Lab Report #7: Operating characteristics of a Pelton

Turbine
CE 336 - Fluid Mechanics Lab
Instructor: Andres Acosta, MS, PE

Hussein Farhat

Date of lab: 12/2/2020

Date submitted: 12/16/2020

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Introduction:
In this experiment, we study a Pelton turbine which is basically a hydraulic impulse
turbine, along with a pelton wheel which is similar to a water wheel but has specific
advantages to a typical water wheel. The wheel is at the highest efficiency and will have the
most success when it is being operated with a large head. The advantage of this is that at the
end of the exit nozzle, there will be a process where a conversion to velocity will take place.
In the experiment, we will examine the Pelton turbines’ operational qualities by using
different measurements and variables. In the first part, a water jet will flow throughout the
turbine paired with a spear valve at the end that will remain open. Mechanical power that is
produced by the turbine can be compared to hydraulic power which is how we will compare
and contrast the total efficiency of the turbine with different set factors. The hydraulic bench,
set to release maximum flow rate, along with the spear valve that as previously mentioned
will remain open, and the belt used to give tension to the spring forces that exist in the
experiment, we will be able to acquire data that will be used to calculate the efficiency of the
Pelton turbine.

Purpose of Study:
The main purpose of the experiment was to examine the efficiency and power of the
turbine and how changing certain conditions affects these results, along with learning about
Pelton turbines and their features and means of operation. Mainly, we will take note of how
these operating characteristics affect the power and efficiency of the Pelton turbine.

Theory:
The turbine used in the experiment is an impulse and hydraulic turbine, which is
different from a normal turbine that simply extracts energy from a specific fluid. There are
many types of impulse turbine designs, but the Pelton wheel is extremely simple and one of
the most basic ones. To begin, a Pelton turbine follows the following equations:

Where Qv is the volumetric flow rate, Ꝟ is the amount of water flowing through the
turbine, and t is the time. For the brake that is applied to the turbine with two springs,
we find the force using:

Where Fb is the force of the brake and w is the two springs and their readings. Fb is the brake
force that is working on the turbine. The torque spinning the rotor can be found using the
brake force and radius, as:

Where r is the radius of the brake pulley, a given value of r = 0.03m, and T is the torque. We
We find mechanical power using torque with the following equation:

Here, n is the rotation speed and Pb is the mechanical power present in the system. For
hydraulic power and not mechanical power, we use:

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Where Hi is the pressure head found from the pressure difference, Pi is the pressure
difference found with the Bourdon pressure gauge compared to atmospheric pressure, and Ph
is the hydraulic power as previously found. The relationship here can be represented as:

After this, the hydraulic power as well as the mechanical power have been calculated and can
now be utilized to calculate the overall efficiency of the turbine, found using:

Equipment:
● Hydraulic bench
● Digital tachometer
● F1-25 Pelton turbine apparatus (pictures in figure 1)
● Stopwatch

Figure 1 (Schematic of Pelton Turbine)

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 Figure 2 (Pelton Turbine with Hydraulic Bench)

Experimental Set-Up & Procedures:

To begin, we start by focusing on the fully open and partially open spear valve data.
First off, we turn on the hydraulic bench with a maximum flow rate initiated on the hydraulic
pump. With the fully open spear valve on the turbine and spring balances set to 0 Newtons,
we ensure that the turbine is operating at maximum speed by ensuring springs are properly
set. With this, we calculate the volumetric flow rate on how long we need to fill up 5L of
water, which should more or less stay quite constant throughout the lab as we are always
filling up to 5L. With the tachometer, we read the turbine RPM. Make sure that the
tachometer sensor is pointed directly around the middle of the turbine as its spinning. Take
pressure gauge reading, and then apply tension to the tube with the belt on the springs as well
as the turbine in order to make the turbine slow down. Now, the readings for the two spring
forces should be about 2 or so Newtons apart from each other for this second reading. Again,
record turbine RPM with the tachometer as well as the spring balance and pressure gauge.
We then increase the tension and repeat the steps ten times for the ten readings, with the last
reading occurring at 0 RPM for the turbine seeing it to a full stop. Afterwards, turn off the
hydraulic bench and then prepare to partially close the spear valve and begin the next part of
the experiment. Repeat all the steps the same exact way for the partially closed spear valve.

Calculations:

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Spear valve completely open:

Spear valve partially open:

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Rotor Brake Volume Hydraulic Turbine
Speed F1 F2 Volume Time Inlet h Brake F Torque Power Flow Rate Power eff.

N w1 w2 V t Hi Fb T Pb Qv Ph Et

(Hz) (N) (N) m

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(sec) mH 2 O (N) N-m (W) (m3 /s ) (W) (%)
28.794 1.0 1.1 0.005 17.2 7 0.10 0.003 0.5428 0.0002907 19.6221 2.719
25.487 1.0 2.2 0.005 17.2 7 1.0 0.03 4.8042 0.0002907 19.6221 24.066
23.08 1.2 3.3 0.005 17.2 7 2.1 0.063 9.1360 0.0002907 19.6221 45.766
21.54 1.2 3.9 0.005 17.2 7 2.7 0.081 10.9625 0.0002907 19.6221 54.916
18.44 1.4 5.0 0.005 17.2 7 3.6 0.108 12.5131 0.0002907 19.6221 62.684
0 2.3 8.6 0.005 17.2 7 6.3 0.189 0 0.0002907 19.6221 0

Figure 1: Brake power (Pb ) versus rotor speed (N), completely open spear valve

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 Figure 2: Torque (T) versus Rotor Speed, completely open spear valve

Figure 3: Total turbine efficiency (E¿¿ t )¿ versus Rotor Speed (N), completely
open spear valve

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 Figure 4: Brake power (Pb ) versus rotor speed (N) , partially open spear valve

Figure 5: Torque (T) versus rotor speed (N) , partially open spear valve

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 Figure 6: Total turbine efficiency (E¿¿ t )¿versus rotor speed, partially open
spear valve

Discussion and Questions:

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 The spear valve being completely open shows that both the overall calculated
efficiency as well as the brake horsepower increase when the rotational speed increases as
well until it hits near 26 Hz, then drops slowly to zero as the speed continues to increase.
Torque increases at a consistent rate when the rotational speed goes up. When examining our
calculations, it seems that the maximum brake power and efficiency happens near 18 Hz or so
when the torque reaches a maximum level and the rotational speed is zero, as the turbine is
attempting to fight against the brake force that is being applied. The maximum brake power
and highest efficiency is around 28 Hz, and the maximum torque was around 6 Hz. For the
partially open spear, all the values of maximum torque, brake power, and efficiency were
found when the rotational speed was higher, different from the spear being completely open.
The turbine efficiency should be expected to have a bell shaped curve because that’s how the
Pelton turbine works in the sense that it is most efficient as we mentioned when it has a
higher water head. Low rotational speeds do not put out much water versus faster speeds, and
that means that the turbine was not able to generate force from the fluid jet into any
momentum because the buckets that were moving were too quick for it to be able to produce
maximum overall efficiency.

References:

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 Munson, B. R., T. H. Okiishi, W.W. Huebsch, A. P. Rothmayer, 2012,
“Fundamentals of Fluid Mechanics”, 7th edition, John Wiley, Chapter 8

Armfield, 2012, “Fluid Statics and Manometry”, Instruction Manual.

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