers to a machine that can carry a person or a
group of persons. There are different types of passenger vehicles like cars,
jeeps, tempos, etc. You must have seen various models of passenger vehicles
in your village, town or city. You must have also travelled in these passenger
vehicles.
The details of some of the popular models of cars, buses, jeep and
tempos have been illustrated below.
Car
A motor car or car is a vehicle used for transporting passengers, which
also carries its own engine or motor. Various popular cars in India are by
Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Honda, Mahindra, Datsun,
Volkswagen, Suzuki, etc. Nowadays, various car manufacturers of
international level have established in our country and have started production
of cars here.
Jeep
Jeep is the oldest vehicle used as an off-road vehicle. Willys Overland
produced the first Jeep. It is the marque of the brand Chrysler. It has
excellent off-road capabilities, and although it was designed primarily to aid
military requirements, the company started producing civilian models too by
changing the design. Various changes under different leaderships were also
made. Jeep is now part of the Chrysler Group LLC which is under Fiat Italy.
The company celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2011. Jeep is found in
many countries around the world, and the popular models are Jeep Grand
Cherokee, Jeep Patriot, Jeep Compass, Jeep Liberty, Jeep Commander and Jeep
Wrangler

1.3.2 COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

A commercial vehicle is a type of motor vehicle that is generally used for
transporting goods as well as passengers. Commercial vehicles support the
trade, commerce and industry of a country in a major way. Vehicles falling under
this category are mainly buses and trucks (Fig. 2.5). They help in transportation
of goods, shipping and handling of various commodities and so on. The
future of companies manufacturing these vehicles is quite bright in view of
India’s growing commercial sector.
Trucks are used for carrying goods and material in bulk. As per size and
functional use, trucks are classified into sub-categories — rigid trucks, tippers,
haulage, cabs, delivery vans and trailers. The fuel efficiency of these vehicles
has improved in the past few years. The major truck manufacturers in India
are Ashok Leyland, Tata Motors, Eicher, and Swaraj Mazda.
A bus is a huge commercial vehicle, said to have originated in France
in the year 1826 designed by Stanislas Baudry under the name of
‘Omnibus’. The main purpose of this vehicle is to carry the passengers as it
is a cost-effective medium of transportation.
The major producers of buses in India are Ashok Leyland and Tata
Motors, Swaraj Mazda,

Commercial vehicle (Bus)

Truck
 CNG Bus

1.4 AGRICULTURAL VEHICLES

Tractor
Agricultural vehicles are used for farming. They include tractors,
harvesters, etc. A tractor is a motor vehicle with large back wheels and thick
tyres and is used in farms for pulling machinery at a slow speed. Tractors are
mostly used for carrying the trailer or machinery used in agriculture or
construction. It can be said that a tractor is a farm vehicle that provides the
power and traction to mechanise agricultural tasks, especially (and
originally) tillage. Agricultural implements are pulled behind or mounted on the
tractor. The tractor also provides power to stationary equipment like thresher,
blower, etc. Tractors are heavy vehicles used for pulling or pushing
agricultural machinery or trailers at an extremely low speed. India is majorly
an agricultural country and tractors are used on a large scale. Tractors are
heavy vehicles and are used for carrying out agricultural operations in a
systematic way to get more output.
Modern tractors usually employ large diesel engines which range in power
output from 18 to 575 horsepower. The major producers of tractors in India are
TAFE, Eicher, Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Escorts, John Deer, Force Motors and
Swaraj Enterprise. ‘Tractor’ is the most commonly used term for the vehicle
used on farms.
 The farm tractor is used for plowing, tilling, disking, harrowing,
planting and similar tasks. A variety of specialty farm tractors have been
developed for different purposes. These include row crop tractors with
adjustable tread width to allow the tractor to pass down rows of corn,
tomatoes or other crops. Many utility tractors are used for non-farm grading,
landscape maintenance and excavation purposes, particularly with loaders,
backhoes, pallet forks and similar devices. Small garden or lawn tractors
designed for sub-urban and semi-rural gardening and landscape
maintenance also exist in a variety of configurations. Tractors with small
horsepower are known as power tillers. The durability and engine power of
tractors make them very suitable for engineering tasks.

Combine Harvester
The combine harvester is a machine that harvests grain crops. This machine
combines three separate operations — reaping, threshing and winnowing — into
a single process. Among the crops harvested with a combine are wheat, oats,
rye, barley, corn (maize), soybeans and flax (linseed). The waste straws left
behind on the field are dried stems and leaves of the crop with low nutrients. This
leftover straw is either chopped and spread on the field or baled for feed and
bedding for livestock. Combine harvesters are one of the most economically
important labour- saving inventions, enabling a small fraction of the population
to engage in agriculture.
 1.5 CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT VEHICLES
Lot of new roads, houses and industrial plants are being built these days.
You must have seen big machines being used at the construction sites to dig
earth. These are Special Purpose Automobiles and are sometimes called Earth
Moving Equipment.
There are several types of Earth Moving or Construction Equipment,
such as
(i) Bulldozers

(ii) Road rollers

(iii) Dumpers

(iv) Excavators

As their names suggest, they are used for various types of work like
digging or excavating earth and dumping it at a designated place. Road
rollers are used for levelling roads.

Bulldozer
It is a heavy vehicle with a large blade in the front, used for pushing the
earth and stones away and for making the ground flat at the same time. A
bulldozer is equipped with a heavy metal plate (blade) to push large quantities
of soil, sand, rubble and other such material during construction or
conversion work.
Bulldozers are generally used at sites like mines and quarries,
military bases, heavy industry factories, engineering projects and farms.
Typically, bulldozers are large and powerful tracked heavy equipment. The
tracks give them excellent ground hold and mobility through very rough terrains.
Bulldozers have great ground hold and a torque divider that is designed to
convert the power of the engine into dragging ability, which allows it to use its
own weight to push heavy objects and even remove things from the
ground.

Road Roller
Road Roller or soil compactor is a type of engineering vehicle used to
compact soil, gravel, concrete or asphalt in the construction of roads and
foundation. Similar rollers are used at landfills or in agriculture. A road roller
is used for making roads. It uses the weight of the vehicle to compress the
surface being rolled (static) or uses mechanical advantage (vibrating). Initial
compaction of the substrate on a road project is done using a pad foot drum
roller, which achieves higher compaction density due to the pads having less
surface area. On large roads, a four-wheel compactor with pad foot drum and a
blade is used due to its heavyweight, speed and the powerful pushing force to
Spread bulk material.
Dumper
It is a four-wheeled heavy machine vehicle designed for carrying bulk
material or transporting loose material at construction sites. It is also known as a
dump truck. Dumpers are operated by diesel engine. In a dumper truck, chassis
with a dump body is mounted to the frame. The bed is raised by a vertical
hydraulic ram mounted under the front of the body, or a horizontal hydraulic ram
and lever arrangement between the frame rails, and the back of the bed is
hinged at the back of the truck.
 Dumpers are also known as tippers. As per the need and requirement,
various types of dumper are being manufactured in the country. The cost of
these dumpers varies as per size.

Excavator
Excavator is the machine that can excavate the soil of various types
forcefully and then using hydraulic system a hydraulic force is generated and
utilizing this force bucket is pulled back towards the machine. The bucket of
excavator is replaceable. If the front bucket is exchanged with some other
attachments, for example, pile diver, hydraulic jack hammer, etc., then the
excavator can be used for multiple purposes. Excavator comes in numerous
sizes depending on bucket size, length of boom, length of arm and operation
speed. The performance of an excavator can be measured from the production
cycle. Production cycle is the time that an excavator takes to load the bucket
from source, swing, dump, return back and then dig again. Therefore, faster the
operation speed, the faster one cycle will complete and hence production cycle
will increase.
1.6 SPECIAL VEHICLES
In the previous sessions, we have covered passenger vehicles,
commercial vehicles, agricultural vehicles and construction equipment vehicles.
Automotive technology has several other applications also, some of which we
shall discuss in this session.
Railway locomotive is basically an automobile, but much bigger than a car,
bus or a truck. In the beginning, trains were pulled by locomotives which were
powered by steam. Nowadays, most rail engines run on diesel or electricity. In
India, rail is a very important means of transportation of goods
and passengers. As you know, a train cannot run on roads but runs on a
railway track.
Another application of automotive technology are the big machines which have
long extended arms for reaching high-rise buildings or the top of electric poles.
These are mounted on an automobile and the complete machine is called a
crane. Sometimes, the traffic police use a crane to lift cars which are wrongly
parked.:
 Another interesting application of an automobile is the forklift. A forklift is
used mostly in industry and in large warehouses for carrying components and
goods within the premises of the factory or the godown or warehouse. So, a
forklift is normally used for carrying goods for very short distances within the
four walls of a building but never on the outside road.
Tankers are also one of the automobile applications, which are used when
liquids like water, milk, oil, petrol, diesel, etc., are required to be transported to
long distances. These tankers have very big cylinders mounted horizontally
on the chassis of a specially built automobile. The capacity of these
tankers can vary. Sometimes, a warning sign ‘inflammable material’ is
written on the tankers that carry volatile fluids like petrol and diesel. This
warning is to caution people on the road to not bring any ignited object
like matchstick or firecrackers near the tanker. Petrol and diesel can catch
fire very easily since their flash point is very low and if there is any source of
intense heat or ignited objects, the tanker can catch fire and cause a lot of
damage.
It may be noted that sometimes these tankers are also mounted
on railway trains. Also, you may have seen pictures of tankers on a ship.
Similarly on roads, trailers are used for carrying heavy materials or
containers.
2.1 FARM TRACTORS
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Tractor is a self-propelled power unit having wheels or tracks for operating
agricultural implements and machines including trailers. Tractor engine is used as a
prime mover for active tools and stationary farm machinery through power-take off (PTO)
or belt pulley

wheel tractors

2.2 TRACTOR DEVELOPMENT

The present tractor is the result of gradual development of machine in different
stages. History of tractor development is given below.
1890- The word tractor appeared first on record in a patent issued on a tractor or traction
engine invented by George H. Harris of Chicago
1906- Successful gasoline tractor was introduced by Charles w. Hart and Charles H.
Parr of Charles City, Iowa
1908- First Winnipeg tractor trails were held
1911- First tractor demonstration was held at Omaha ( Nebraska)
1915-1919- Power take off was introduced
1920-1924- All purpose was developed
1936- 1937 – Diesel engine was used in tractor and pneumatic tires were introduced
1950-1960- Manufacturing of diesel tractors on extensive basis throughout the world
was taken up
1960-1961 – Tractor manufacturing was started in India by first manufacturer M/s Eicher
Good Earth
1962-1970 – Manufacturers like Tractor and Farm Equipment , Madras , Hindustan
tractors at Baroda, Escorts Tractors at Faridabad and International Harvester in Bombay
started work during this period
1971- Escorts Tractor Ltd. Started producing Ford Tractors 1973- Manufacture of HMT
Tractor was started
1974- Manufacture of Pitti and Kirlosker Tractor was started
1975- Harsha Tractors was established
1981- Auto tractors were started
1982- Universal Tractors was established
1983-2003- GTCL tractors, M.M Tractors, Sonalika, VST, L&T, Bajaj Tractors were
produced

2.3 CLASSIFICATION OF TRACTORS

Tractors can be classified into three classes on the basis of structural design
1. Wheel tractor
2. crawler tractor
3. walking type tractor

Wheel tractor

Tractors having three or four pneumatic wheels are called wheel tractors. Four
wheel tractors are popular everywhere

Three wheel tractor Four wheel tractor

Crawler tractor
This type is also called Track type tractor or Chain type tractor. In such tractors ,
there is endless chain or track in place of pneumatic wheels
 Crawler tractors
Power tiller

Power tiller is a walking type tractor. This tractor is usually fitted with two wheels
only. The direction of travel and its controls for field operation is performed by the
operator, walking behind the tractor

Power tillers

2.4 CLASSIFICATION OF WHEEL TRACTORS

On the basis of purpose, wheeled tractors are classified into three groups
a. General purpose tractor b. Row crop tractor
c. Special purpose tractor
a) General purpose tractor
It is used for major farm operations such as ploughing, sowing, harvesting and
transporting works. Such tractors have i) low ground clearance ii)Increased engine
power iii) good adhesion and iv) wide tyres
 General purpose tractors

b) Row crop tractors

It is used for row crop cultivation. Such tractor is provided with replaceable driving
wheels of different tread widths. It has high ground clearance to save damage of crops.
Wide wheel track can be adjusted to suit inter row distance

Row crop tractors

c) Special purpose tractor

It is used for definite jobs like cotton fields, marshy lands, hill sides, garden etc.
special designs are there for special purpose tractor.
Eg. a) Tractor with winch unit b) multi drive tractor c) tractor for golf grounds etc.

Tractor with winch unit Multi drive tractors

 tractor for golf grounds

2.5 SELECTION OF TRACTOR

Selection of tractors depend up on following factors
1. Land holding: Under a single cropping pattern, it is normally recommended to
consider 1 hp for every 2 hectare of land. In other words , one tractor 20-25 hp is
suitable for 40 hectare farm
2. Cropping pattern: Generally 1.5 hectare/hp has been recommended where
adequate irrigation facility is available and more than one crop is taken. So a 30-35 hp
tractor is suitable for 40 hectare of land.
3. Soil condition: A tractor with less wheel base , higher ground clearance and low
overall weight may work successfully in lighter soils buy will not be able to give sufficient
depth in black cotton soils
4. Climatic condition: For very hot zone and desert area , air cooled engines are
preferred over water cooled engines. Similarly for higher altitude air cooled engines are
preferred because water cooled engines are liable to be frozen at high altitudes
5. Repair facilities: It should be ensured that the tractor to be purchased has a dealer
at nearby place with all the technical skills for repair and maintenance of the machine.
6. Running cost: Tractors with less specific fuel consumption should be preferred over
others so that the running cost may be less.
7. Initial cost and resale value: While keeping the resale value in mind , the initial cost
should not be very high, otherwise higher amount of interest have to be paid
8. Test report: Test report of tractors released from farm machinery testing stations
should be consulted for guidance
2.6 WHEEL TRACTOR
Components
1. I.C Engine
2. Clutch
3. Transmission gears
4. Differential unit
5. Final drive
6. Real wheel
7. Front wheels
8. Steering mechanism
9. Hydraulic control and hitch system
10. Brakes
11. Power-take-off unit
12. Tractor pulley
13. Draw bar and
14. Control panel
1. I.C engine
Internal combustion of suitable horse power is used as a prime mover in a tractor.
Engines ranging from 8 to 200 hp are used in agricultural tractors. In India , four wheel
tractors for agricultural operations are fitted with 25-80 hp. Walking type tractors are
fitted with 8-12 hp engines
2. Clutch
Clutch is a device, used to connect and disconnect the tractor engine from the
transmission gears and drive wheels. Clutch transmits power by means of friction
between driving members and driven members
Necessity of clutch in a tractor
1. Engine needs cranking by any suitable device. For easy cranking, the engine is
disconnected from the rest of the transmission unit by the clutch. After starting the
starting the engine, the clutch is engaged to transmit the power from engine to gear box
2. In order to change the gears, the gear box must be kept free from engine power,
otherwise the gear teeth will be damaged and engagement of gears will be difficult. This
work is done by clutch
3. When the belt pulley of the tractor works in the field it needs to be stopped without
stopping the engine. This is done by a clutch
3. power transmission system of a tractor)
Transmission is a speed reducing mechanism, equipped with several gears. It
may be called a sequence of gears and shafts, through which the engine power is
transmitted to the tractor wheels. The system consists of various devices, which cause
forward and backward movement of tractor to suit different field conditions. The
complete path of power from engine to wheel is called power train
Functions of power transmission system
1. To transmit power from the engine to the rear wheels of the tractor
2. To make reduced speed available, to rear wheels of the tractor
3. To alter the ratio of wheel speed and engine speed in order to suit the field
conditions
4. To transmit power through right angle drive, because the crankshaft and rear axle
are normally at right angles to each other.
The power transmission system consists of :
1. Clutch 2. Transmission gears
3. Differential 4. Final drive
5. Rear axle 6. Rear wheels
4. Transmission gears
A tractor runs at high speed, but the rear wheel of the tractor requires power at
low speed and high torque. That’s why it becomes essential to reduce the engine speed
and increase the torque available at the rear wheel of the tractor because
2ΠNT
Power, kW = ------------
60 X 1000
Where,
T is torque in Newton –meter
N = speed in rev/min
If engine power is constant, it is obvious that for higher torque at wheels , low speed
is required and vice versa.. So gear box is fitted between engine and rear wheels for
variable speed and torque.
5. Differential unit
 Differential unit is a special arrangement of gears to permit one of the rear wheels of
the tractor to rotate slower or faster than the other. While turning the tractor on a curved
path, the inner wheel has to travel lesser distance than the outer wheel. The inner wheel
requires lesser power than the outer wheel. This condition is fulfilled by differential unit,
which permits one of the rear wheels of the tractor to move faster than the other at a
turning point.
Differential Lock
Differential lock is a device to join both half axles of the tractor so that even if one
wheel is less resistance , the tractor comes out of the mud etc. as both wheels move
with the same speed and apply equal traction.
6. Final drive
Final drive is a gear reduction unit in the power trains between differentials and drive
wheels. Final drive transmits the power finally to the rear axle and the wheels. The
tractor rear wheels are not directly attached to the half shafts but the drive is taken
through a pair of spur gears. Each half shaft terminates in a small gear which meshes
with a large gear called bull gear. The bull gear is mounted on a shaft, carrying the
tractor rear wheel. The device for final speed reduction, suitable for tractor rear wheels is
known as final drive mechanism.
7. Steering mechanism
The system, governing the angular movement of front wheels of a tractor is called
steering system. This system minimizes the efforts of the operator in turning the front
wheels with the application of leverages. The different components of steering system
are i)steering wheel ii) steering shaft iii)steering gear iv0 drag link v)steering arm vii) tie
rod viii) king pin
When the operator turns the steering wheel, the motion is transmitted through the
steering shaft to the angular motion of the pitman arm through a set of gears. The
angular movement of the pitman arm is further transmitted to the steering arm through
drag link and tie rods. Steering arm is keyed to the respective kingpins which are integral
part of the stub axle on which wheels are mounted. The movement of steering arm
affects the movement of front wheel
8. Hydraulic control system
It is a mechanism in a tractor to raise , hold or lower the mounted implement or semi-
mounted equipment’s by hydraulic means. All tractors are equipped with hydraulic
control system for operating three point hitch of the tractor. Hydraulic system works on
PASCAL’s Law which states that pressure applied to an enclosed fluid is transmitted
equally in all directions.
Basic components of hydraulic system
1. Hydraulic pump
2. Hydraulic cylinder and piston
3. Hydraulic tank
4. Control valve
5. Safety valve
6. Hose pipe and fittings
7. Lifting arms
The hydraulic pump draws up oil from the oil reservoir and sends it to the control
valve under high pressure. From the control valve, the oil goes to the hydraulic cylinder
to operate the piston, which in turn, raises the arms. The implements attached with the
arms are lifted up.
9. Brakes
Brake is used to stop or slow down the motion of the tractor. It is mounted on the
driving axle and operated by two independent pedals. Each pedal can be operated
independently to assist the turning of tractor during field work or locked together by
means of a lock.
Types of brakes – a) Mechanical brake b) hydraulic brake
10. Power take off
It is a part of tractor transmission system. It consists of a shaft, a shield and a cover. The
shaft is externally splined to transmit torsional power to another machine. A rigid guard
fitted on a tractor covers the power-take-off shaft as a safety device. The guard is called
power take off shield. As per ASAE standards PTO speed is 540+ 10 rpm when
operating under load. In order to operate 1000 rpm PTO drive machine, a new standard
has been developed.
 PTO shaft

PTO on a tractor

PTO drive
11. Belt pulley
All tractors are provided with a belt pulley. The function of the pulley is to transmit power
from the tractor to stationary machinery by means of a belt. It is used to operate
thresher, centrifugal pump, silage cutter, and several other machinery. The pulley is
located either on the left , right or rear side of the tractor. Pulley drive is engaged or
disengaged from the engine by means of a clutch.

Belt pulley connected to

tractor PTO
11. Control board or dash board
The control board of a tractor generally consists of
1. Main switch 2. Throttle
3. Decompression lever 4. Hour meter
5. Light switch` 6. Horn button
7. Battery charging indicator 8. oil pressure indicator
9. Water temperature gauge
1. Main switch - When the main switch is on , the electric current floes in the electric
circuit
2. Throttle lever - This lever is for increasing or decreasing the speed of the engine.
3. Decompression lever - This lever releases the compression pressure from the
combustion chamber of the engine and helps to start the engine.
4. Hour meter - This meter indicates the engine hour as well as engine revolution per
minute
5. Light switch - light switch is for light points only
6. Horn button - This is for horn of the tractor
7. Battery charger indicator - This indicates the charge and discharge of the battery.
8. Oil pressure indicator - this indicates the lubricating oil pressure in the system
9. Water temperature gauge - this indicates the temperature of water of the cooling
system

Tractor dash board

2.7 IMPORTANT TERMS CONNECTED WITH TRACTORS

1. Wheel base: Wheel base is the horizontal distance between the front and rear
wheels of a tractor
2. Ground clearance: It is the height of the lowest point of the tractor from the ground
surface, the tractor being loaded to its permissible weight
3. Track: Track in the distance between the two wheels of the tractor on the same
axle., measured at the ground contact
4. Turning space: It is the diameter of the smallest circle , described by the outer most
point of the tractor, while moving at a speed not exceeding 3 km/hr with the steering
wheels in full lock.
5. Cage wheels: It is a wheel or an attachment to a wheel with spaced cross bars for
improving traction of the tractor in a wet field. It is generally used in paddy field

2.8 CRAWLER TRACTOR

A crawler tractor (also called: track-type tractor, tractor crawler, or track-laying
vehicle) is a vehicle that runs on continuous tracks instead of wheels. In agriculture they
are used for land clearing and land leveling works. The principal advantages of crawler
tractor over wheeled tractors are that they are in contact with a larger surface area than
the wheeled tractor, and as a result exert a much lower force per unit area on the ground
than a conventional wheeled tractor of the same weight. This makes them suitable for
use on soft, low friction and uneven ground such as mud, ice and snow. The principal
disadvantage is that tracks are a more complex mechanism than a wheel, and relatively
prone to failure modes such as snapped or derailed tracks.

Crawler tractor or chain type tractor has the following characterizes

1. It is designed to secure good adhesion and transmit high drawbar pull in difficult field
conditions, where wheel tractors fail to secure adequate grip on the soil
2. It provides large area of contact with the ground
3. It is useful at places where adhesion is difficult and rolling resistance is high
4. It is most suited for heavy work, specially earth moving work and reclamation work
5. It is used for all types of agricultural works with heavy implements
Crawler type tractors mainly consists of
1. Track frame assembly 2. Track chain
3. Steering clutch 4. steering brake
2.9 POWER TILLER
It is a prime mover in which the direction of travel and its control for field operation is
performed by the operator walking behind it. It is also known as Hand tractor or walking
type tractor. The concept of power tiller came in the world in the year 1920. Japan is the
first country to use power tiller on large scale. In Japan , the first successful model of
power tiller was designed in the year 1947.In India power tiller was introduced in the
year 1963. Manufacturing of several makes of power tillers like Iseki, Sato, Krishi,
Kubota, Yanmar and Mitsubishi were started in India after 1962
In agricultural power tillers are used for ploughing, sowing, spraying, harvesting and
transporting works. It is the most wanted machine for puddling operation in rice
cultivation.

Power tiller

Power tiller

Components of power tiller

1. Engine 2. Transmission gears
3. Clutch 4. Brakes
5. Rotary unit
 All power tillers are fitted with an I.C. engine. At present makes like Kubota,
Mitsubishi, Krishi, Yanmar and Satoh use diesel engine. Iseki make use kerosene
engine.

Operation of a power tiller (power transmission in a power

tiller)
For operation of power tiller, the power is obtained from the I.C engine, fitted on the
power tiller. The engine power goes to the main clutch with the help of belt or chain.
From main clutch power is divided in two routes, one goes to transmission gears,
steering clutch and the two wheels. The other component goes to the tilling clutch and
then to tilling attachment .V- belt pulley is usually used to transmit power from the engine
to the main clutch
Main clutch: Power goes from engine to main clutch through V- belt – pulley
arrangement
Transmission gears: Transmission gears consist of gears, shafts, and bearings.
Transmission gears reduce speed of the engine and increase the torque at the wheels.
Brakes: All power tillers have braking arrangement for stopping the movement of power
tiller.
Wheels: Usually two to four ply pneumatic tyre is used in power tillers for the wheels.
The inflation pressure ranges from 1.1 to 1.4 kg/cm2.
Rotary unit: Power tillers have a rotary unit for field operation. Rotary tines are used in
rotary unit for soil cutting and pulverizing purposes. Rotary tines are of three types
a) Straight tines b) Curved tines
c) L shape blades
Uses
a) For puddling operation in paddy fields- using rotary tines
b) For cutting and pulverizing the soil in dry lands and in garden lands
c) For cutting and pulverizing the stubbles of sugarcane, maize and cotton
d) For sowing and inter-cultivation works
e) For spraying of orchard trees
f) For transporting purposes
3. EARTH MOVING VEHICLES
1. Introduction
The work of the Civil Engineering, Mining Industry and Building Sectors of the Construction
Industry requires a wide range of plant machinery with a number of basic uses.
In order that the plant should have additional flexibility, a variety of attachments have been
developed over the years so that machines can be quickly, and easily converted to perform
different functions or to extend their original functions.
The following chapters give brief descriptions of a wide range of the Earthmoving and
Construction Industry Plant under the headings of:

a. Earthmoving
b. Cranes
c. Road Surfacing
d. Compaction
e. Access Equipment
f. Materials Handling

1.1 Earthmoving Plant

The main plant machines in the earthmoving group are:

- Digger-loaders
- Crawler dozers
- Wheeled dozers
- Crawler loaders
- Wheeled loaders
- Graders
- Dump trucks
- Scrapers
- Wheeled Hydraulic excavators
- Tracked Hydraulic excavators
- Crawler Rope excavators
- Trenchers
- Mini excavators
- Mini loader
1.1.1 Excaloader
(Digger-loader)

The digger-loader is probably the most

utilised item of plant and is based on an
agricultural tractor. A loading shovel is
mounted on the front, and a backhoe
(excavator) mounted on the rear. The
digger loader is one of the most versatile
machines used on site and can be fitted with
a vast range of attachments to extend its
basic functions. Digger loaders are used for
loading materials and earth into dumpers
etc. and general excavations.

1.1.2 Bulldozer
(Crawler dozer)

The crawler dozer is a crawler tractor

with a dozer blade fitted to the front. It
is a track laying machine used for bulk
earthmoving, excavating, clearing scrub,
spreading and levelling etc. It can also act as
a prime mover for towed equipment. Various
blades can be fitted to suit a particular
application.

1.1.3 Wheel Dozer

(Wheeled dozer)

The wheeled dozer as the name implies is a

dozer on wheels as opposed the tracks. The
base machine is basically the same as the
wheeled loader.

The wheeled dozer is used for bulk

earthmoving, clearing scrub, spreading and
levelling etc. It is faster than the crawler dozer
but has not the same traction in wet and
muddy conditions
1.1.4 Traxcavator
(Crawler loader)

Based on the crawler tractor the crawler

loader is fitted with a loading shovel at the
front. It is used to excavate and load in a
relatively small area.

1.1.5 Wheel loader

(Wheeled loader)

The wheeled loader is used to excavate (mainly

from a stock pile) and load
Vehicles or hoppers. Most modern wheeled
loaders use articulated steering. Earlier
types where rigid chassis with rear wheel
steering.

1.1.6 Grader
(Motorized Grader)

The motorized grader is used to finish surfaces, grade

to fine limits, ditch cleaning and cutting, dirt road
maintenance and various other tasks. The grader has a
long narrow chassis with four or six wheels.

A blade (or mould board) is fitted to an “A” frame

located at the front of the chassis and suspended at
the midpoint by hydraulic cylinders.

The blade can be moved through a vast number of

positions to suit any task; up, down, left, right, rotated
360, even at 90 to the horizontal. Various other
attachments can be fitted to improve its versatility
 7 8

X
8 7
A
X

1.1.7 Dump Truck

The dump truck is used to haul and dump
excavated materials. There are two main types:
- Articulated
- Rigid chassis

1.1.8 Articulated Dump Truck

The articulated dump truck is more manouvrable
and can be twin or triple axle design. They can be
used over rough terrain and on haul roads.

1.1.9 Rigid Chassis Dump Truck

Rigid chassis dump trucks are normally two axle
design and are used on well maintained haul
roads.

They have limited rough terrain capability.

1.1.10 Scraper
Scrapers are used to excavate, haul and
spread earth on large project where a large
amount of material has to be moved.

There are two main types of scrapers:

- Towed scrapers

- Motorized scrapers Elevating Tractor Scraper

1.1.11 Towed Scraper

The towed scraper is towed behind a crawler
tractor. It has a large load carrying bowl with a
cutting edge on the front. The front wall of the
bowl, called the apron, can be raised or lowered
allowing the cutting edge to penetrate the ground.
The forward motion allows the excavated earth to
flow into the bowl until full. The apron is then
lowered and the bowl raised so that the material
can be transported to the required place. To
unload the scraper the apron is raised and the rear
of the bowl (tailgate) is pushed or tilted to eject the
material in an even layer.

The scraper is operated via a crawler tractor

mounted winch assembly (called a cable control
unit) which operates the scraper functions via
steel wire rope and pulleys. Some towed scrapers
are hydraulic powered from the crawler tractor
hydraulic system.
1.1.12 Motor Scraper
The motorized scraper does the same job as
the towed scraper, but much faster. It consists
of a wheeled tractor unit at the front (usually
single axle) coupled via a kingpin or vertical
hinge to the scraper unit. The scraper unit
has the same basic components as the towed
scraper with the various movements being
powered hydraulically. The motorized scraper
is faster than the towed scraper but on some
materials it has to be loaded with the
assistance of a crawler or wheeled dozer
pushing at the rear (push-loading). Some
scrapers are single engine type with only one
prime mover; other scrapers are twin engine,
with a power unit at the rear to drive the rear
wheels.

1.1.13 Wheeled hydraulic Excavator

The wheeled hydraulic excavator is used in
many excavating operations and materials
handling. As it can be driven along the public
highway it does not require heavy transport
to move it from site to site. It is not as stable
as the tracked excavator and is usually fitted
with stabilizing legs. It is generally fitted out
as a backhoe and the upper works rotates
through 360. It can have various buckets and
attachments fitted to improve its versatility.

1.1.14 Tracked hydraulic Excavator

The upper part of this machine is basically
the same as the wheeled hydraulic excavator
and is mounted on a tracked chassis. It is used
extensively for general excavation work.

It has a slow travelling speed and requires heavy

transport to move it from site to site. Wheeled
and Tracked hydraulic excavators use identical
buckets and attachments.
1.1.15 Crawler Rope Excavator
(Dragline)

Crawler rope excavators have been used for

many years and were once the back bone of
many large excavation projects.

The machine is mounted on crawler tracks

and the upper superstructure can rotate
through 360. The drive for the various
excavating parts is mechanical via winding
drums (winches), clutches and brakes and is
transmitted to the front end equipment via
steel wire ropes. There are two main types
of front end equipment;

- Dragline

- Face shovel
Maximum Cutting Height
The Face Shovel excavates at a vertical face
to load dump trucks. Weight
Maximum Loading Height

The Dragline is generally used for

large excavations.

1.1.16 Trenchers
Trenchers are used to dig trenches over
long distances to enable pipes, telephone
cables, drainage and other services to be
laid. The trencher can be tracked or wheeled
and consists of a power unit, a continuous
bucket or chain mounted on a boom. The
boom is raised or lowered hydraulically.
The buckets and chain are rotated either by
mechanical or hydraulic drive. All excavated
soil is dumped at either side of the trench
via a conveyor or auger.

The drive to the tracks or wheels may be

mechanical or hydraulic.
1.1.17 Mini-excavators
Mini excavators have recently made their mark on
the Plant scene and bridge the gap between the
larger digger loader and the operation with the
hand shovel.

The mini excavator is simply a miniature hydraulic

excavator mounted on wheels or tracks. They are
versatile machines which can work in confined
spaces, various attachments may be fitted to
compliment the backhoe fitted as standard.

1.1.18 Mini loaders

Mini-loaders, commonly called “skid steer
loaders” have been in use for a number of years.
They are very popular where there is limited space
to manoeuver. The mini-loader may be tracked or
wheeled, (the majority are wheeled). Most of the
mini loaders are hydrostatically driven with the
ability to have the wheels/tracks contra-rotated
to achieve a turn within the machines own length.
Some of the larger ‘mini’-loaders are articulated
steer.
1.2 Cranes
The crane is important in the civil engineering and
building sectors. As projects become larger and more
complex more and larger items have to be lifted.

Cranes fall into four main categories:

- Tower cranes
- Truck mounted cranes
- Crawler mounted cranes
- Rough terrain cranes
Rigging and De-rigging

1.2.1 Tower cranes

The tower crane enables materials to be lifted to great
heights and distances.

There are three main types:

1 Mobile, (truck, trailer or crawler mounted).

2 Rail mounted.
3 Static (climbing).

The mobile tower crane maybe self-erecting or be

built in sections. These are used for smaller projects
with standard heights of 27m under the hook.

Rail mounted tower cranes are used where the project

is to last over a long period.
The static type is used semi permanently, i.e. bridge
building etc. and usually have a standard free
standing under hook height of 35-40 metres. Greater
height can be obtained by “tying” the mast to the
structure.
1.2.2 Truck mounted cranes
The truck mounted crane is capable of travelling under
its’ own power from site to site. Over the years the
truck mounted crane has developed into a versatile
heavy lifting machine with lifting capacities in the
hundreds of tonnes. The crane carrier lower chassis can
be from two to ten axles depending on the design and
lift capacity. They can have two, three or four steering
axles and a road travel speed up to 70km/h.

A lattice or telescopic jib is usually used. Illustration

shows a four axle truck mounted crane with telescopic
jib.

1.2.3 Crawler cranes

Crawler cranes are basically a crawler excavator rigged
specifically for crane duties. Most crawler cranes have
a lattice (framework of crossed strips) type jib. The
larger crawler cranes can lift over 100 tonnes. Crawler
cranes must be transported on special heavy transport,
the largest models being transported in sections.

The rough terrain crane is used on sites where a truck

mounted crane or other type of crane would find it
difficult to manoeuver of gain access. The chassis is of a
special design and transmission components, i.e.
axles, gearbox etc. are usually similar to wheeled
loaders. Lift capacities of round 40 tonne are
common.
 1.3 Road Surfacing Equipment
The major item of plant used on road surfacing work is the paving machine.
There are two main types of paver:
- Wheeled and Tracked

Wheeled 

Asphalt Plant

1.3.1 Tracked Paving Machine

The pavers’ primary roll, is to lay asphalt or Macadam, though they are on occasions used
for laying dry lean concrete, crusher run stone or more modern materials. They are normally
used for roads and air field runways but small machines may be used to lay paths etc.
The paver consists of a hopper with a chain conveyor feed to an auger (spiral spreader tool)
running across the back of the machine. The auger spreads the material out, which is then
compacted by tampers and smoothed off by a heated screed. Most modern pavers have
automatic levelling systems. The width of the screed can be extended to suit the width of
the carriageway. The wheeled paver uses pneumatic tires and is easily moved under its own
powerform site to site. The tracked paver uses crawler tracks and requires transporting.
Track drive is usually used on the larger pavers and wheel drive on the small-medium size
pavers. The drive from the power unit to the various services i.e. auger, tamper, feed,
hopper,steering a travel maybe mechanical or hydraulic.
1.4 Compaction Equipment
The major items of plant that fall into the category of
compaction equipment are;

- Dead weight rollers

- Vibrating rollers
- Pneumatic rollers
- Wheeled soil compactors

1.4.1 Dead weight rollers

Dead weight rollers are usually three and two wheel,
towed or self-propelled. They rely on their mass to
compact materials.

1.4.2 Vibrating rollers

The larger vibrating rollers can be tandem-self-
propelled or towed.

Tandem rollers have two large steel roller drums with a

vibration mechanism in each drum.

The vibrator drive and roller drum drive are usually

hydrostatically driven with articulated steering.

Towed rollers are usually towed by wheeled or crawler

tractors. They have a power unit to drive the vibrating
mechanism. The roller drum can be smooth, sheeps
foot or grid design.
1.4.3 Pneumatic rollers
These rollers have pneumatic tyres and are of
the towed and self-propelled types.

The body can be ballasted to add weight.

On modern self-propelled types the tyres can
be inflated or deflated by the operator when in
use. Most are hydrostatic drive and can be left
or right hand drive.

1.4.4 Wheeled Soil Compactors

These compactors are based on the articulated
wheeled loader fitted with special steel roller
wheels of sheeps foot, rock foot or tamping
foot design. They are used to compact soil and
rock on major projects. They are fast and give
good compaction.

1.5 Materials handling - Fork lifts

Handling building and construction materials on site
by fork lifts is generally done by two types of machine:

- Rough Terrain Fork Lift

- Telescopic Handler

1.5.1 Rough Terrain Fork Lift

These machines are a common machine on site and are
normally four wheel drive, rear wheel steer machines.
They have a lifting capacity ranging from one to about
ten tonnes and are powered by a CI engine with a
mechanical, power shift or hydrostatic drive. A wide
range of attachments are available to improve the
handling capabilities.
1.5.2 Telescopic handlers

These machines are fitted with a telescoping boom which gives both forward reach and
highlight. They are powered by a CI engine with power shift, mechanical or hydrostatic
transmission. They may be two or four wheel drive, rear wheel or articulated steer. A wide
range of attachments

are available for different handling tasks.

2. Attachments
There are a vast number of attachments available which can be fitted to the wide range
of Construction plant, to quickly and easily convert them to perform different functions
or to extend their original functions. The following pages will deal with the more common
attachments

Clamshell
2.1 Loading Shovels
The loading shovel is fitted to the front of a variety of
machines, these are:

- Digger loader
- Wheeled loader
- Crawler loader
- Mini loader
- Telescopic handler

There are different types of loading shovels depending

on the material to be loaded.
The main ones are:

- General purpose
- Multi-purpose (four in one) - Rock
- Side tip or side dump
- Bulk handling

The general purpose or standard loading shovel is a

fabricated steel structure for loading sand, gravel, soil
and clay.

Cutting edges, of hardened steel, are either welded or

bolted to the front edge of the shovel to give long life
and wear resistance.

The bolt on type maybe reversed when the leading

edge is worn.

Special corner pieces maybe welded or bolted in place

to give extra strength and wear.

2.1.1 Digging Teeth

For materials which require high penetration and
breakout force digging teeth maybe bolted or welded
to the cutting edge.
2.1.2 Multi-purpose Loading Shovel
The multi-purpose or four-in-one shovel, is used for
various jobs on site. It can be used for loading, scraping, 7
bottom dumping, grabbing, bulldozing, digging, clam
and back filling. 5

The front part of the shovel is pivoted at the top and 8

actuated by two hydraulic cylinders mounted on the 6 2
rear of the shovel. 4 3 1
1 Tooth
2 Bucket Cutting Edge
The Rock shovel is used to load ballasted rubble, hard 3 Clam Bottom (incl 2&4)
4 Clam Cutting Edge
gravel and blasted rock. To aid penetration into the 5 Mouldboard
6 Mouldboard Cutting Edge
material the shovel has low cut sides and a grill is fixed 7 Hinge (1 each side)
to the back of the shovel to prevent rocks pilling over 8 Grab Teeth or Serration
the top.

2.1.3 Side Tip Loading Shovel

The side tip or side dump bucket is used for loading in
confined spaces where there is insufficient space to
load a vehicle at right angles. The shovel is pivoted at
one side with an extra hydraulic cylinder to dump the
load.

2.1.4 Bulk Handling Loading Shovel

Bulk handling loading shovels are used to load light
materials of low density such as wood chips, snow,
and coke.

The basic design may be the same as that of the

general purpose bucket or maybe in the form of an
open side boxdepending on the materials.
2.2 Dozer blades
Dozer blades maybe fitted to the following machines:

Block Tool Tilt Cylinder

- Crawler dozer With Arm
- Wheeled dozer Shank

- Grader
- Mini loader
- Hydraulic excavator
- Mini excavator
- Earth compactor Tilt Cylinder
Arm
- Telescopic handler
Shank Tooth
- Wheeled loaders
Bracket Lift Cylinder

There are many types of blades manufactured to suit

the material to be moved or the task required of the
machine.

The main general types are:

- Universal blade (“U”)

- Angle blade (“A”)
- Straight blade (“S”)
- Cushion blade (“C”)

The universal or “U” blade is used to move large

volume loads over a long distance. It has large wings
on the bald to make it more efficient. It is used in
land reclamation, stock pile work, etc. It can be fitted
with a tilt cylinder to tilt the blade at an angle to the
horizontal.

The Angle blade or “A” blade can be positioned straight or at an angle of 25 degrees to either
side. It is designed to be used for side-cutting, pioneering roads, back filling, cutting ditches and
similar work.

Mouldboard

Corner or
End Bit

Cutting Edge
The Straight or “S” blade is the most versatile and is
basically a modified “U” blade. It is physically smaller
than the “U” blade, easier to manoeuvre and can
handle a wider range of materials.

The cushion or “C” blade is used for on-the-go push

loading of scrapers.

Large rubber cushions or steel springs allow the blade

to absorb the impact of contacting a scraper push
block. It can also be used for cut maintenance and
general dozing. It is narrower that the “A”, “S” or “U”
blades.

2.2.1 Common types of Dozer Blade

Special blades are used for specific jobs such as the
Sanitary land fill blade designed to handle refuse and
covering materials.

The “V” tree cutter is used for land clearing, shearing

trees, stumps and scrub.

On some smaller crawler and wheeled dozers the

Power tilt and Angle blade (P.A.T.) is used.

The tilt and angle is controlled by hydraulic

cylinders and can be used for grading, back filling
and landscaping etc.

2.2.2 Special Blades

The blade cutting edges, similar to the loading shovel,
are bolted to the front edge of the blade and can be
reversed when worn. (Surface welding is excellent
method to extent duration of front edge and cutting
edges). They can be in one, two or three sections.

The corners of the blade are called end bits and will
have a different shape depending on the application
and material.

The end bits are bolted to the blade.

2.3 Excavating buckets
Excavating buckets are digging tools and can be fitted Dipper Stick
to the following machines:
Dipper Cylinder
Bucket
- Backhoe of digger loader Cylinder
Boom Cylinder

- Wheeled hydraulic excavator Bucket

Lever Arms
- Tracked hydraulic excavator Bucket
- Crawler rope excavator Link
Dipper
- Mini excavator Extension

Bucket

The shape and design of excavating buckets varies Bucket

Teeth
with the application and material and there are many Boom
Swing Frame
different types.

2.3.1 Digger-loader backhoe buckets

These buckets, fitted to the backhoe of the digger
loader, are fabricated steel. They fall into three
categories, trenching buckets, ditching buckets and
grab buckets.

The main Trenching buckets are:

- Standard, for most excavating work

- Square hole, for excavating accurate square side
holes
- Clay, for use when excavating in clay
- Ejector, for narrow trenches in sticky materials.

Ditching buckets are:

- Trapezoidal, for excavating pre-formed shallow

Standard Square Hole
ditches
- Ditch cleaning, for cleaning and reshaping ditches

Grab or Clam shell buckets are: Trapezoidal Ditch Cleaning

- Trenching, for square hole and trench excavations

- Re-handling, for loading loose material
- Round, for round hole excavations
Clamshell Rock
2.3.2 Wheeled and tracked hydraulic excavators
buckets
The main configurations of the wheeled
hydraulic excavator is the backhoe. The tracked
hydraulic excavator maybe a backhoe or a
face shovel (front shovel). The buckets for the
backhoe machines, tracked or wheeled, are
the same and do the same tasks as those for
the digger-loader backhoe, but are of larger
Front Dump Bucket Bottom Dump Bucket
capacity.

2.3.3 Face Shovel Buckets

The buckets for the face shovel configuration
maybe either front dump or bottom dump type.
Front dump buckets are used for bulk Short Wide
excavatingand loading. Blade With
The bottom dump is used where increased Extension
Long
dump height and accurate placing of the load is
required when working at a face. One Piece Blade
Illustration shows typical front and bottom Penetration
dump face shovel buckets for a hydraulic
excavator. Strike-off

2.3.4 Excavating Bucket teeth Tips and Side Cutters

The back-hoe excavating buckets have various
types of teeth and side cutters fitted to suit Short Long
the material to be excavated and the type of
excavation. The teeth adaptors are welded to the
bucket and the tips pinned to the adapter, some
teeth may be bolte don.The side cutters are
bolted to the buckets. Illustration shows the
typical teeth tips and side cutters for back-
hoebuckets.

The face shovel buckets have the teeth adaptors

welded to the bucket and three types of tips Penetration
maybe fitted.
2.4 Hooks and Shackles
There are a variety of hooks available for lifting
purpose and it is impractical to cover them all in this
section.
Crane Hook
British Standard, B.S. 2903, gives specifications for
higher tensile hooks for chains, blocks and general End Link
engineering purposes which will be covered in this Connecting Link
section.

There are two main categories of hook: Connecting Link

- Point Hook
- C - Hook

These two categories are broken down into the

following types

2.4.1 Point hook with shank

Hooks are drop forged to British Standards and are
made of Higher tensile steel than heat treated.

Hooks are proof loaded and then marked permanently

and legibly by stamping on a non-vital part.

Jib Strut
Jib Insert
Suspension
Jib Lines
Jib
Main Boom
Jib Hoist Line Hoist Sheaves
Weight
Hook

Point
Section
Boom Spreader
Assembly
Boom
Insert
Boom Hoist
Line

Compression Base
Member Section

Tension
Member
Manufacturers must provide a certificate with each Eye
hook giving the following information:

- Distinguishing mark (to enable hook to be

identified)
- Type of hook ‘C’Hook With Link
- Proof load applied
- Safe Working Load (S.W.L.)
Quality
The certificate must also state the type of material of Mark
which the hook is made that it complies with British
Standards.
Point Hook with Shank
The most highly stressed part of the hook is usually
at the horizontal section on the inside called the
intrados. The material at this point is under tension
and the material at the back (called the extrados) is in
compression.

2.4.2 Point hook with eye

(for use with chain)

The shape is Trapezoidal and is chosen as the most

economic practical shape. The opening or gap of the
hook should be wide enough to admit the largest rope,
ring, link or shackle which has to be placed on it. In
most cases the hook must, by statute, be provided
with a safety catch to prevent the rope or sling etc.
being displaced. The part called the shank may be
attachedto the lifting gear or equipment in a number
of ways. An eye is used for attachment to slings, a
boss to suit shackles and machined and screw
threaded to take anut for swivel attachment.
2.4.3 “C” hook with shank
All hooks should be inspected frequently and any
defective hook should be destroyed.

Eye

Point Throat

Bed

Body
Cross Section

2.4.4 “C” hook with eye

(link fitted for use with chain )

Shank

Area of Max.
Stress
Quality
Mark
 Dee
Quality Mark
Body

Safe Identification
Working Mark &Symbol
Load S.W.L

Quality Mark

Identification
Pin
Mark &Symbol

Jaw Safe
Working
Load S.W.L

Bow

2.5 Shackles
Shackles are used to connect slings, ropes etc. to
loads. These are two groups of shackles used for lifting
purposes, higher tensile steel shackles and alloy steel
shackles covered by B.S. 3551 respectively.

There are five types of shackles which conform to B.S.

3032 these are:

- Small Dee, suitable for hook eyes, eye bolts, wire

rope, thimbles etc.

- Large Dee, for general engineering purposes.

- Small Bow, for eyes of hooks eyebolts

- Large Bow, for general engineering purposes.

Grab - Dee shackle with countersunk, square socketed

pin for use with grabs.
2.5.1 Sling angles
The rated capacity of any sling depends on its size,
configuration, material and the angles formed by the legs
of the sling.

If two separate legs are used to lift a load of 450 kg a load of

225 kg will be in each leg if the load is lifted with each leg
vertical.

225kg

225kg
0
90

450kg 450kg

Angle of 90º

If a two leg sling is used, with an angle of 90 degrees between 0

each leg, the load on each leg of the sling will be 320 kg. 60
Angle of 60º

If the leg angle is 60 the load in each leg will be 260 kg. 450kg
2.5.2 Use of slings
Care must be taken when attaching a sling to a load to
ensure that the method of attachment does not result in
damage to the slings. Line of Lift

Slings must be kept on suitable racks or pegs when not

in use.
Center of Gravity
The upper end softhe multi-leg slings must be
connectedbymeans of a shackle, ring or link.

Angle of 120º
0
120
With the legs of an angle of 120, the load in each leg will
be 450 kg each.
450kg

Always keep the sling leg angle a t 90 or less.

The S.W.L. of a sling must never be exceeded as a
result ofthe angle between the legs.

Back hooking onto the sling leg itself must not be used.

The load must not rest on the sling when lowering,

suitable packing must be used under the load so the
sling is not damaged by crushing. (It also enables the
sling to be removed easily).
2.6 Lifting Beams
Lifting beams, (sometimes called spreaders) take many forms. They are used to
lift items of unusual length or shape, ie engine/transmission assembly removal
from an item of plant.

They are designed for particular application and made of steel to B.S. 4360: 1979
Weldable Structural Steels.
 NON-TELESCOPIC BOOM CRANE
With JIB

Jib Strut
Jib Insert
Suspension
Jib Lines
Jib
Main Boom
Jib Hoist Line Hoist Sheaves
Weight
Hook

Point
Section
Boom Spreader
Assembly
Boom
Insert
Boom Hoist
Line

Compression Base
Member Section

Tension
Member
Fork Lifts and Lift Trucks

Control Panel

Plat Form
Fixed Scissor
Arm Scissor Arms

Movable Scissor
Arm
Lift Cylinders

Fixed Scissor Manual

Arm Outriggers

Control
Hydraulic
Panel
Driven Wheels
Side loading can be dangerous and damage or even topple your crane

Do Not Allow a
Suspended Load
to Be Pushed

Do Not Travel Across

a Slope With a
Suspended Load

Do Not Drag a Load

 Change of Radius on Lifting Load

Rope stretch and flexing of the Jib or boom when a load is lifted.

Deflection
Under Load

No Load Radius Change In Radius

Loaded Radius Deflection
Under Load

Loaded Radius
No Load Radius

No Load Radius Change In Radius

Loaded Radius
 Safety First!

Critical Clearance Points

Overall
Clearance
Height

Rear
Projection

6m

Inapunguza Hutunza
Makelele Mikono
Hutunza
Kichwa
Technical Names
(machine components)

Manual Insert
For Boom Boom
Section 3 Section 2 Boom
Section 1
Boom Point
Base (Main)
(3-Boom Section)
Boom Main Line
Winch

Auxiliary
Line Winch

Auxiliary
Line Sheave

Auxiliary Counter
Hook Weight

Hook Engine Carrier Left Front Left Rear

Block Location Cab Outrigger Outrigger
Engine
Lift Cylinder

Radiator

Mold Board
Hydraulic
Reservoir

Drive
Sprocket

Track
Shoe

Sprocket Cutting Edge

Guard

Carrier
Roller Carrier Track Yoke
Roller Dozer Tilt
Adjuster Front Idler Front Blade Strut
Idler Idler
Guard Frame
 WHEEL LOADER
Engine Oil
Transmission Oil Hydraulic System Level Fuel
Level Damaged Oil Level Damaged Leak Oil
Hose Oil Leak Hose Oil Leak Leak Dirt

Lamps Loose
Terminal Burnt
Bulb Loose
Mounting

Cooling System
Coolant Level
Caked Dirt Or Dust
Coolant Leak
Brake
Oil Level
Oil Leak Frame Crack
Loader Linkage Tyre Cut Or
Indicators & Controls Loose Mounting
Damage Or Crack Damage Inflection
Malfunctioned Gauge
Worn Edge &Tooth Pressure Loose
Poor Control
Wheel Bolt
4. PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS
4.1 FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS
 Mechanics: Deals with action of forces on bodies at rest or in motion.
 State of rest and Motion: They are relative and depend on the frame of reference. If
the position with reference to frame of reference is fixed with time, then the body is
said to be in a state of rest. Otherwise, it is said to be in a state of motion.
 Scalar and heater quantities: Quantities which require only magnitude to represent
them are called scalar quantities. Quantities which acquire magnitudes and direction
to represent them are called vector quantities.
Eg: Mass, time internal, Distance traveled � Scalars
Weight, Displacement, Velocity � Vectors
 Displacement and Distance

Distance

Unit: m

 Velocity and Speed: Rate of displacement is called velocity and Rate and distance
traveled is called Speed.

Unit: m/s
 Acceleration: Rate of change of velocity is called acceleration. Negative acceleration
is called retardation.

 Momentum: The capacity of a body to impart motion to other bodies is called

momentum.

The momentum of a moving body is measured by the product of mass and

velocity the moving body
Momentum = Mass x Velocity

Unit: Kgm/s

 Newton’s first law of motion: Everybody continues to be in its state of rest or

uniform motion unless compelled by an external agency.

 Inertia: It is the inherent property the body to retain its state of rest or uniform
motion.

 Force: It is an external agency which overcomes or tends to overcome the inertia of a

body.

 Newton’s second law of motion: The rate of change of momentum of a body is

directly proportional to the magnitudes of the applied force and takes place in the
direction of the applied force.
 Measurement of force:

m V
m
F u

Time interval = t

Change in momentum in time‘t’ = mv – mu

mv  mu
Rate of change of momentum =
t
mv mu
F
t
F  ma
F  K ma

If F = 1 When m = 1 and u = 1
then K = 1
 F = ma.
Unit: newton (N)
 Mass: Measure of amount of matter contained by the body it is a scalar quantity.
Unit: Kg.
 Weight: Gravitational force on the body. It is a vector quantity.
F = ma
W = mg
Unit: newton (N) g = 9.81 m/s2
 Volume: Measure of space occupied by the body.
Unit: m3
1 m3 = 1000 litres
 Work: Work done = Force x Displacement � Linear motion.
Work done = Torque x Angular displacement � Rotatory motion.
Unit: Nm or J
 Energy: Capacity of doing work is called energy.
Unit: Nm or J
Potential energy = mgh

Kinetic energy = ½ mv2 or ½ mr2  = Angular velocity

 Power: Rate of doing work is called Power.

Force x displacement
Power: =
time
= Force x Velocity � Linear Motion.
2 NT
P= � Rotatory Motion.
60
 Matter: Anything which possesses mass and requires space to occupy is called matter.
 States of matter:
Matter can exist in the following states
 Solid state.
 Fluid state.
 Solid state: In case of solids intermolecular force is very large and hence molecules
are not free to move. Solids exhibit definite shape and volume. Solids undergo certain
amount of deformation and then attain state of equilibrium when subjected to tensile,
compressive and shear forces.

 Fluid State: Liquids and gases together are called fluids. In case of liquids
Intermolecular force is comparatively small. Therefore liquids exhibit definite
volume. But they assume the shape of the container

Liquids offer very little resistance against tensile force. Liquids offer maximum
resistance against compressive forces. Therefore, liquids are also called incompressible
fluids. Liquids undergo continuous or prolonged angular deformation or shear strain
when subjected to tangential force or shear force. This property of the liquid is called
flow of liquid. Any substance which exhibits the property of flow is called fluid.
Therefore liquids are considered as fluids.
In case of gases intermolecular force is very small. Therefore the molecules are
free to move along any direction. Therefore gases will occupy or assume the shape as
well as the volume of the container.

Gases offer little resistance against compressive forces. Therefore gases are called
compressible fluids. When subjected to shear force gases undergo continuous or
prolonged angular deformation or shear strain. This property of gas is called flow of
gases. Any substance which exhibits the property of flow is called fluid. Therefore gases
are also considered as fluids.
 Branches of Mechanics:

Mechanics

Solid Mech. Fluid Mech.

Rigid Mech. of Fluid Fluid Fluid

Body Deformable Statics Kinematics Dynamics
Mech. Bodies

Statics Dynamics

Kinematics Kinetics

 Fluid Statics deals with action of forces on fluids at rest or in equilibrium.

 Fluid Kinematics deals with geometry of motion of fluids without considering the
cause of motion.
 Fluid dynamics deals with the motion of fluids considering the cause of motion.
4.2 PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS
1. Mass density or Specific mass ():
Mass density or specific mass is the mass per unit volume of the fluid.
Mass
 =
Volume
M dM
= or
V dV

Unit: kg/m3 or kgm3

With the increase in temperature volume of fluid increases and hence mass
density decreases.

In case of fluids as the pressure increases volume decreases and hence mass
density increases.

2. Weight density or Specific weight ():

Weight density or Specific weight of a fluid is the weight per unit volume.
Weight
 =
Volume
W dW
= or
V dV
Unit: N/m3 or Nm-3.

With increase in temperature volume increases and hence specific weight

decreases.

With increases in pressure volume decreases and hence specific weight increases.

Note: Relationship between mass density and weight density:

Weight
We have  =
Volume
mass x g
=
Volume
=xg

3. Specific gravity or Relative density (S):

 It is the ratio of specific weight of the fluid to the specific weight of a standard fluid.
 of fluid
S= 
 of standard fluid

Unit: It is a dimensionless quantity and has no unit.

In case of liquids water at 4oC is considered as standard liquid.

kN kN
 (specific weight) of water at 4oC (standard liquid) is 9.81 or 9.81 x 103
m3 m3
Note: We have

1. S = 


s tan dard

  = S x  s tan dard


2. S = 


s tan dard

S= xg
s tan dard x g

S= 
s tan dard
  Specific gravity or relative density of a fluid can also be defined as the ratio of
mass density of the fluid to mass density of the standard fluid. Mass density of standard
water is 1000 kg/m3.
 = S x  s tan dard

4. Specific volume (  ): It is the volume per unit mass of the fluid.

Volume
  =
mass
V dV
 = or
M dM
Unit: m3/kg

As the temperature increases volume increases and hence specific volume

increases. As the pressure increases volume decreases and hence specific volume
decreases.

5. Vapour Pressure: The process by which the molecules of the liquid go out of its
surface in the form of vapour is called Vapourisation.
There are two ways of causing Vapourisation.
1. By increasing the temperature of the liquid to its boiling point.
2. By reducing the pressure above the surface of the liquid to a value less than
Vapour pressure of the liquid.

To vacuum pump Closed

Vapours of
Air Liquid Vapour
Pressure
Liquid Liquid

As the pressure above the surface of the liquid is reduced, at some point, there
will be vapourisation of the liquid. If the reduction in pressure is continued vapourisation
will also continue. If the reduction in pressure is stopped, vapourisation continues until
vapours of the liquid exert certain pressure which will just stop the vapourisation. This
minimum partial pressure exerted by the vapours of the liquid just to stop vapourisation is
called Vapour Pressure of the liquid.
If the pressure over the surface goes below the vapour pressure, then, there will be
vapourisation. But if the pressure above the surface is more than the vapour pressure then
there will not be vapourisation unless there is heating.

 Importance of Vapour Pressure:

1. In case of Hydraulic turbines sometimes pressure goes below the vapour pressure of
the liquid. This leads to vapourisation and formation of bubbles of liquid. When
bubbles are carried to high Pressure zone they get busted leaving partial vacuum.
Surrounding liquid enters this space with very high velocity exerting large force on
the part of the machinery. This phenomenon is called cavitation. Turbines are
designed such that there is no cavitation.
2. In Carburetors and sprayers vapours of liquid are created by reducing the pressure
below vapour pressure of the liquid.

Unit of Vapour Pressure: N/m2 (Pascal - Pa)

Vapour Pressure of a fluid increases with increase in temperature.

6. Viscosity:
Viscosity is the property by virtue of which fluid offers resistance against the flow
or shear deformation. In other words, it is the reluctance of the fluid to flow. Viscous
force is that force of resistance offered by a layer of fluid for the motion of another layer
over it.
In case of liquids, viscosity is due to cohesive force between the molecules of
adjacent layers of liquid. In case of gases, molecular activity between adjacent layers is
the cause of viscosity.
 Newton’s law of viscosity:
Let us consider a liquid between the fixed plate and the movable plate at a
distance ‘Y’ apart , ‘A’ is the contact area (Wetted area ) of the movable plate , ‘F’ is the
force required to move the plate with a velocity ‘U’ According to Newton

Area of contact = A
F
U U
Movable Plate

Y
Liquid

Fixed Plate Linear Non-linear

Velocity distribution or
velocity profile

 F A
1
 F
Y
 F U
AU
 F
Y
AU
F= .
Y
‘’ is the constant of proportionality called Dynamic Viscosity or Absolute Viscosity or
Coefficient of Viscosity or Viscosity of the fluid.
F U
 .
A Y
U
  
Y
‘’ is the force required; per unit area called ‘Shear Stress’.

The above equation is called Newton’s law of viscosity.

Velocity gradient or rate of shear strain:

It is the difference in velocity per unit distance between any two layers.
U
If the velocity profile is linear then velocity gradient is given by . If the velocity profile
Y
du
is non – linear then it is given by .
dy
 Unit of force (F): N.
 Unit of distance between the two plates (Y): m
 Unit of velocity (U): m/s
U m/s
 Unit of velocity gradient :   / s  s1
Y m
u
 Unit of dynamic viscosity ():  =  .
y
y

U
N / m2 . m
⇒
m/s
Ns
⇒ or  ⇒ Pas
m2
NOTE:
dyne . Sec
In CGS system unit of dynamic viscosity is and is called poise (P).
cm2
NS
If the value of  is given in poise, multiply it by 0.1 to get it in .
m2
1 Centipoise = 10-2 Poise.
  Effect of Pressure on Viscosity of fluids:
Pressure has very little or no effect on the viscosity of fluids.

 Effect of Temperature on Viscosity of fluids:

1. Effect of temperature on viscosity of liquids: Viscosity of liquids is due to cohesive force
between the molecules of adjacent layers. As the temperature increases cohesive force
decreases and hence viscosity decreases.
2. Effect of temperature on viscosity of gases: Viscosity of gases is due to molecular
activity between adjacent layers. As the temperature increases molecular activity
increases and hence viscosity increases.

 Kinematics Viscosity: It is the ratio of dynamic viscosity of the fluid to its mass density.

KinematicViscosity  


Unit of KV:

KV ⇒ 


NS/ m2
⇒
kg / m3

NS m 3
 x
m 2 kg

 F  ma
Kinematic Viscosity  m 2 / s
N  Kg.m / s2

NOTE: Unit of kinematics viscosity in CGS system is cm2/s and is called stoke (S)

If the value of KV is given in stoke, multiply it by 10-4 to convert it into m2/s.

7. Surface Tension ()

Air

Surface tension is due to cohesion between the molecules of liquid and weak
adhesion between the molecules on the exposed surface of the liquid and molecules of
air.

A molecule inside the surface gets attracted by equal forces from the surrounding
molecules whereas a molecule on the surface gets attracted by the molecule below it.
Since there are no molecules above it, it experiences an unbalanced vertically downward
force. Due to this entire surface of the liquid expose of to air will have a tendency to
move in ward and hence the surface will be under tension. The property of the liquid
surface to offer resistance against tension is called surface tension.

 Consequences of Surface tension:

 Liquid surface supports small loads.
 Formation of spherical droplets of liquid
 Formation of spherical bubbles of liquid
 Formation of cylindrical jet of liquids.
 Measurement of surface tension:

Surface tension is measured as the force exerted by the film on a line of unit
length on the surface of the liquid. It can also be defined as the force required
maintaining unit length of film in equilibrium.

F
  F L
L
Unit: N/m

Force due to surface tension =  x length of film

NOTE: Force experienced by a curved surface due to radial pressure is given by the
product of intensity of pressure and projected area of the curved surface.

Projected
area
D 2  x D2
 p F
4 4
 Projected Area

D
F   (DL)

D
p

 To derive an expression for the pressure inside the droplet of a

liquid.

Liquid
Projected
area
Air
D 2

4

Surface tensile force

Let us consider droplet of liquid of surface tension ‘’. ‘D’ is the diameter of
the droplet. Let ‘p’ be the pressure inside the droplet in excess of outside pressure
(p = pinside – poutside).

For the equilibrium of the part of the droplet,

Force due to surface tension = Force due to pressure
 x D  p x projected area
D2
 x D  px
4
4
p 
D
As the diameter increases pressure decreases.
 To derive an expression for the pressure inside the bubble of liquid:
`D’ is the diameter of bubble of liquid of surface tension . Let ’p’ be the
pressure inside the bubble which is in excess of outside pressure. In case of bubble the
liquid layer will be in contact with air both inside and outside.

Projected
area
(2) Air Air
D 2

4

Surface tensile force

For the equilibrium of the part of the bubble,
Force due to surface tension = Force due to pressure
(2 ) x  D = p x projected area

D2
2 x D p x
4
8
p
D

 To derive an expression for the pressure inside the jet of liquid:

Surface tensile force

D
p
L
Air

Let us consider a jet of diameter D of liquid of surface tension  and p is the

intensity of pressure inside the jet in excess of outside atmospheric pressure. For the
equilibrium of the part of the jet shown in fig,

Force due to Radial pressure = Force due to surface tension

 p x Projected area =  x Length
pxDxL =  x 2L
2
P
D

 Effect of temperature on surface tension of liquids:

In case of liquids, surface tension decreases with increase in temperature. Pressure
has no or very little effect on surface tension of liquids.

8. Capillarity:

Meniscus
Meniscus

Cohesion < Adhesion Cohesion > Adhesion

Eg: Water Eg: Mercury

Any liquid between contact surfaces attains curved surface as shown in figure.
The curved surface of the liquid is called Meniscus. If adhesion is more than cohesion
then the meniscus will be concave. If cohesion is greater than adhesion meniscus will be
convex.

Capacity rise Capillary fall

Cohesion < Adhesion Cohesion > Adhesion

Eg: Water Eg: Mercury
 Surface Surface
tension tension

Surface Surface
tension tension

Capillarity is the phenomena by which liquids will rise or fall in a tube of small
diameter dipped in them. Capillarity is due to cohesion / adhesion and surface tension of
liquids. If adhesion is more than cohesion then there will be capillary rise. If cohesion is
greater than adhesion then will be capillary fall or depression. The surface tensile force
supports capillary rise or depression.

Note:
Angle of contact:

Surface Surface
tension tension  
 
Surface Surface
tension tension

 � Angle of contact  � Angle of contact

� Acute � Obtuse

The angle between surface tensile force and the vertical is called angle of contact.
If adhesion is more than cohesion then angle of contact is obtuse.
 To derive an expression for the capillary rise of a liquid in
small tube dipped in it:
Let us consider a small tube of diameter ‘D’ dipped in a liquid of specific weight
. ‘h’ is the capillary rise. For the equilibrium,
Vertical force due to surface tension = Weight of column of liquid ABCD


 

A B

C D

Dia ‘D’

(D) cos    x volume

D2
(D) cos x xh
4

4  cos 
h
D

It can be observed that the capillary rise is inversely proportional to the diameter
of the tube.

Note:
The same equation can be used to calculate capillary depression. In such cases ‘  ’ will
be obtuse ‘h’ works out to be –ve.
9. Compressibility:
It is the property by virtue of which there will be change in volume of fluid due to
change in pressure.

Let ‘v’ be the original volume and ‘dv’ be the change in volume due to change in
dv
pressure ‘dp’ , i.e., the ratio of change in volume to original volume is called
v
volumetric strain or bulk strain.

The ratio of change in pressure to the volumetric strain produced is called Bulk
modulus of elasticity of the fluid and is denoted by ‘K’

Reciprocal of Bulk modulus ofelasticity is called Compressibility of the fluid.

dv
1
Compressibility   v
K dp

Unit of Bulk modulus of elasticity is N/m2 or Pa. Unit of compressibility is m2/N.

4.3 RHEOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF FLUIDS
1. Newtonian fluids: A fluid which obeys Newton’s law of viscosity is called Newtonian

fluid. In such fluids shear stress varies directly as shear strain

 In this case the stress strain curve is a stress line passing through origin the slope
of the line gives dynamic viscosity of the fluid.
Eg: Water, Kerosene.



du/dy
duDUD
2. Non- Newtonian fluid: A fluid whichUdoes not obey Newton’s law of viscosity is
called non-Newton fluid. For such fluids,



du
du/dy
dy

3. Ideal Plastic fluids:

In this case the strain starts after certain initial stress (  0) and then the stress-
strain relationship will be linear.  0 is called initial yield stress. Sometimes they are also
called Bingham’s Plastics:

Eg: Industrial sludge.





du/dy
du
 4. Thixotropic fluids:
These require certain amount of yield stress to initiate shear strain. After wards
stress-strain relationship will be non – linear.
Eg; Printers ink.



0

du/dy
du
dy

5. Ideal fluid:
Any fluid for which viscosity is assumed to be zero is called Ideal fluid. For ideal
du
fluid  = 0 for all values of
dy






Ideal fluid

du
du/dy
dy
6. Real fluid :
Any fluid which possesses certain viscosity is called real fluid. It can be
Newtonianor non – Newtonian, thixotropic or ideal plastic.

Ideal plastic

Non-Newtonian
Newtonian

Ideal fluid

du
du/dy
dy
5. FLUID FLOWS
5.1 STEADY FLOW
A steady flow is one in which all conditions at any point in a stream remain constant with
respect to time.

Or

A steady flow is the one in which the quantity of liquid flowing per second through any
section, is constant.

This is the definition for the ideal case. True steady flow is present only in Laminar flow. In
turbulent flow, there are continual fluctuations in velocity. Pressure also fluctuates at every
point. But if this rate of change of pressure and velocity are equal on both sides of a constant
average value, the flow is steady flow. The exact term use for this is mean steady flow.
Steady flow may be uniform or non-uniform.

5.2 UNIFORM FLOW

A truly uniform flow is one in which the velocity is same at a given instant at every point in
the fluid.

This definition holds for the ideal case. Whereas in real fluids velocity varies across the
section.

But when the size and shape of cross section are constant along the length of channels under
consideration, the flow is said to be uniform.

5.3 NON-UNIFORM FLOW

A non-uniform flow is one in which velocity is not constant at a given instant.

5.4 UNSTEADY FLOW

A flow in which quantity of liquid flowing per second is not constant, is called unsteady flow.

Unsteady flow is a transient phenomenon. It may be in time become steady or zero flow. For
example when a valve is closed at the discharge end of the pipeline. Thus, causing the
velocity in the pipeline to decrease to zero. In the meantime, there will be fluctuations in both
velocity and pressure within the pipe.
Unsteady flow may also include periodic motion such as that of waves of beaches. The
difference between these cases and mean steady flow is that there is so much deviation from
the mean. And the time scale is also much longer.
5.5 ONE, TWO AND THREE DIMENSIONAL FLOWS
Term one, two or three dimensional flow refers to the number of space coordinated required
to describe a flow. It appears that any physical flow is generally three-dimensional. But these
are difficult to calculate and call for as much simplification as possible. This is achieved by
ignoring changes to flow in any of the directions, thus reducing the complexity. It may be
possible to reduce a three-dimensional problem to a two-dimensional one, even a one-
dimensional one at times.

Figure-1: Example of one-dimensional flow

Consider flow through a circular pipe. This flow is complex at the position where the flow
enters the pipe. But as we proceed downstream the flow simplifies considerably and attains
the state of a fully developed flow. A characteristic of this flow is that the velocity becomes
invariant in the flow direction as shown in Fig-1. Velocity for this flow is given by

(3.6)

It is readily seen that velocity at any location depends just on the radial distance from the
centreline and is independent of distance, x or of the angular position. This represents a
typical one-dimensional flow.

Now consider a flow through a diverging duct as shown in Fig. 2. Velocity at any location
depends not only upon the radial distance but also on the x-distance. This is therefore
a two-dimensional flow.

Figure -2: A two-dimensional flow

Concept of a uniform flow is very handy in analyzing fluid flows. A uniform flow is one
where the velocity and other properties are constant independent of directions. We usually
assume a uniform flow at the entrance to a pipe, far away from an aerofoil or a motor car as
shown in Fig.3.

Fig: 4 Uniform flow

5.6 REAL FLUIDS

The flow of real fluids exhibits viscous effect that is they tend to "stick" to solid surfaces and
have stresses within their body.

You might remember from earlier in the course Newton’s law of viscosity:

This tells us that the shear stress, 𝑟in a fluid is proportional to the velocity gradient - the rate
of change of velocity across the fluid path. For a "Newtonian" fluid we can write:

Where the constant of proportionality, 𝜇 is known as the coefficient of viscosity (or simply
viscosity). We saw that for some fluids - sometimes known as exotic fluids - the value
of 𝜇 changes with stress or velocity gradient. We shall only deal with Newtonian fluids.

In his lecture we shall look at how the forces due to momentum changes on the fluid and
viscous forces compare and what changes take place.

5.7 LAMINAR AND TURBULENT FLOW

If we were to take a pipe of free flowing water and inject a dye into the middle of the stream,
what would we expect to happen?

This
This

Or this

Actually both would happen - but for different flow rates. The top occurs when the fluid is
flowing fast and the lower when it is flowing slowly.
The top situation is known as turbulent flow and the lower as laminar flow.
In laminar flow the motion of the particles of fluid is very orderly with all particles moving in
straight lines parallel to the pipe walls.
But what is fast or slow? And at what speed does the flow pattern change? And why might
we want to know this?
The phenomenon was first investigated in the 1880s by Osbourne Reynolds in an experiment
which has become a classic in fluid mechanics.
He used a tank arranged as above with a pipe taking water from the centre into which he
injected a dye through a needle. After many experiments he saw that this expression

where 𝜌 = density, u = mean velocity, d = diameter and 𝑣 = viscosity

would help predict the change in flow type. If the value is less than about 2000 then flow is
laminar, if greater than 4000 then turbulent and in between these then in the transition zone.

This value is known as the Reynolds number, Re:

Laminar flow: Re < 2000

Transitional flow: 2000 < Re < 4000

Turbulent flow: Re > 4000

What are the units of this Reynolds number? We can fill in the equation with SI units:

i.e. it has no units. A quantity that has no units is known as a non-dimensional (or
dimensionless) quantity. Thus the Reynolds number, Re, is a non-dimensional number.

We can go through an example to discover at what velocity the flow in a pipe stops being
laminar.

If the pipe and the fluid have the following properties:

water density 𝜌 = 1000 kg/m3

pipe diameter d = 0.5m

(dynamic) viscosity, ν = 0.55x10-3 Ns/m2

We want to know the maximum velocity when the Re is 2000.

If this were a pipe in a house central heating system, where the pipe diameter is typically
0.015m, the limiting velocity for laminar flow would be, 0.0733 m/s.

Both of these are very slow. In practice it very rarely occurs in a piped water system - the
velocities of flow are much greater. Laminar flow does occur in situations with fluids of
greater viscosity - e.g. in bearing with oil as the lubricant.

At small values of Re above 2000 the flow exhibits small instabilities. At values of about
4000 we can say that the flow is truly turbulent. Over the past 100 years since this
experiment, numerous more experiments have shown this phenomenon of limits of Re for
many different Newtonian fluids - including gasses.

What does this abstract number mean?

We can say that the number has a physical meaning, by doing so it helps to understand some
of the reasons for the changes from laminar to turbulent flow.

It can be interpreted that when the inertial forces dominate over the viscous forces (when the
fluid is flowing faster and Re is larger) then the flow is turbulent. When the viscous forces are
dominant (slow flow, low Re) they are sufficient enough to keep all the fluid particles in line,
then the flow is laminar.

Laminar flow
 Re < 2000
 'low' velocity
 Dye does not mix with water
 Fluid particles move in straight lines
 Simple mathematical analysis possible
 Rare in practice in water systems.

Transitional flow

 2000 > Re < 4000

 'medium' velocity
 Dye stream wavers in water - mixes slightly.

Turbulent flow

 Re > 4000
 'high' velocity
 Dye mixes rapidly and completely
  Particle paths completely irregular
 Average motion is in the direction of the flow
 Cannot be seen by the naked eye
 Changes/fluctuations are very difficult to detect. Must use laser.
 Mathematical analysis very difficult - so experimental measures are used

5.9 PRESSURE LOSS DUE TO FRICTION IN A PIPELINE

Up to this point on the course we have considered ideal fluids where there have been no
losses due to friction or any other factors. In reality, because fluids are viscous, energy is lost
by flowing fluids due to friction which must be taken into account. The effect of the friction
shows itself as a pressure (or head) loss.

In a pipe with a real fluid flowing, at the wall there is a shearing stress retarding the flow, as
shown below.

If a manometer is attached as the pressure (head) difference due to the energy lost by the fluid
overcoming the shear stress can be easily seen.

The pressure at 1 (upstream) is higher than the pressure at 2.

We can do some analysis to express this loss in pressure in terms of the forces acting on the
fluid.

Consider a cylindrical element of incompressible fluid flowing in the pipe, as shown

The pressure at the upstream end is p, and at the downstream end the pressure has fallen
by ∆p to (p-∆p).

The driving force due to pressure (F = Pressure x Area) can then be written

driving force = Pressure force at 1 - pressure force at 2

The retarding force is that due to the shear stress by the walls

As the flow is in equilibrium,

driving force = retarding force

Giving an expression for pressure loss in a pipe in terms of the pipe diameter and the shear
stress at the wall on the pipe.
The shear stress will vary with velocity of flow and hence with Re. Many experiments have
been done with various fluids measuring the pressure loss at various Reynolds numbers.
These results plotted to show a graph of the relationship between pressure loss and Re look
similar to the figure below:

This graph shows that the relationship between pressure loss and Re can be expressed as

As these are empirical relationships, they help in determining the pressure loss but not in
finding the magnitude of the shear stress at the wall on a particular fluid. We could then use it
to give a general equation to predict the pressure loss.

5.10 PRESSURE LOSS DURING LAMINAR FLOW IN A PIPE

In general the shear stress w. is almost impossible to measure. But for laminar flow it is
possible to calculate a theoretical value for a given velocity, fluid and pipe dimension.

In laminar flow the paths of individual particles of fluid do not cross, so the flow may be
considered as a series of concentric cylinders sliding over each other - rather like the
cylinders of a collapsible pocket telescope.

As before, consider a cylinder of fluid, length L, radius r, flowing steadily in the center of a
pipe.
We are in equilibrium, so the shearing forces on the cylinder equal the pressure forces.

By Newton’s law of viscosity we have , where y is the distance from the wall. As we
are measuring from the pipe centre then we change the sign and replace y with r distance
from the centre, giving

Which can be combined with the equation above to give

In an integral form this gives an expression for velocity,

Integrating gives the value of velocity at a point distance r from the centre

At r = 0, (the centre of the pipe), u = umax, at r = R (the pipe wall) u = 0, giving

so, an expression for velocity at a point r from the pipe centre when the flow is laminar is

Note how this is a parabolic profile (of the form y = ax2 + b) so the velocity profile in the
pipe looks similar to the figure below

What is the discharge in the pipe?

So the discharge can be written

This is the Hagen-Poiseuille equation for laminar flow in a pipe. It expresses the

discharge Q in terms of the pressure gradient ( ), diameter of the pipe and the
viscosity of the fluid.

We are interested in the pressure loss (head loss) and want to relate this to the velocity of the
flow. Writing pressure loss in terms of head loss hf, i.e. p = 𝜌ghf

This shows that pressure loss is directly proportional to the velocity when flow is laminar.

It has been validated many time by experiment.

It justifies two assumptions:

1. fluid does not slip past a solid boundary

2. Newton’s hypothesis.

5.11 STREAMLINE:
This is an imaginary curve in a flow field for a fixed instant of time, tangent to which gives
the instantaneous velocity at that point. Two stream lines can never intersect each
other, as the instantaneous velocity vector at any given point is unique.

The differential equation of streamline may be written as

𝑑𝑢 𝑑𝑣 𝑑𝑤
= =
𝑢 𝑣 𝑤
where u,v, and w are the velocity components in x, y and z directions respectively
as sketched.
 Streamlines

Fig. Streamline function

Stream tube:
If streamlines are drawn through a closed curve, they form a boundary surface across which
fluid cannot penetrate. Such a surface bounded by streamlines is a sort of tube, and is known
as a stream tube.
From the definition of streamline, it is evident that no fluid can cross the bounding surface of
the stream tube. This implies that the quantity(mass) of fluid entering the stream tube at one
end must be the same as the quantity leaving it at the other. The stream tube is generally
assumed to be a small cross-sectional area so that the velocity over it could be considered
uniform.
 Stream tube
5.12 PATHLINE
A path line is the locus of a fluid particle as it moves along. In others word, a path line is
acurve traced by a single fluid particle during its motion.
Two path lines can intersect each other as or a single path line can form a loop as different
particles or even same particle can arrive at the same point at different instants of time.

Path line
5.13 STREAK LINE:
Streakline concentrates on fluid particles that have gone through a fixed station or point. At
some instant of time the position of all these particles are marked and a line is drawn through
them. Such a line is called a streakline. Thus, a streakline connects all particles passing
through a given point.
In a steady flow the streamline, path line and streakline all coincide. In an
unsteadyflow they can be different. Streamlines are easily generated
mathematically while path line and streak lines are obtained through experiments.

Stream function:
The idea of introducing stream function works only if the continuity equation is reduced to
two terms. There are 4-terms in the continuity equation that one can get by expanding the
vector equation i.e.,
∂𝜌 ∂(𝜌𝑢) ∂(𝜌𝑣) ∂(𝜌𝑤)
+ + + =0
∂𝑡 ∂𝑥 ∂𝑦 ∂𝑧
For a steady, incompressible, plane, two-dimensional flow, this equation reduces to,
∂𝑢 ∂𝑣
+ =0
∂𝑥 ∂𝑦
Here, the striking idea of stream function works that will eliminate two velocity
components u and v into a single variable. So, the stream function ƒ(𝑥, 𝑦) relates to the
velocity components in such a way that continuity equation is satisfied.
ðƒ ðƒ
𝑢= ; 𝑣=−
ð𝑦 ð𝑥

Velocity components along a streamline

Flow between two streamlines

5.14 VELOCITY POTENTIAL
An irrotational flow is defined as the flow where the vorticity is zero at every point. It gives
rise to a scalar function Φ which is similar and complementary to the stream function ψ. Let
us consider the equations of irrortional flow and scalar function Φ. In an irrotational flow,
there is no vorticity ξ.
The velocity potential is represented by Φ and is defined by the following expression :
-Φ = ∫Vs ds
in which Vs is the velocity along a small length element ds. So we get
dΦ = -Vs ds
or Vs = - (dΦ / ds)
The velocity potential is a scalar quantity dependent upon space and time. Its negative
derivative with respect to any direction gives the velocity in that direction, that is
∂Φ ∂Φ ∂Φ
𝑢=− ,𝑣 = − ,𝑤 = −
∂𝑥 ∂𝑦 ∂𝑧

In polar co-ordinates (r, θ, z), the velocity components are

6Ø
vr = − , vθ= 6Ø , vz = − 6Ø
6𝑟 𝑟6
𝑟 6𝑧
The velocity potential Φ thus provides an alternative means of expressing velocity
components. The minus sign in equation appears because of the convention that the velocity
potential decreases in the direction of flow just as the electrical potential decreases in the
direction in which the current flows. The velocity potential is not a physical quantity which
could be directly measured and, therefore, its zero position may be arbitrarily chosen.

5.15 FLOWNET:
The flownet is a graphical representation of two-dimensional irrotational flow and consists of
a family of streamlines intersecting orthogonally a family of equipotential lines (they
intersect at right angles) and in the process forming small curvilinear squares.

Fig. Flownet

Uses of flownet:
 For given boundaries of flow, the velocity and pressure distribution can be
determined, if the velocity distribution and pressure at any reference section are
known
 Loss of flow due to seepage in earth dams and unlined canals can be evaluated
 Uplift pressures on the undesirable (bottom) of the dam can be worked out

Relation between stream function & velocity potential

Ø exists only in irrotational flow whereas 𝜑exists in both rotational as well as
irrotational flow

6Ø 6𝜑
u= - = & v=6𝜑 = - 6Ø
6𝑥 6𝑦 6𝑥 6𝑦
6𝜑 6Ø 6𝜑
therefore, =6Ø & =−
6𝑥 6𝑦 6𝑥 6𝑦
6. OIL POWER HYDRAULICS AND
PNEUMATICS
1.1 Introduction

In the industry we use three methods for transmitting power from one point to another.
Mechanical transmission is through shafts, gears, chains, belts, etc. Electrical transmission is
through wires, transformers, etc. Fluid power is through liquids or gas in a confined space. In
this chapter, we shall discuss a structure of hydraulic systems and pneumatic systems. We
will also discuss the advantages and disadvantages and compare hydraulic, pneumatic,
electrical and mechanical systems.

1.2 Fluid Power and Its Scope

Fluid power is the technology that deals with the generation, control and transmission of
forces and movement of mechanical element or system with the use of pressurized fluids in a
confined system. Both liquids and gases are considered fluids. Fluid power system includes a
hydraulic system (hydra meaning water in Greek) and a pneumatic system (pneuma meaning
air in Greek). Oil hydraulic employs pressurized liquid petroleum oils and synthetic oils, and
pneumatic employs compressed air that is released to the atmosphere after performing the
work.
 Perhaps it would be in order that we clarify our thinking on one point. By the term “fluid”
we refer to air or oil, for it has been shown that water has certain drawbacks in the
transmission of hydraulic power in machine operation and control. Commercially, pure water
contains various chemicals (some deliberately included) and also foreign matter, and unless
special precautions are taken when it is used, it is nearly impossible to maintain valves and
working surfaces in satisfactory condition. In the cases where the hydraulic system is closed
(i.e., the one with a self-contained unit that serves one machine or one small group of
machines), oil is commonly used, thus providing, in addition to power transmission, benefits of
lubrication not afforded by water as well as increased life and efficiency of packing’s and
valves. It should be mentioned that in some special cases, soluble oil diluted with water is
used for safety reasons. The application of fluid power is limited only by the ingenuity of the
designer, production engineer or plant engineer. If the application pertains to lifting, pushing,
pulling, clamping, tilting, forcing, pressing or any other straight line (and many rotary)
motions, it is possible that fluid power will meet the requirement.

Fluid power applications can be classified into two major segments:

Stationary hydraulics: Stationary hydraulic systems remain firmly fixed in one position.
The characteristic feature of stationary hydraulics is that valves are mainly solenoid operated.
The applications of stationary hydraulics are as follows:

Production and assembly of vehicles of all types.

Machine tools and transfer lines.

Lifting and conveying devices.
Metal-forming presses.
Plastic machinery such as injection-molding machines.
Rolling machines.
Lifts.
Food processing machinery.
Automatic handling equipment and robots.

Mobile hydraulics: Mobile hydraulic systems move on wheels or tracks such as a tower crane or
excavator truck to operate in many different locations or while moving. A characteristic feature of
mobile hydraulics is that the valves are frequently manually operated. The applications of
mobile hydraulics are as follows:
 Automobiles, tractors, aeroplanes, missile, boats, etc.
Construction machinery.
Tippers, excavators and elevating platforms.
Lifting and conveying devices.
Agricultural machinery.

Hydraulics and pneumatics have almost unlimited application in the production of goods and
services in nearly all sectors of the country. Several industries are dependent on the
capabilities that fluid power affords. Table 1.1 summarizes few applications of fluid power.

Table 1.1 More applications of fluid power

Agriculture Tractors; farm equipment such as mowers, ploughs,

chemical and water sprayers, fertilizer spreaders, harvesters

Automation Automated transfer lines, robotics

Automobiles Power steering, power brakes, suspension systems,

hydrostatic transmission

Aviation Fluid power equipment such as landing wheels in aircraft.

Helicopters, aircraft trolleys, aircraft test beds, luggage
loading and unloading systems, ailerons, aircraft servicing,
flight simulators

Construction For metering and mixing of concrete rudders, excavators,

industry/equipment lifts, bucket loaders, crawlers, post-hole diggers, road
graders, road cleaners, road maintenance vehicles, tippers
Defense Missile-launching systems, navigation controls
Entertainment Amusement park entertainment rides such as roller coasters

Fabrication industry Hand tools such as pneumatic drills, grinders, borers,

riveting machines, nut runners
Food and beverage All types of food processing equipment, wrapping, bottling,
Foundry Full and semi-automatic molding machines, tilting of
furnaces, die-casting machines
Glass industry Vacuum suction cups for handling
Hazardous gaseous areas Hydraulic fracturing technologies: It involves pumping
large volumes of water and sand into a well at high pressure
to fracture shale and other tight formations, allowing
hazardous oil and gas to flow into the well. However,
hydraulic fracturing has serious environmental and water
pollution related issues.

Instrumentation Used to create/operate complex instruments in space

rockets, gas turbines, nuclear power plants, industrial labs
Jigs and fixtures Work holding devices, clamps, stoppers, indexers

Machine tools Automated machine tools, numerically controlled(NC)

machine tools
Materials handling Jacks, hoists, cranes, forklifts, conveyor systems

Medical Medical equipment such as breathing assistors, heart assist

devices, cardiac compression machines, dental drives and
human patient simulator
Movies Special-effect equipment use fluid power; movies such as
Jurassic park, Jaws, Anaconda, Titanic
Mining Rock drills, excavating equipment, ore conveyors, loaders

Newspapers and periodicals Edge trimming, stapling, pressing, bundle wrapping

Oil industry Off-shore oil rigs

Paper and packaging Process control systems, special-purpose machines for
rolling and packing
Pharmaceuticals Process control systems such as bottle filling, tablet
placement, packaging
Plastic industry Automatic injection molding machines, raw material
feeding, jaw closing, movement of slides of blow molder
Press tools Heavy duty presses for bulk metal formation such as sheet
metal, forging, bending, punching, etc.
Printing industry For paper feeding, packaging

Robots Fluid power operated robots, pneumatic systems

Ships Stabilizing systems, unloading and loading unit, gyroscopic

instruments, movement of flat forms, lifters, subsea
inspection equipment
Textiles Web tensioning devices, trolleys, process controllers

Transportation Hydraulic elevators, winches, overhead trams

Under sea Submarines, under sea research vehicles, marine drives and
control of ships
Wood working Tree shearers, handling huge logs, feeding clamping and
saw operations

The following are the two types of hydraulic systems:

1. Fluid transport systems: Their sole objective is the delivery of a fluid from one
location to another to accomplish some useful purpose. Examples include pumping
stations for pumping water to homes, cross-country gas lines, etc.
2. Fluid power systems: These are designed to perform work. In fluid power systems,
work is obtained by pressurized fluid acting directly on a fluid cylinder or a fluid
motor. A cylinder produces a force resulting in linear motion, whereas a fluid motor
produces a torque resulting in rotary motion.

1.3 Classification of Fluid Power Systems

The fluid power system can be categorized as follows:
1. Based on the control system

Open-loop system: There is no feedback in the open system and performance is

based on the characteristics of the individual components of the system. The open-
 loop system is not accurate and error can be reduced by proper calibration and
control.
Closed-loop system: This system uses feedback. The output of the system is fed back
to a comparator by a measuring element. The comparator compares the actual output to
the desired output and gives an error signal to the control element. The error is used
to change the actual output and bring it closer to the desired value. A simple closed-
loop system uses servo valves and an advanced system uses digital electronics.
2. Based on the type of control

Fluid logic control: This type of system is controlled by hydraulic oil or air. The
system employs fluid logic devices such as AND, NAND, OR, NOR, etc. Two types
of fluid logic systems are available:
(a) Moving part logic (MPL): These devices are miniature fluid elements using
moving parts such as diaphragms, disks and poppets to implement various logic
gates.
(b) Fluidics: Fluid devices contain no moving parts and depend solely on interacting
fluid jets to implement various logic gates.
Electrical control: This type of system is controlled by electrical devices. Four basic
electrical devices are used for controlling the fluid power systems: switches, relays,
timers and solenoids. These devices help to control the starting, stopping, sequencing,
speed, positioning, timing and reversing of actuating cylinders and fluid motors.
Electrical control and fluid power work well together where remote control is
essential.
Electronic control: This type of system is controlled by microelectronic devices. The
electronic brain is used to control the fluid power muscles for doing work. This
system uses the most advanced type of electronic hardware including programmable
logic control (PLC) or microprocessor (P). In the electrical control, a change in
system operation results in a cumbersome process of redoing hardware connections.
The difficulty is overcome by programmable electronic control. The program can be
modified or a new program can be fed to meet the change of operations. A number of
such programs can be stored in these devices, which makes the systems more flexible.
1.4 Hydrostatic and Hydrodynamic Systems

A hydrostatic system uses fluid pressure to transmit power. Hydrostatics deals with the
mechanics of still fluids and uses the theory of equilibrium conditions in fluid. The system
creates high pressure, and through a transmission line and a control element, this pressure
drives an actuator (linear or rotational). The pump used in hydrostatic systems is a positive
displacement pump. The relative spatial position of this pump is arbitrary but should not be
very large due to losses (must be less than 50 m). An example of pure hydrostatics is the
transfer of force in hydraulics.

Hydrodynamic systems use fluid motion to transmit power. Power is transmitted by the
kinetic energy of the fluid. Hydrodynamics deals with the mechanics of moving fluid and uses
flow theory. The pump used in hydrodynamic systems is a non-positive displacement pump.
The relative spatial position of the prime mover (e.g., turbine) is fixed. An example of pure
hydrodynamics is the conversion of flow energy in turbines in hydroelectric power plants.

In oil hydraulics, we deal mostly with the fluid working in a confined system, that is, a
hydrostatic system.
1.5 History of Fluid Power

Fluid power is as old as our civilization itself. Water was used for centuries to produce
power by means of water wheels and air was used to turn windmills and to propel ships.
Chinese used wooden valves to control water flow through bamboo pipes in 4000 BC.
Ancient Egyptians have built a masonry dam across Nile, 14 miles south to present Cairo, for
the control of irrigation water by canals, sluices, brick conduits and ceramic pipes. During the
Roman empire, extensive water systems using aqueducts, reservoirs and valves were
constructed to carry water to cities. However, these early uses of fluid power required the
movement of huge quantities of fluid because of the relatively low pressures provided by
nature.

Fluid power technology actually began in 1650 with the discovery of Pascal’s law. Simply
stated, this law says that pressure in a fluid at rest is transmitted undiminished equally in all
directions in a confined body of fluid. Pascal found that when he rammed a cork down into a
jug completely full of wine, the bottom of the jug broke and fell out. However, in order for
Pascal’s law to be made effective for practical use, it was necessary to make a piston that
would fit exactly. Not until over 100 years later was this accomplished. It was in 1795 that
Joseph Brahmah invented the cup packing that led to the development of a workable
hydraulic press. Brahmah’s hydraulic press consisted of a plunger pump piped to a large
cylinder and a ram. This new hydraulic press found wide use in England because it provided a
more effective and economical means of applying large force to industrial applications.

In 1750, Bernoulli developed his law of conservation of energy for a fluid flowing in a
pipeline. Both Pascal’s and Bernoulli’s laws operate at the heart of all fluid power
applications and are used for analytical purposes. However, it was not until the Industrial
Revolution of 1850 in Great Britain that these laws were actually applied to the industry.

The first use of a large hydraulic press for foregoing work was made in 1860 by Whitworth.
In the next 20 years, many attempts were made to reduce the waste and excessive
maintenance costs of the original type of accumulator. In 1872, Rigg patented a three-cylinder
hydraulic engine in which provision was made to change the stroke of plungers to vary its
displacement without a throttle valve. In 1873, the Brotherhood three-cylinder, constant-
stroke hydraulic engine was patented and was widely used for cranes, winches, etc. Both the
above-mentioned engines were driven by fluid from an accumulator.

Up to this time, electrical energy was not developed to power the machines of industry.
Instead, fluid power was being used to drive hydraulic equipment such as cranes, presses,
shearing machines, etc. With electricity emerging dominantly in the 19th century, it was soon
found superior to fluid power for transmitting power over great distances.

The modern era in fluid power began around the turn of the century. Fluid applications were
made to such installations as the main armament system of USS Virginia in 1906. In these
applications, a variable-speed hydrostatic transmission was installed to drive the main guns.
Since that time, marine industry has applied fluid power to cargo-handling systems,
controllable pitch controllers, submarine control system, aircraft elevators, aircraft- and missile-
launching system and radar/sonar-driven systems. In 1926, the United States developed the
first unitized, packaged hydraulic system consisting of a pump, controls and an actuator.

Today fluid power is used extensively in practically every branch of industry. The
innovative use of modern technology such as electrohydraulic closed loops, microprocessors
and improved materials for component construction continues to advance the performance of
fluid power systems. The military requirements kept fluid power applications and
developments going at a good pace. Aviation and aerospace industry provided the impetus for
many advances in fluid power technology.
 1.6 Advantages of a Fluid Power System

Oil hydraulics stands out as the prime moving force in machinery and equipment designed to
handle medium to heavy loads. In the early stages of industrial development, mechanical
linkages were used along with prime movers such as electrical motors and engines for
handling loads. But the mechanical efficiency of linkages was very low and the linkages often
failed under critical loading conditions. With the advent of fluid power technology and
associated electronics and control, it is used in every industry now.

The advantages of a fluid power system are as follows:

1. Fluid power systems are simple, easy to operate and can be controlled accurately:
Fluid power gives flexibility to equipment without requiring a complex mechanism.
Using fluid power, we can start, stop, accelerate, decelerate, reverse or position large
forces/components with great accuracy using simple levers and push buttons. For
example, in Earth-moving equipment, bucket carrying load can be raised or lowered by
an operator using a lever. The landing gear of an aircraft can be retrieved to home
position by the push button.

2. Multiplication and variation of forces: Linear or rotary force can be multiplied by a

fraction of a kilogram to several hundreds of tons.
3. Multifunction control: A single hydraulic pump or air compressor can provide power
and control for numerous machines using valve manifolds and distribution systems. The
fluid power controls can be placed at a central station so that the operator has, at all times, a
complete control of the entire production line, whether it is a multiple operation
machine or a group of machines. Such a setup is more or less standard in the steel mill
industry.
4. Low-speed torque: Unlike electric motors, air or hydraulic motors can produce a large
amount of torque while operating at low speeds. Some hydraulic and pneumatic motors
can even maintain torque at a very slow speed without overheating.
5. Constant force or torque: Fluid power systems can deliver constant torque or force
regardless of speed changes.

6. Economical: Not only reduction in required manpower but also the production or
elimination of operator fatigue, as a production factor, is an important element in the use
of fluid power.
7. Low weight to power ratio: The hydraulic system has a low weight to power ratio
compared to electromechanical systems. Fluid power systems are compact.
8. Fluid power systems can be used where safety is of vital importance: Safety is of
vital importance in air and space travel, in the production and operation of motor vehicles, in
mining and manufacture of delicate products. For example, hydraulic systems are
responsible for the safety of takeoff, landing and flight of aeroplanes and space craft.
Rapid advances in mining and tunneling are the results of the application of modern
hydraulic and pneumatic systems.

1.7 Basic Components of a Hydraulic System

Hydraulic systems are power-transmitting assemblies employing pressurized liquid as a fluid

for transmitting energy from an energy-generating source to an energy-using point to
accomplish useful work. Figure 1.1 shows a simple circuit of a hydraulic system with basic
components.

Load
Motor 1 – Off 2 – Forward 3– Return

1
3 2
Pressure
Filter regulator

Pump

Direction
control
valve
Actuator
Oil tank

Figure 1.1 Components of a hydraulic system

Functions of the components shown in Fig. 1.1 are as follows:

1. The hydraulic actuator is a device used to convert the fluid power into mechanical
power to do useful work. The actuator may be of the linear type (e.g., hydraulic
cylinder) or rotary type (e.g., hydraulic motor) to provide linear or rotary motion,
respectively.
2. The hydraulic pump is used to force the fluid from the reservoir to rest of the
hydraulic circuit by converting mechanical energy into hydraulic energy.
3. Valves are used to control the direction, pressure and flow rate of a fluid flowing
through the circuit.
 4. External power supply (motor) is required to drive the pump.
5. Reservoir is used to hold the hydraulic liquid, usually hydraulic oil.
6. Piping system carries the hydraulic oil from one place to another.
7. Filters are used to remove any foreign particles so as keep the fluid system clean and
efficient, as well as avoid damage to the actuator and valves.
8. Pressure regulator regulates (i.e., maintains) the required level of pressure in the
hydraulic fluid.

The piping shown in Fig. 1.1 is of closed-loop type with fluid transferred from the storage
tank to one side of the piston and returned back from the other side of the piston to the tank.
Fluid is drawn from the tank by a pump that produces fluid flow at the required level of
pressure. If the fluid pressure exceeds the required level, then the excess fluid returns back to
the reservoir and remains there until the pressure acquires the required level.

Cylinder movement is controlled by a three-position change over a control valve.

1. When the piston of the valve is changed to upper position, the pipe pressure line is
connected to port A and thus the load is raised.

2. When the position of the valve is changed to lower position, the pipe pressure line is
connected to port B and thus the load is lowered.

3. When the valve is at center position, it locks the fluid into the cylinder (thereby holding it in
position) and dead-ends the fluid line (causing all the pump output fluid to return to tank via
the pressure relief).

In industry, a machine designer conveys the design of hydraulic systems using a circuit
diagram. Figure 1.2 shows the components of the hydraulic system using symbols. The
working fluid, which is the hydraulic oil, is stored in a reservoir. When the electric motor is
switched ON, it runs a positive displacement pump that draws hydraulic oil through a filter
and delivers at high pressure. The pressurized oil passes through the regulating valve and does
work on actuator. Oil from the other end of the actuator goes back to the tank via return
line. To and fro motion of the cylinder is controlled using directional control valve.
 Cylinder
Extended

Retract

Motor Directional control valve

Pump

Pressure regulator
Filter

Breather

Reservoir

Figure 1.2 Components of a hydraulic system (shown using symbols).

The hydraulic system discussed above can be broken down into four main divisions that are
analogous to the four main divisions in an electrical system.

1. The power device parallels the electrical generating station.

2. The control valves parallel the switches, resistors, timers, pressure switches, relays, etc.

3. The lines in which the fluid power flows parallel the electrical lines.

4. The fluid power motor (whether it is a rotating or a non-rotating cylinder or a fluid power
motor) parallels the solenoids and electrical motors.

1.8 Basic Components of a Pneumatic System

A pneumatic system carries power by employing compressed gas, generally air, as a fluid
for transmitting energy from an energy-generating source to an energy-using point to
accomplish useful work. Figure 1.3 shows a simple circuit of a pneumatic system with basic
components.
 Power Opens when set
supply pressure is reached
Load

Pressure 1 – Off 2 – Forward 3- Return

switch 1
Motor 3 2
Storage
Air cooler reservoir
Air filter

Air compressor

Direction
control
Air from
valve
atmosphere
Air actuator
Air to atmosphere

Figure 1.3 Components of a pneumatic system.

The functions of various components shown in Fig. 1.3 are as follows:

1. The pneumatic actuator converts the fluid power into mechanical power to perform
useful work.
2. The compressor is used to compress the fresh air drawn from the atmosphere.
3. The storage reservoir is used to store a given volume of compressed air.
4. The valves are used to control the direction, flow rate and pressure of compressed air.
5. External power supply (motor) is used to drive the compressor.
6. The piping system carries the pressurized air from one location to another.

Air is drawn from the atmosphere through an air filter and raised to required pressure by an air
compressor. As the pressure rises, the temperature also rises; hence, an air cooler is
provided to cool the air with some preliminary treatment to remove the moisture. The treated
pressurized air then needs to get stored to maintain the pressure. With the storage reservoir, a
pressure switch is fitted to start and stop the electric motor when pressure falls and reaches
the required level, respectively.

The three-position change over the valve delivering air to the cylinder operates in a way
similar to its hydraulic circuit.
1.9 Comparison between Hydraulic and Pneumatic Systems
Usually hydraulic and pneumatic systems and equipment do not compete. They are so dissimilar
that there are few problems in selecting any of them that cannot be readily resolved.
Certainly, availability is one of the important factors of selection but this may be outweighed
by other factors. In numerous instances, for example, air is preferred to meet certain
unalterable conditions, that is, in “hot spots” where there is an open furnace or other potential
ignition hazard or in operations where motion is required at extremely high speeds. It is often
found more efficient to use a combined circuit in which oil is used in one part and air in
another on the same machine or process. Table 1.2 shows a brief comparison of hydraulic and
pneumatic systems.

Table 1.2 Comparison between a hydraulic and a pneumatic system</table>

S. No. Hydraulic System Pneumatic System

It employs a pressurized liquid It employs a compressed gas, usually

1. air, as a fluid
as a fluid

2. An oil hydraulic system operates at A pneumatic system usually operates

pressures up to 700 bar at 5–10 bar
3. Generally designed as closed system Usually designed as open system

The system slows down when leakage Leakage does not affect the system
4.
occurs much

5. Valve operations are difficult Valve operations are easy

6. Heavier in weight Lighter in weight

Pumps are used to provide Compressors are used to provide

7. compressed gases
pressurized liquids

8. The system is unsafe to fire hazards The system is free from fire hazards

Automatic lubrication is provided Special arrangements for lubrication

9.
are needed
 1.10 Comparison of Different Power Systems

There are three basic methods of transmitting power: electrical, mechanical and fluid
power. Most applications actually use a combination of the three methods to obtain the most
efficient overall system. To properly determine which method to use, it is important to
know the salient features of each type. For example, fluid systems can transmit power
more economically over greater distances than mechanical types. However, fluid
systems are restricted to shorter distances compared to electrical systems. Table 1.3
lists the salient features of each type.

Table 1.3 Comparison of different power systems

Property Mechanical Electrical Pneumatic Hydraulic

Input energy I C engines I C engines I C engines I C engines

source
Electric motor Water/gas turbines Pressure tank Electric motor

Air turbine
Energy transfer Levers, gears, Electrical cables Pipes and hoses Pipes and hoses
element shafts and magnetic field
Energy carrier Rigid and elastic Flow of Air Hydraulic
objects electrons liquids
Power-to-weight Poor Fair Best Best
ratio
Torque/inertia Poor Fair Good Best
Stiffness Good Poor Fair Best
Response speed Fair Best Fair Good
Dirt sensitivity Best Best Fair Fair
Relative cost Best Best Good Fair

Control Fair Best Good Good

Motion type Mainly rotary Mainly rotary Linear or rotary Linear or rotary
 1.11 Future of Fluid Power Industry in India

The automation market in India is estimated to be 1/10ththat of China. If India has to

become one of the leading economies in the world, based on manufacturing, it will have to
attain higher technological standards and higher level of automation in manufacturing.

In the past 30 years, fluid power technology rose as an important industry. With increasing
emphasis on automation, quality control, safety and more efficient and green energy systems,
fluid power technology should continue to expand in India.

Fluid power industry is gaining a lot of importance in Indian industry. According to a recent
survey, it has shown a growth of 20% over the last 10 years and the size of market is
estimated to be close to 5000 crores per annum. This makes it a sizable industry segment in
India. The growth rate of this industry in India is typically about twice the growth of
economy.
The reasons for this are three-fold:

1. As the economy grows, this industry grows.

2. There is a lot of automation and conversion into more sophisticated manufacturing methods
which increases the rate.
3. One of the interesting things happening in this industry is that India is becoming an
attractive destination for manufacturing and outsourcing of some of the products.
So these three aspects together create a situation where the growth of this industry is twice the
growth of GDP in India.

The fluid power sector in India consists of many sophisticated Indian industries and
partnership with number of global fluid power technology leaders that include Festo,
Rexroth, Vickers, Eaton, Parker Hannifin, Norgen, , Saucer Donfos, Yuken, Siemens,
Shamban, Pall and Gates, , Rotex, , Janatics, Maxwell, Wipro Dynamatic Technologies and
many more.

One of the major segments for hydraulic industry in India is mobile hydraulics. Because of
massive programs on road construction, there is a major expansion of construction machinery
industry as well. In addition to this, a trend toward the usage of more sophisticated hydraulics in
tractors and farm equipment is witnessed. The manufacturing industry in India is working
toward higher automation and quality of output. As Indian industry moves toward
modernization to meet the productivity and to compete in the global market, an excellent
potential for the pneumatic industry is expected in India.

Another area of interest for fluid power industry would be the opportunities in defense
equipment. Defense is a major market segment in Indian fluid power industry and contributes to
over 40% of the market demand. There is also a move toward products with miniature
pneumatics, process valves, servo drives, hydraulic power steering with new controls and
sophisticated PLC, microprocessor controls.

However, the key input required for the effective utilization of fluid power is education and
training of users. So there is a big need for education and training in design application and
maintenance of fluid power systems. Rexroth recently opened many competence centers in
India to train the manpower and to create awareness about the use of fluid power in Indian
industry.
 7. HYDRAULIC MACHINERY
7.1 PERFORMANCE ON HYDRAULIC TURBINES
In order to predict the behavior of a turbine working under varying conditions of head,
speed, output and gate opening , the results are expressed in terms of quantities which may be
obtained when the head on the turbine is reduced to unity. The conditions of the turbine under unit
head are such that the efficiency of the turbine remains unaffected. The three important unit
quantities are:

1. Unit speed,
2. Unit discharge, and
3. Unit power

1. Unit Speed: it is defined as the speed of a turbine working under a unit head. It is denoted by ′𝑁𝑢′.
The expression of unit speed (𝑁𝑢) is obtained as:

Let N = Speed of the turbine under a head H

H = Head under which a turbine is working

u = Tangential velocity.

The tangential velocity, absolute velocity of water and head on turbine are related as:

𝑢 α 𝑉 Where 𝑉 α √𝐻
u α √𝐻 (1)

Also tangential velocity (u) is given by

𝜋𝐷𝑁
𝑢= Where D = Diameter of turbine.
60

For a given turbine, the diameter (D) is constant

𝑢 α 𝑁 Or 𝑁 α 𝑢 Or 𝑁 α √𝐻 (∵ 𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 (1), 𝑢 α √𝐻)

∴ 𝑁 = 𝐾1√𝐻 (2) Where 𝐾1 is constant of proportionality.

If head on the turbine becomes unity, the speed becomes unit speed or

When H = 1, N = Nu

Substituting these values in equation (2), we get

𝑁𝑢 = 𝐾1√1.0 = 𝐾1
Substituting the value of K1 in equation (2)
𝑁u = 𝑁 √𝐻 𝑜𝑟 𝑁
2. Unit Discharge: It is defined as the discharge passing through a turbine, which is working under a
unit head (i.e. 1 m). It is denoted by ′𝑄𝑢′ the expression for unit discharge is given as:
Let H = head of water on the turbine
Q = Discharge passing through turbine when head is H on the turbine.

𝑎 = Area of flow of water

The discharge passing through a given turbine under a head ‘H’ is given by,
Q=Area of flow × Velocity

But for a turbine, area of flow is constant and velocity is proportional to √𝐻

𝑄 α 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 α √𝐻
Or 𝑄 = 𝐾2√𝐻 (3)
Where 𝐾2 is constant of proportionality
If H = 1, 𝑄 = 𝑄𝑢 (By definition)
Substituting these values in equation (3) we get

𝑄𝑢 = 𝐾2√1.0 = 𝐾2
Substituting the value of 𝐾2 in equation (3) we get

𝑄 = 𝑄𝑢√𝐻
𝑄
𝑄𝑢 = (II)
√𝐻

3. Unit Power: It is defined as the power developed by a turbine working under a unit head (i.e.
under a head of 1m). It is denoted by ′𝑃𝑢′. The expression for unit power is obtained as:
Let, H= Head of water on the turbine
P= Power developed by the turbine under a head of H
Q= Discharge through turbine under a head H
The overall efficiency (𝜂0) is given as,
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑑 𝑃
𝜂0 = 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟
= 𝑝𝑔𝑄𝐻
1000
𝑝𝑔𝑄𝑕
𝑃 = 𝜂0 × 1000
Pα 𝑄×𝐻
P α √𝐻 × 𝐻 (∵ 𝑄 α √𝐻)

𝑃 = 𝐾3 𝐻3/2 (4) Where 𝐾3 is a constant of proportionality

When H=1 m, 𝑃 = 𝑃𝑢
∴ 𝑃𝑢 = 𝐾3(1)3/2 = 𝐾3
Substituting the value of 𝐾3 in equation (4) we get
3
𝑃 = 𝑃𝑢 𝐻 2
𝑃
𝑃𝑢 = 𝐻3/2 (III)
7.2 CHARACTERISTIC CURVES OF HYDRAULIC TURBINES
Characteristic curves of a hydraulic turbine are the curves, with the help of which the exact
behavior and performance of the turbine under different working conditions can be known. These
curves are plotted from the results of the tests performed on the turbine under different working
conditions.
The important parameters which are varied during a test on turbine are:
1) Speed (N) 2) Head (H) 3) Discharge (Q)
4) Power (P) 5) Overall Efficiency (𝜂0) and 6) Gate opening.
Out of the above six parameters, three parameters namely speed (N), Head (H) and
discharge (Q) are independent parameters.
Out of the three independent parameters, (N, H, Q) one of the parameter is kept constant
(say H) and the variation of other two parameters with respect to any one of the remaining two
independent variables (say N and Q) are plotted and various curves are obtained. These curves are
called characteristic curves. The following are the important characteristic curves of a turbine.
1. Main Characteristic Curves or Constant Head Curves.
2. Operating Characteristic Curves or Constant Speed Curves.
3. Muschel Curves or Constant Efficiency Curves.
1. Main Characteristic Curves or Constant Head Curves:

These curves are obtained by maintaining a constant head and a constant gate opening (G.O.) on the
turbine. The speed of the turbine is varied by changing the load on the turbine. For each value of the
speed, the corresponding values of the power (P) and discharge (Q) are obtained. Then the overall
efficiency (𝜂0) for each value of the speed is calculated. From these readings the values of unit speed
(𝑁𝑢), unit power (𝑃𝑢) and unit discharge (𝑄𝑢) are determined. Taking 𝑁𝑢 as abscissa, the values of
𝑄𝑢 𝑃𝑢 P and 𝜂0 are plotted. By changing the gate opening, the values of 𝑄𝑢 𝑃𝑢 and 𝜂0 and 𝑁𝑢 are
determined and taking 𝑁𝑢 as abscissa, the values of 𝑄𝑢 𝑃𝑢 and 𝜂0 are plotted.

2. Operating Characteristic Curves or Constant Speed Curves:

These curves are plotted when the speed on

the turbine is constant. In case turbines, the head is
generally constant. As already discussed, there are
three independent parameters namely N, H and Q.
For operating characteristics N and H are constant
and hence the variation of power and the efficiency
with respect to discharge Q are plotted. The power
curve for the turbine shall not pass through the
origin, because certain amount of discharge is
needed to produce power to overcome initial
friction. Hence the power and efficiency curves will be slightly away from the origin on the x-axis, as
to overcome initial friction certain amount of discharge will be required.
3. Constant Efficiency Curves or Muschel Curves or Iso - Efficiency Curves:
These curves are obtained from the speed vs.
efficiency and speed vs. discharge curves for
different gate openings. For a given efficiency
from the 𝑁𝑢 vs. 𝜂0 curves there are two speeds.
From the 𝑁𝑢 vs. 𝑄𝑢 curves, corresponding to two
values of speeds there are two values of discharge.
Hence for a given efficiency there are two values
of discharge for a particular gate opening. This
means for a given efficiency there are two values
of speeds and two values of discharge for a given
gate opening. If the efficiency is maximum, there is
only one value. These two values of speed and two
values of discharge. Corresponding to a particular
gate opening are plotted. The procedure is
repeated for different gate openings and the
curves Q vs. N are plotted. The points having the
same efficiencies are joined. The curves having the
same efficiency are called Iso-efficiency curves.
There curves are helpful for determining the zone
of constant efficiency and for predicating the
performance of the turbine at various efficiencies.
For plotting the Iso-efficiency curves, horizontal lines representing the same efficiency are
drawn on the 𝜂0~ speed curves. The points at which these lines cut the efficiency curves at various
gate opening are transferred to the corresponding 𝑄 ~ speed curves. The points having the same
efficiency are then joined by smooth curves. These smooth curves represent the Iso-efficiency
curves.

7.3 SELECTION OF TYPES OF TURBINE

Selection of a suitable type of turbine is usually governed by
i) Head and Specific Speed. ii) Part load Operation.

i) Head and Specific Speed: It has been found that there is a range of head and specific speed for
which each type of a turbine is most suitable.
S. No Head in meters Types of Turbine Specific Speed

1 300 or more Pelton wheel single or multiple Jet 8.5 to 47

2 150-300 Pelton or Francis 30 to 85

3 60-150 Francis 85 to 188

4 Less than 60 Kaplan or Propeller 188 to 860

A turbine with highest permissible specific speed should be chosen which will be cheapest
and relatively small in size and high rotational speed will reduce the size of the generator as well as
the power house. But the specific speed cannot be increased indefinitely because it results is
cavitation. The cavitation may be avoided by installing the turbine at a lower level with respect to
the tail race.
ii) Part load Operation: The turbines may be required to work with considerable load variations. As
the load derivate from the normal working load, the efficiency would also vary.
At part load the performance of Kaplan and Pelton turbines is better in comparison to that
of Francis and Propeller turbines. The variability of load will influence the choice of type of turbine, if
the head lies between 150m to 300m or lies below 30m. For higher range of heads Pelton wheel is
preferable for part load operation in comparison to Francis turbine, through the former involves
higher initial cost. For heads below 30m Kaplan turbine is preferable for part load operation in
comparison to propeller turbine.
In addition to the above factors the overall cost, which includes the initial cost and running
cost should be considered. The cavitation characteristics of the turbine should be considered.
Specific Speed(𝑵𝒔):
The specific speed of a turbine is defined as the speed of a geometrically similar turbine that
would develop 1kW under 1 m head. All geometrically similar turbines (Irrespective of sizes) will
have the same specific speeds when operating under the same speed.
𝑵√𝑷
Specific speed, 𝑵𝒔 =
𝑯 𝟓/𝟒

Where N=Normal working

speed
P = Power output of the turbine
H = The net or effective head in meters.
The turbine with low specific speeds work under high and low discharge conditions, while the high
specific speed turbines work under low head and high discharge conditions.

7.4 CAVITATION
Cavitation is defined as the phenomenon of formation of vapour bubbles of a flowing liquid in
a region, where the pressure of the liquid falls below its vapour pressure and the sudden collapsing
of these vapour bubbles in a region of higher pressure. When the vapour bubbles collapse, a very
high pressure is created. The metallic surfaces, above which these vapour bubbles collapse, is
subjected to these high pressures, which cause pitting action on the surface. Thus cavities are
formed on the metallic surface and also considerable noise and vibrations are produced.
Cavitation includes formation of vapour bubbles of the flowing liquid and collapsing of the
vapour bubbles. Formation of vapour bubbles of the flowing liquid take place only whenever the
pressure in any region falls below vapour pressure. When the pressure of the flowing liquid is less
than its vapour pressure, the liquid starts boiling and the vapour bubbles are formed. These vapour
bubbles are carried along with the flowing liquid to higher pressure zones, where these vapour
condense and the bubbles collapse. Due to sudden collapsing of the bubbles on the metallic surface,
high pressure is produced and metallic surfaces are subjected to high local stress. Thus the surfaces
are damaged.
Precaution against Cavitation: The following are the Precaution against cavitation
i. The pressure of the flowing liquid in any part of the hydraulic system should not be allowed
to fall below its vapour pressure. If the flowing liquid is water, then the absolute pressure
head should not be below 2.5m of water.
ii. The special materials or coatings such as Aluminum-bronze and stainless steel, which are
cavitation resistant materials, should be used.
Effects of Cavitation: the following are the effects of cavitation.
i. The metallic surfaces are damaged and cavities are formed on the surfaces.
ii. Due to sudden collapse of vapour bubbles, considerable noise and vibrations are produced.
 iii. The efficiency of a turbine decreases due to cavitation. Due to pitting action, the surface of
the turbine blades becomes rough and the force exerted by the water on the turbine blades
decreases. Hence, the work done by water or output horse power becomes less and
efficiency decreases.
Hydraulic Machines Subjected to Cavitation: The hydraulic machines subjected to Cavitation are
reaction turbine and centrifugal pumps.
Cavitation in Turbines: in turbines, only reaction turbines are subjected to cavitation. In reaction
turbines the cavitation may occur at the outlet of the runner or at the inlet of the draft tube where
the pressure is considerably reduced. (i.e. which may be below vapour pressure of the liquid flowing
through the turbine) Due to cavitation, the metal of the runner vanes and draft tube is gradually
eaten away, which results in lowering the efficiency of the turbine. Hence the cavitation in a reaction
turbine can be noted by a sudden drop in efficiency. In order to determine whether cavitation will
occur in any portion of a reaction turbine, the critical value of Thoma’s cavitation factors 𝜍 sigma is
calculated.
𝐻𝑏−𝐻𝑠 (𝐻𝑎𝑡𝑚−𝐻𝑣)−𝐻𝑠
𝜍= = ,
𝐻 𝐻
Where 𝐻𝑏 =Barometric pressure head in m of water,
𝐻𝑎𝑡𝑚 = Atmospheric pressure head in m of water,
𝐻𝑣 = Vapour pressure head in m of water,
𝐻𝑠 = Suction pressure at the outlet of reaction turbine in m of water or height of
turbine runner above the tail water surface,
H = Net head on the turbine in m.

7.5 SURGE TANK

When the load on the generator decreases, the governor reduces the rate of flow of water
striking the runner to main constant speed for the runner. The sudden reaction of rate of flow in the
penstock may lead to water hammer in pipe due to which the pipe may burst. When the load on the
generator increases the turbine requires more water. Sugar tank and fore bays are usually employed
to meet the above requirements. Surge tanks are employed in case of high head and medium head
hydro power plants where the penstock is very long and fore bays are suitable for medium and low
head hydro power plants where the length of penstock is short.

An ordinary sugar tank is a cylindrical open toped storage reservoir, which is connected to
the penstock at a point as close as possible to the turbine. The upper lip of the tank is kept well
above the maximum water level in the supply reservoir. When the load on the turbine is steady and
normal and there are no velocities variations in the pipe line there will be normal pressure gradient
oaa1. The water surface in the surge tank will be lower than the reservoir surface by an amount
equal to friction head loss in the pipe connecting reservoir and sugar tank. When the load on the
generator is reduced, the turbine gates are closed and the water moving towards the turbine has to
move back ward. The rejected water is then stored in the surge tank, raising the pressure gradient.
The retarding head so built up in the surge tank reduces the velocity of flow in the pipe line
corresponding to the reduced discharge required by the turbine.

When the load on the generator increases the governor opens the turbine gates to increase
the rate of flow entering the runner. The increased demand of water by the turbine is partly met by
the water stored in the surge tank. As such the water level in the surge tank falls and falling pressure
gradient is developed. In other words, the surge tank develops an accelerating head which increases
the velocity of flow in the pipe line to a valve corresponding to the increased discharge required by
the turbine.

7.6 WATER HAMMER

Consider a long pipe AB, connected at one
end to a tank containing water at a height of H
from the centre of the pipe. At the other end of
the pipe, a valve to regulate the flow of water is
provided. When the valve is completely open, the
water is flowing with a velocity, V in the pipe. If
now the valve is suddenly closed, the momentum
of the flowing water will be destroyed and consequently a wave of high pressure will be set up. This
wave of high pressure will be transmitted along the pipe with a velocity equal to the velocity of
sound wave and may create noise called knocking. Also this wave of high pressure has the effect of
hammering action on the walls of the pipe and hence it is known as water hammer.
The pressure rise due to water hammer depends up on:
1. Velocity of flow of water in pipe.
2. The length of pipe.
3. Time taken to close the valve.
4. Elastic properties of the material of the pipe.
The following cases of water hammer in pipes will be considered.
1. Gradual closure of valve
2. Sudden closure of valve considering pipe in rigid
3. Sudden closer of valve considering pipe elastic.
1. Gradual Closure of Valve:
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑛 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒 = 𝜌 × 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 𝜌 × 𝐴 × 𝐿
Where A = Area of cross-section of the pipe
L = Length of pipe
The valve is closed gradually in time ‘T’ seconds and hence the water is brought from initial velocity
V to zero velocity in time seconds.
𝑐𝑕𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑉−0 𝑉
∴ 𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = = =
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑇 𝑇
𝑉
∴ 𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑐𝑒 = 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 × 𝑅𝑒𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = 𝜌𝐴𝐿 × (1)
𝑇
If p is the intensity of pressure wave produced due to closure of the valve, the force due to pressure
wave
= 𝑝 × 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑖𝑝𝑒 = 𝑝 × 𝐴 (2)
Equating the two forces given by equation (1) & (2)
𝑉
𝜌𝐴𝐿 × = 𝑝 × 𝐴
𝑇
𝜌𝐿𝑉
𝑝= 𝑇
𝑝 𝜌𝐿𝑉
Head of pressure 𝐻= = = 𝐿𝑉
𝜌𝑔 𝜌𝑔×𝑇 𝑔𝑇
2𝐿
i) The valve closure is said to be gradual if T>
𝐶
Where T = Time in sec, C= Velocity of Pressure wave
2𝐿
ii) The valve closure is said to be sudden if 𝑇<
𝐶
Where C = Velocity of Pressure Wave

2) Sudden Closure of Valve and Pipe is Rigid:

In sudden closure of valve T=0, the increase in pressure will be infinite when wave of high
pressure is created the liquid gets compressed to some extent and pipe material gets stretched. For
a sudden closure of valve, the valve of T is very small and hence a wave of high pressure is created.
When the valve is closed suddenly, the kinetic energy of flowing water is converted in to
strain energy of water if the effect of friction is neglected and pipe wall is assumed to be rigid.
 7.7 INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS (PELTON, FRANCIS AND KAPLAN
TURBINE)
• Pelton wheels are preferred turbine for hydro power, when the available water source has
relatively high hydraulic head at low flow rates.

• Pelton wheels are made in all sizes. For maximum power and efficiency, the wheel and
turbine system is designed such way that the water jet velocity is twice the velocity of the
rotating buckets.

• There exist in multi ton Pelton wheel mounted on vertical oil pad bearing in hydroelectric
power.

• Kaplan turbines are widely used throughout the world for electrical power production.

• Inexpensive micro turbines on Kaplan turbine model are manufactured for individual power
production with as little as two feet of head.

• Large Kaplan turbines are individually designed for each site to operate at the highest
possible efficiency., typically over 90%. They are very expensive to design, manufacture and
install, but operate for decades.

• Francis turbines are used for pumped storage, where a reservoir is filled by the turbine
(acting as a pump) driven by the generator acting as a large electrical motor during periods
of low power demand.
7.8 CENTRIFUGAL AND RECIPROCTING PUMPS

CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS
The hydraulic machines which convert the mechanical energy in to hydraulic energy are
called pumps. The hydraulic energy is in the form of pressure energy. If the mechanical energy is
converted in to pressure energy by means of centrifugal force acting on the fluid, the hydraulic
machine is called centrifugal pump.
The centrifugal pump acts as a reversed of an inward radial flow reaction turbine. This
means that the flow in centrifugal pumps is in the radial outward directions. The centrifugal pump
works on the principle of forced vertex flow which means that when a certain mass of liquid is
rotated by an external torque, the rise in pressure head of the rotating liquid takes place. The rise in
pressure head at any point of the rotating liquid is proportional to the square of tangential velocity
𝑉2 𝜔2𝑟2
of the liquid at that point. (i.e. rise in pressure head = or
2𝑔
). Thus the outlet of the impeller,
2𝑔
where radius is more, the rise in pressure head will be more and the liquid will be discharged at the
outlet with a high pressure head. Due to this high pressure head, the liquid can be lifted to a high
level.
The following are the main parts of a centrifugal pump.
1) Impeller. 2) Casing. 3) Suction pipe with foot valve and a strainer 4) Delivery pipe.
1. Impeller: The rotating part of a centrifugal pump is called impeller. It consists of a series of
backward curved vanes. The impeller is mounted on a shaft which is connected to the shaft of an
electric motor.
2. Casing: the casing of a centrifugal pump is similar to the casing of a reaction turbine. It is an air
tight passage surrounding the impeller and is designed in such a way that the kinetic energy of the
water discharged at the outlet of the impeller is converted in to pressure energy before the water
leaves the casing and enters the delivery pipe. The following three types of the casing are commonly
adopted.
a) Volute b) Vortex
c) Casing with guide blades
a) Volute Casing: It is the casing surrounding
the impeller. It is of a spiral type, in which
area of flow increases gradually. The increase
in area of flow decreases the velocity of flow.
The decrease in velocity increases the
pressure of the water flowing through the
casing. It has been observed that in case of
volute casing, the efficiency of the pump
increase slightly as a large amount of energy
in lost due to the formation of eddies in this type of casing.
b) Vortex Casing: If a circular chamber is introduced between the casing and the impeller, the casing
is known as vortex casing. By introducing the circular chamber, the loss of energy due to the
formation of eddies is reduced to a considerable extent. Thus the efficiency of the pump is more
than the efficiency when only volute casing is provided.

c) Casing with guide blades: in this type of casing the impeller is surrounded by a series of guide
blades mounted on a ring known as diffuser. The guide vanes are designed in which away that the
water from the impeller enters the guide vanes without shock.

Also the area of guide vanes increases thus reducing the velocity of flow through guide vanes and
consequently increasing the pressure of the water. The water from the guide vanes then pass
through the surrounding casing, which is in most of the cases concentric with the impeller.

3. Suction pipe with a foot valve and a strainer: A pipe whose one end is connected to the inlet of
the pump and other end dips in to water in a sump is known as suction pipe. A foot valve which is a
non-return valve or one-way type of valve is fitted at the lower end of the suction pipe. The foot
valve opens only in the upward direction. A strainer is also fitted at the lower end of the suction
pipe.

4. Delivery pipe: A pipe whose one end is connected to the outlet of the pump and the other end
delivers the water at the required height is known as delivery pipe.

Work done by the centrifugal pump on water:

In the centrifugal pump, work is done by

the impeller on the water. The expression for
the work done by the impeller on the water is
obtained by drawing velocity triangles at inlet
and outlet of the impeller in the same way as for
a turbine. The water enters the impeller radially
at inlet for best efficiency of the pump, which
means the absolute velocity of water at inlet
makes an angle of 900 with the direction of
motion of the impeller at inlet. Hence angle 𝛼 =
900 and 𝑉𝑤1= 0 for drawing the velocity triangles the same notations are used as that for turbines.

Let N = Speed of the impeller in r.p.m.

𝐷1 = Diameter of impeller at inlet

𝜋𝐷1𝑁
𝑢1 = Tangential velocity of impeller at inlet =
60

𝐷2 = Diameter of impeller at outlet

𝜋𝐷2𝑁
𝑢2 = Tangential velocity of impeller at outlet =
60

𝑉1 = Absolute velocity of water at inlet.

𝑉𝑟1 = Relative velocity of water at inlet

𝛼 = Angle made by absolute velocity(𝑉1)at inlet with the direction of motion of vane

𝜃 = Angle made by relative velocity (𝑉𝑟1 )at inlet with the direction of motion of vane

And 𝑉2, 𝑉𝑟2 , 𝛽 𝑎𝑛𝑑 ∅ are the corresponding valves at outlet.

As the water enters the impeller radially which means the absolute velocity of water at inlet
is in the radial direction and hence angle 𝛼 = 900 and 𝑉𝑤1= 0.

A centrifugal pump is the reverse of a radially inward flow reaction turbine. But in case of a
radially inward flow reaction turbine, the work done by the water on the runner per second per unit
weight of the water striking per second is given by equation.
1
= [𝑉 𝑢 − 𝑉 𝑢 ]
𝑔 𝑤1 1 𝑤2 2

∴Work done by the impeller on the water per second per unit weight of water striking/second

= −[𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑐𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑎 𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑒]

1
= − 𝑉 𝑢 − 𝑉 𝑢 )]
[𝑔 ( 𝑤1 1 𝑤2 2

1
= [𝑉 𝑢 − 𝑉 𝑢 ]
𝑔 𝑤2 2 𝑤1 1

1
= 𝑉 𝑢 (1) (∵ 𝑉 =0)
𝑔 𝑤2 2 𝑤1

Work done by the impeller on water per second

𝑊
= ×𝑉 𝑢 Where W = Weight of water = 𝜌 × 𝑔 × 𝑄
𝑔 𝑤2 2

Q = Volume of water

Q = Area × Velocity of flow

= 𝜋𝐷1𝐵1 × 𝑉𝑓1
 = 𝜋𝐷2𝐵2 × 𝑉𝑓2

Where 𝐵1 and 𝐵2 are width of impeller at inlet and outlet and

𝑉𝑓1 And 𝑉𝑓2 are velocities of flow at inlet and outlet

Head imparted to the water by the impeller or energy given by impeller to water per unit weight
per second
𝟏
= 𝒈 𝑽𝒘𝟐𝒖𝟐

HEADS OF A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP:

1. Suction Head (𝒉𝒔): It is the vertical height of the centre line of centrifugal pump, above the water
surface in the tank or sump from which water is to be lifted. This height is also called suction lift ′𝑕𝑠′.
2. Delivery Head(𝒉𝒅): The vertical distance between the centre line of the pump and the water
surface in the tank to which water is delivered is known as delivery head. This is denoted by ′𝑕𝑑′.
3. Static Head(𝑯𝒔): The sum of suction head and delivery head is known as statics head′𝐻𝑠′.
𝐻𝑠 = 𝑕𝑠 + 𝑕𝑑
4. Manometric Head(𝑯𝒎): Manometric head is defined as the head against which a centrifugal
pump has to work. It is denoted by 𝐻𝑚.
a) 𝐻𝑚 = Head imparted by the impeller to the water – Loss of head in the pump
𝑉𝑤2𝑢2
= − Loss of head in impeller and casing
𝑔
𝑉𝑤2𝑢2
= ………… If loss of head in pump is zero.
𝑔

b) 𝐻𝑚 = Total head at outlet of pump – Total head at the inlet of the pump
2 2
= ( 𝑃0 + 𝑉0 + 𝑍 ) − (𝑃𝑖 + 𝑉𝑖 + 𝑍 )
𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 0 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝑖
𝑃0
Where = Pressure head at outlet of the pump = 𝑕
𝜌𝑔 𝑑

𝑉02
= Velocity head at outlet of the pump
2𝑔

𝑉𝑑2
= Velocity head in delivery pipe = 2𝑔

𝑍0 = Vertical height of the outlet of the pump from datum line, and
𝑃𝑖 𝑉𝑖2
, , 𝑍 = Corresponding values of pressure head, velocity head and datum head at the
𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝑖

In let of the pump,

𝑉𝑠 2
i.e. 𝑕𝑠, 2𝑔
𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑍𝑠 respectively.
𝑉𝑑2
c) 𝐻𝑚 = 𝑕𝑠 + 𝑕𝑑 + 𝑕𝑓𝑠 + 𝑕𝑓𝑑 + 2𝑔

Where 𝑕𝑠 = Suction head,

𝑕𝑑 = Delivery head,
 𝑕𝑓𝑠 = Frictional head loss in suction pipe,
𝑕𝑓𝑑 = Frictional head loss in delivery pipe
𝑉𝑑 = Velocity of water in delivery pipe.
5. Efficiencies of a Centrifugal Pump: In a centrifugal pump, the power is transmitted from electric
motor shaft to pump shaft and then to the impeller. From the impeller, the power is given to the
water. Thus the power is decreasing from the shaft of the pump to the impeller and then to the
water. The following are the important efficiencies of a centrifugal pump:
a) Manometric efficiency, 𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑛 b) Mechanical efficiency, 𝜂𝑚 and
c) Overall efficiency, 𝜂0.
a) Manometric Efficiency(𝜼𝒎𝒂𝒏): The ratio of the Manometric head to the head imparted by the
impeller to the water is known as
𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑑
𝑀𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑦(𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑛) =
𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝐻𝑚 𝑔𝐻𝑚
= 𝑉 𝑤2 𝑢2 =
( ) 𝑉𝑤2𝑢2
𝑔

The power at the impeller of the pump is more than the power given to the water at outlet
of the pump. The ratio of power given to the water at outlet of the pump to the power available at
the impeller is known as Manometric efficiency.
𝑊𝐻𝑚
The power given to the water at outlet of the pump = 𝑘𝑤
1000
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑
The power at the impeller = 1000
𝑘𝑊
𝑊 𝑉𝑤2×𝑢2
= × 𝑘𝑊
𝑔 1000
𝑊𝐻 𝑚
𝒈×𝑯𝒎
𝜼𝒎𝒂𝒏 = 1000
𝑊 𝑉𝑤2×𝑢2
= 𝑽𝒘 ×𝒖𝟐
×
𝑔 1000 𝟐

b) Mechanical Efficiency(𝜼𝒎): The power at the shaft of the centrifugal pump is more the power
available at the impeller of the pump. The ratio of the power available at the impeller to the power
at the shaft of the centrifugal pump is known as mechanical efficiency.
𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟
𝜂𝑚 = 𝑃𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑠𝑕𝑎𝑓𝑡
𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑊 𝑉𝑤2×𝑢2
The power at the impeller in kW = = ×
1000 𝑔 1000
𝑾 𝑽𝒘𝟐×𝒖𝟐
( 𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎 )
𝜼𝒎 = 𝒈
𝑺.𝑷
Where S.P. = Shaft power.
c) Overall Efficiency(𝜼𝟎): It is defined as the ratio of power output of the pump to the power input
to the pump.
𝑊𝑒𝑖𝑔𝑕𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑑 ×𝐻𝑚 𝑊𝐻𝑚
The power output of the pump in kW = =
1000 1000
The power input to the pump = Power supplied by the electric motor
= S.P. Of the pump
(𝑾𝑯𝒎)
∴ 𝜼
𝟎 =
𝟏𝟎𝟎𝟎
𝑺.𝑷.

𝜼𝟎 = 𝜼𝒎𝒂𝒏 × 𝜼𝒎
SPECIFIC SPEED OF A CENTRIFUGAL PUMP(𝑵𝒔):

The specific speed of a centrifugal pump is defined as the speed of a geometrically similar
pump, which would deliver one cubic meter of liquid per second against a head of one meter. It is
denoted by ′𝑁𝑠′.
The discharge Q for a centrifugal pump is given by the relation
𝑄 = 𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 × 𝑉𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤
= 𝜋𝐷 × 𝐵 × 𝑉𝑓 Or 𝑄 𝖺 𝐷 × 𝐵 × 𝑉𝑓 (1)
Where D = Diameter of the impeller of the pump and
B = Width of the impeller
We know that 𝐵 𝖺 𝐷
From equation (1) we have 𝑄 𝖺 𝐷2 × 𝑉 𝑓 (2)
We also know that the tangential velocity is given by
𝜋𝐷𝑁
𝑢= 𝖺 𝐷𝑁 (3)
60

Now the tangential velocity (u) and velocity of flow (𝑉𝑓) are related to Manometric head
(𝐻𝑚) as

𝑢 𝖺 𝑉𝑓 𝖺 √𝐻𝑚 (4)
Substituting the value of (u) in equation (3), we get
√𝐻𝑚
√𝐻𝑚 𝖺 𝐷𝑁 Or 𝐷𝖺
𝑁
Substituting the values of D in equation (2)
𝐻𝑚
𝑄𝖺 ×𝑉
𝑁2 𝑓
𝐻𝑚
𝖺 × √𝐻 [∵ 𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑒𝑞 (4)𝑉 𝖺 √𝐻 ]
𝑁2 𝑚 𝑓 𝑚

𝐻𝑚3/2
𝖺
𝑁2
𝐻𝑚3/2
𝑄=𝐾 (5)
𝑁2
Where K is a constant of proportionality
If 𝐻𝑚 = 1𝑚 and 𝑄 = 1𝑚3/𝑠𝑒𝑐 N becomes 𝑁𝑠
Substituting these values in equation (5), we get
13/2 𝐾
1=𝐾 =
𝐻𝑚 𝑁𝑠2
2
∴ 𝐾 = 𝑁𝑠
Substituting the value of K in equation (5), we get
𝐻 3/2 𝑁2 𝑄
𝑄 = 𝑁𝑠2 𝑚 𝑜𝑟 2
𝑁𝑠 =
𝑁2 𝐻𝑚3/2
 𝑵√𝑸
𝑵𝒔 = (6)
𝑯𝒎𝟑/𝟒
MULTI- STAGE CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS:
If centrifugal pump consists of two or more
impellers, the pump is called a multi-stage
centrifugal pump. The impeller may be mounted on
the same shaft or on different shafts. A multi- stage

Pump is having the following two important functions:

1) To produce a high head and
2) To discharge a large quantity of liquid.
If a high head is to be developed, the impellers are connected in series (or on the same
shaft) while for discharging large quantity of liquid, the impellers (or pumps) are connected in
parallel.

Multi-Stage Centrifugal Pumps for High Heads: For developing a high head, a number of impellers
are mounted in series on the same shaft.
The water from suction pipe enters the 1st impeller at inlet and is discharged at outlet with
increased pressure. The water with increased pressure from the outlet of the 1st impeller is taken to
the inlet of the 2nd impeller with the help of a connecting pipe. At the outlet of the 2nd impeller the
pressure of the water will be more than the water at the outlet of the 1st impeller. Thus if more
impellers are mounted on the same shaft, the pressure at the outlet will be increased further.
Let n= Number of identical impellers mounted on the same shaft,
𝐻𝑚 = Head developed by each impeller.
Then total Head developed = 𝑛 × 𝐻𝑚
The discharge passing through each impeller is same.

Multi-Stage Centrifugal Pumps for High Discharge:

For obtaining high discharge, the pumps should be connected in parallel. Each of the pumps
lifts the water from a common sump and discharges water to a common pipe to which the delivery
pipes of each pump is connected. Each of the pumps is working against the same head.
Let n = Number of identical pumps
arranged in parallel.
Q = Discharge from one pump.
∴ Total Discharge = 𝒏 × 𝑸
 Performance Characteristic Curves of centrifugal pumps

The characteristic curves of a centrifugal pump are defined as those curves which are plotted from
the results of a number of tests on the centrifugal pump. These curves are necessary to predict the
behavior and performance of the pump, when the pump is working under different flow rate, head
and speed. The following are the important characteristic curves for the pumps:

1. Main characteristic curves.

2. Operating characteristic curves and
3. Constant efficiency or Muschel curves.

1. Main Characteristic Curves: the main

characteristic curves of a centrifugal pump
consists of a head (Manometric head𝐻𝑚) power
and discharge with respect to speed. For plotting
curves of Manometric head versus speed,
discharge is kept constant. For plotting curves of
discharge versus speed, Manometric head (𝐻𝑚) is
kept constant. For plotting curves power versus
speed, Manometric head and discharge are kept constant.

For plotting the curve of 𝐻𝑚 versus speed (N) the discharge is kept constant. From the
√𝐻
equation it is clear that 𝑚 is a constant or𝐻 𝖺 𝑁2. This means that the head developed by a
𝐷𝑁 𝑚
pump is proportional to𝑁2. Hence the curve of 𝐻𝑚 v/s N is a parabolic curve.
𝑷
From equation 𝑫𝟓𝑵𝟑 is a constant. Hence𝑃 𝖺 𝑁3. This means that the curve P v/s N is a cubic
curve.

The equation 𝑸 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 . This means 𝑄 𝖺 𝑁 for a given pump. Hence the curve Q v/s N is
𝑫𝟑𝑵
straight line.

2. Operating Characteristic Curves:

If the speed is kept constant, the variation

of Manometric head, power and efficiency with
respect to discharge gives the operating
characteristics of the pump.

The input power curve for pumps shall not

pass through the origin. It will be slightly away from
the origin on the y-axis, as even at zero discharge some power is needed to overcome mechanical
losses.

The head curve will have maximum value of head when the discharge is zero.

The output power curve will start from origin as at Q=0, output power(𝜌𝑄𝑔𝐻) will be zero.

𝑂𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡
The efficiency curve will start from origin as at𝑄 = 0, 𝜂 = 0. (∵ 𝜂 = )
𝐼𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡

3. Constant Efficiency Curves:

For obtaining constant efficiency curves for

a pump, the head versus discharge curves and
efficiency v/s discharge curves for different speeds
are used. By combining these curves (𝐻 ∼
𝑄 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝜂 ∼ 𝑄𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠)constant efficiency curves
are obtained.

For plotting the constant efficiency curves

(Iso– efficiency curves), horizontal lines
representing constant efficiencies are drawn on
the𝜂 ∼ 𝑄 curves. The points, at which these lines
cut the efficiency curves at various speeds, are
transferred to the corresponding 𝐻 ∼ 𝑄 curves. The points having the same efficiency are then
joined by smooth curves. These smooth curves represent the iso – efficiency curves.

NET POSITIVE SUCTION HEAD (NPSH)

The term NPSH is very commonly used selection of a pump. The minimum suction conditions
are specified in terms NPSH.

It is defined as the absolute pressure head at the inlet to the pump minus the vapour
pressure head plus velocity head.

∴ NPSH = Absolute pressure head at inlet of pump – vapour pressure head (absolute units)
+ Velocity head
𝑝1 𝑝𝑣 𝑣𝑠2
= − + (1) (∵ 𝐴𝑏𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑙𝑒𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 = 𝑝 )
𝜌𝑔 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 1

The absolute pressure head at inlet of the pump is given by as

𝑝1 𝑝𝑎 𝑣𝑠2
=
𝜌𝑔 𝜌𝑔
− (2𝑔 + 𝑕𝑠 + 𝑕𝑓𝑠 )

Substituting this value in the above equation

𝑝𝑎 𝑣𝑠2
𝑁𝑃𝑆𝐻 = − − 𝑕 − 𝑕 − 𝑝𝑣 + 𝑣𝑠2
𝜌𝑔 2𝑔 𝑠 𝑓 𝑠 𝜌𝑔 2𝑔
𝑝𝑎 𝑝𝑣
= − −𝑕 −𝑕
𝜌𝑔 𝜌𝑔 𝑠 𝑓𝑠
𝑝𝑎
∵ = 𝐻 = 𝐴𝑡𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑝𝑕𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑑,
= 𝐻𝑎 − 𝐻𝑣 − 𝑕𝑠 − 𝑕𝑓𝑠 ( 𝜌𝑔 𝑎 )
 𝑝𝑣
= [(𝐻 − 𝑕 − 𝑕 ) − 𝐻 ] (2) (∵ = 𝐻 = 𝑉𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑑)
𝑎 𝑠 𝑓𝑠 𝑣 𝜌𝑔 𝑣

The right hand side of the above equation is the total suction head. Hence NPSH is equal to the total
suction head. Thus NPSH may also be defined as the total head required making the liquid flow
through the suction pipe to the pump impeller.

For any pump installation, a distinction is made between the required NPSH and the
available NPSH. The value of required NPSH is given by the pump manufacturer. This value can also
be determined experimentally. For determining its value the pump is tested and minimum value of
𝑕𝑠 is obtained at which the pump gives maximum efficiency without any noise. (i.e. cavitation free).
The required NPSH varies with the pump design, speed of the pump and capacity of the pump.

When the pump is installed, the available NPSH is calculated from the above equation (2). In
order to have cavitation free operation of centrifugal pump, the available NPSH should be greater
than the required NPSH.

RECIPROCATING PUMPS

The mechanical energy is converted in to hydraulic energy (pressure energy) by sucking the
liquid in to a cylinder in which a piston is reciprocating, which exerts the thrust on the liquid and
increases its hydraulic energy (pressure energy) the pump is known as reciprocating pump.

A single acting reciprocating pump consists of a piston, which moves forwards and
backwards in a close fitting cylinder. The movement of the piston is obtained by connecting the
piston rod to crank by means of a connecting rod. The crank is rotated by means of an electric
motor. Suction and delivery pipes with suction valve and delivery valve are connected to the
cylinder. The suction and delivery valves are one way valves or non-return valves, which allow the
water to flow in one direction only. Suction valve allows water from suction pipe to the cylinder
which delivery valve allows water from cylinder to delivery pipe only.
When the crank starts rotating, the piston moves to and fro in the cylinder. When the crank
is at A the piston is at the extreme left position in the cylinder. As the crank is rotating from A to C
(i.e. from𝜃 = 0 𝑡𝑜 1800 ) the piston is moving towards right in the cylinder. The movement of the
piston towards right creates a partial vacuum in the cylinder. But on the surface of the liquid in the
sump atmospheric pressure in acting, which is more than the pressure inside the cylinder. Thus the
liquid is forced in the suction pipe from the sump. This liquid opens the suction valve and enters the
cylinder.
When crank is rotating from C to A (i.e. from 𝜃 = 1800 𝑡𝑜 3600 ), the piston from its
extreme right position starts moving towards left in the cylinder. The movement of the piston
towards the left increases the pressure on the liquid inside the cylinder more than atmospheric
pressure. Hence the suction valve closes and delivery valve opens. The liquid is forced in to the
delivery pipe and is raised to the required height.
Discharge through a Reciprocating Pump:
Consider a single acting reciprocating pump.
Let D = Diameter of cylinder
𝜋
A = Cross-sectional area of piston or cylinder = 4 𝐷2

r = Radius of crank

N = r.p.m. of the crank

L = Length of the stroke = 2 × 𝑟
𝑕𝑠 = Height of the axis of the cylinder from water surface in sump
𝑕𝑑 = Height of delivery outlet above the cylinder axis (also called delivery head)
Volume of water delivered in one revolution or
Discharge of water in one revolution = Are × Length of stroke
=𝐴×𝐿
𝑁
Number of revolutions per second =
60

Discharge of pump per second Q = Discharge in one revolution × No. of revolutions per sec
𝑁
= 𝐴×𝐿×
60
𝐴𝐿𝑁
=
60

Weight of water delivered per second 𝑊 = 𝜌 × 𝑔 × 𝑄

𝜌𝑔𝐴𝐿𝑁
= (1)
60

Work done by Reciprocating Pump:

Work done per second = Weight of water lifted per second ×Total height through which
water is lifted
= 𝑊 × [𝑕𝑠 + 𝑕𝑑] (2)
Where (𝑕𝑠 + 𝑕𝑑) = Total height through which water is lifted
From equation (1) weight of water is given by
𝜌𝑔𝐴𝐿𝑁
𝑊=
60

Substituting the value of W in equation (2), we get

𝜌𝑔𝐴𝐿𝑁
Work done per second = × (𝑕 + 𝑕 )
60 𝑠 𝑑

Power required to drive the pump in kW

 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝜌𝑔×𝐴𝐿𝑁×(𝑕𝑠+𝑕𝑑)
𝑃= =
1000 60×1000
𝜌𝑔×𝐴𝐿𝑁×(𝑕𝑠+𝑕𝑑)
𝑃= 𝑘𝑊
60,000

SLIP OF RECIPROCATING PUMP

Slip of a pump is defined as the difference between the theoretical discharge and actual
discharge of a pump. The actual discharge of pump is less than the theoretical discharge due to
leakage. The difference of the theoretical discharge and actual discharge is known as slip of the
pump.

Hence 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 = 𝑄𝑡𝑕 − 𝑄𝑎𝑐𝑡

But slip is mostly expressed as percentage slip

𝑄𝑡𝑕−𝑄𝑎𝑐𝑡 𝑄𝑎𝑐𝑡
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑝 = × 100 = (1 − ) × 100
𝑄𝑡𝑕 𝑄𝑡𝑕
𝑄𝑎𝑐𝑡
= (1 − 𝐶 ) × 100 (∵ =𝐶 )
𝑑 𝑄𝑡𝑕 𝑑

Where 𝐶𝑑 = Co-efficient of discharge.

Negative Slip of the Reciprocating Pump:

Slip is equal to the difference of theoretical discharge and actual discharge. If actual
discharge is more than the theoretical discharge, the slip of the pump will become –ve. In that case
the slip of the pump is known as negative slip.

Negative slip occurs when the delivery pipe is short, suction pipe is long and pump is running
at high speed.

INDICATOR DIAGRAM

The indicator diagram for a reciprocating pump is defined the graph between the pressure
head in the cylinder and the distance travelled by piston from inner dead centre for one complete
revolution of the crank. As the maximum distance travelled by the piston is equal to the stroke
length and hence the indicator diagram is a graph between pressure head and stroke length of the
piston for one complete revolution. The pressure head is taken as ordinate and stroke length as
abscissa.

Ideal Indicator Diagram:

The graph between pressure head in
the cylinder and the stroke length of
piston for one complete revolution of
the crank under ideal conditions is
known as ideal indicator diagram.
Line EF represents the atmospheric
pressure head equal to 10.3 meters of
water.
Let 𝐻𝑚 = Atmospheric pressure
head = 10.3 m of water
L = Length of the stroke
 𝑕𝑠 = Suction head and
𝑕𝑑 = Delivery head
During suction stroke, the pressure head in the cylinder is constant and equal to suction head (𝑕𝑠),
which is below the atmospheric pressure head (𝐻𝑎𝑡𝑚) by a height of 𝑕𝑠. The pressure head during
suction stroke is represented by a horizontal line AB which is below the line EF by a height of ′𝑕𝑠′

During delivery stroke, the pressure head in the cylinder is constant and equal to delivery
head ( 𝑕𝑑), which is above the atmospheric head by a height of ′𝑕𝑑′. Thus the pressure head during
the delivery stroke is represented by a horizontal line CD, which is above the line EF by a height of
𝑕𝑑. Thus for one complete revolution of crank, the pressure head in the cylinder is represented by
the diagram ABCD. This diagram is known as ideal indicator diagram.
𝜌𝑔𝐴𝐿𝑁
The work done by the pump per second = × (𝑕 + 𝑕 )
60 𝑠 𝑑

= 𝐾 × 𝐿(𝑕𝑠 + 𝑕𝑑)

𝖺 𝐿 × (𝑕𝑠 + 𝑕𝑑) (1)

𝜌𝑔𝐴𝑁
Where 𝐾 = 60
= 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡

Area of Indicator diagram = 𝐴𝐵 × 𝐵𝐶 = 𝐴𝐵 × (𝐵𝐹 + 𝐹𝐶) = 𝐿 × (𝑕𝑠 + 𝑕𝑑)

Substituting this value in equation (1), we get

Work done by pump 𝖺 Area of Indicator diagram