University Kasdi Merbah Ouargla ‫دي ر ح ور‬

Faculty of Applied Sciences ‫ا وم ا ط‬

Mechanical Engineering ‫ا‬ ‫ما د‬
department
Pelton Wheel Lab sheet

The accessory is designed to be positioned on the side channel of the

hydraulics bench and the inlet pipe should be connected to the bench
supply.

The flow is controlled by a fully retractable spear valve. Water discharges into
the volumetric tank through an orifice in the base of the Pelton turbine
base plate. The Pelton wheel buckets are clearly visible due to the transparent
turbine cover. A pressure gauge mounted on the support assembly allows the
inlet pressure of the turbine to be monitored.

A simple band brake connected to two spring balances allows the load
applied to the turbine to be varied by adjustment of the tensioning device.

The speed of the turbine shaft can be determined by a non-contactable type

tachometer for which a clamping arrangement is provided.

EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

Objective
To determine the operating characteristics of a Pelton turbine at various
speeds.

Method
By measurement of power, torque and volume flow rates against rotor
speed.

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Equipment
In order to complete the demonstration you need a number of
pieces of equipment.

• The F 1-10 Hydraulics Bench which allows you to measure flow by timed
volume collection.

• The F1-25 Pelton Turbine Apparatus.

• A stopwatch to allow you to determine the flow rate of water.

• A non-contactable type tachometer to measure rotor speed.

Technical Data

The following dimensions from the equipment are used in the appropriate
calculations. If required these values may be checked as part of the
experimental procedure and replaced with your own measurements.

Radius of brake drum r = 0.030m

Theory

The Pelton turbine is the most visually obvious example of an impulse machine.
A spear valve directs a jet of water at a series of buckets which are mounted
on the periphery of a rotor. As the water exiting the spear valve is at
atmospheric pressure, the force exerted on the rotor is entirely due to changes
in the direction of the flow of water. The Pelton turbine is therefore associated
with considerable changes of kinetic energy but little change in pressure
energy. The spear valve allows the jet diameter to be varied which allows the
water flow rate to be varied with a constant jet velocity. Large turbines
may include more than one spear valve around the periphery of the rotor.

The operating characteristics of a turbine are often conveniently shown by

plotting torque T, brake power Pb, and overall turbine efficiency Et against
turbine rotational speed n for a series of volume flow rates Qv, as shown in
chart provided. It is important to note that the efficiency reaches a maximum
and then falls, whilst the torque falls constantly and linearly. The optimum
conditions for operation occur when the required 'duty point' of head and flow
coincides with a point of maximum efficiency.

The basic terms used to define, and therefore measure, turbine performance
in relation to rotational speed include:

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i) volume flow rate,

ii) head,

iii) torque, power output and efficiencies.

Each of these is considered in turn.

The flow rate of fluid through the turbine is the volume passing through the
system per unit time.

Qv = V/t [m 3 /s] ..... (1)

The term 'head' refers to the elevation of a free surface of water above or
below a reference datum. In the case of a turbine we are interested in the
head of the waterentering the rotor, which of course has a direct effect on
the characteristics of the unit. In this apparatus the head of water is generated
by the pump on the hydraulics bench rather than an elevated reservoir.

Terms specifically applied to the analysis of turbines and generating

systems are briefly defined below.

1. Manometric suction head Hm 1 is the gauge reading (metres) measured

at the inlet nozzle of the turbine, referenced to the rotor centreline
datum.
2. Manometric discharge head Hm2 is the gauge reading (metres)
measured at the discharge nozzle of the turbine, referenced to the
rotor centreline.
3. Input head to the turbine (Hi ) is the head used by the turbine in
performing work. For the turbine Hi is given by:

Hi = [Hm1 -Hm2] …..(2)

For a control volume enclosing the turbine outlet and inlet, as Hm1 and
Hm2 the measured pressures are equal to

z1 + (P1/ρg) and z2 + (P2/ρg) respectively

The gauge has been set up so that inlet pressure is measured in relation to
atmospheric pressure (P2). As the outlet of the turbine is at atmospheric
pressure, it can be assumed that the reading given by the gauge is the head
loss due to pressure difference across the turbine.

Hence Hi = P1 /ρ g [m]

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The hydraulic power supplied by the water, Ph, can be calculated as

P h = ρ g Hi Qv [Nm/s = Watts] …..(3)

The mechanical power, Pm, produced by the turbine in creating a torque T
on the brake at rotor speed n is given by Pm = 2πn T [Nm/s=Watts] ..... (4)
The torque itself is given by the equation: T =Fb r [Nm] ……(5)
where Fb is the brake force reading on the spring balances and r is the pulley
radius.

However, the fluid friction 'losses' in the turbine itself, require a hydraulic
efficiency Eh to be defined as:-

Further, the mechanical losses in the bearings etc. require a mechanical

efficiency Em to be defined as

The Armfield turbine units do not include the direct measurement of mechanical
power Pm, but instead measure brake force applied to the rotor via the band
brake. A further efficiency is therefore required, expressing the friction losses in
the brake assembly Eb:-

The overall turbine efficiency Et is thus:-

Which is equal to :

Thus: Et = Eh Em Eb

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Procedure - Equipment Set Up

Position the apparatus in the working channel of the bench and connect to
the bench supply using the quick release connector. Clamp the optical
tachometer into the clip provided. Lift the band brake assembly until it is clear
of the brake drum.
Switch on the bench pump and open the bench control valve fully. Adjust
the spear valve until the maximum rev/min are indicated on the tachometer.

Procedure - Taking a Set of Results

Lift the band brake assembly over the brake drum and adjust the band
brake for a range of readings on the spring balances. Record the spring
balance and tachometer readings for each band brake setting.
Measure the flow rate using a timed volume collection, and record the
reading from the inlet pressure gauge.

Adjust the flow rate using the spear valve, and repeat the experiment.
Continue to do this until you have sets of readings for a variety of
different flow rates.

For each flow rate, plot a graph of rotational speed n against Torque T, Brake
(Mechanical) Power Pm and Efficiency Et.

w1 Reading from spring balance 1and w2 Reading from spring balance 2

V: Volume of water collected in a known time period. Converted to cubic

metres for calculations.

T: Time taken to coll ect a known volume of water.

Hi: Head loss across turbine. Head loss is measured in metres of water

T = (w2-w1)*r

Pm = 2π nT

2 π nT
E t = ρgH1Q

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NOMENCLATURE

Column Units Nom. Type

Heading

Radius of Brake Drum m r Given

Tachometer Reading Hz n Measured

Spring Balance N w1 Measured

Spring Balance N w2 Measured

Volume Collected m3 V Measured

Time to Collect t Measured

Head H20 Hi Measured

Flow Rate m3/s Qv

Calculated

Nm T
Torque Calculated

Brake Power W Pm Calculated

Turbine Efficiency Et Calculated

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 Work Sheet
RPM

(rad/s)

W1 (N)

W2 (N)

W1–W2
(N)
Drum 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03
Radius (m)
Torque
(Nm)
Pm (w)

Vol (l)

Time (s)

Flowrate
(m3/s)
Pressure
(m H2O)
Pw (w)

Efficiency
(%)

-Draw graphs of power, Torque, Efficiency and discharge against rotor

speed.

-Comment on graphs obtained. At what speed in maximum power output

obtained? Is the same for maximum efficiency?