1.

0 OBJECTIVES

To determine the performance of a Pelton turbine.

To study the characteristics curves of a Pelton turbine operating at a different fluid flow rates with
high head.
o

Torque (Nm) against turbine rotational speed (Hz) curve.

Power output (W) against turbine rotational speed (Hz) curve.

Turbine efficiency (%) against turbine rotational speed (Hz) curve.

2.0 THEORY
There are two types of turbines, reaction and the impulse, the difference being the manner of
head conversion. In the reaction turbine, the fluid fills the blade passages, and the head change or
pressure drop occurs within the runner. An impulse turbine first converts the water head through a
nozzle into a high-velocity jet, which then strikes the buckets at one position as they pass by. The
runner passages are not fully filled, and the jet flow past the buckets is essentially at constant pressure.
Impulse turbines are ideally suited for high head and relatively low power. The Pelton turbine used in
this experiment is an impulse turbine.
The primary feature of the impulse turbine is the power production as the jet is deflected by
the moving buckets. Assuming that the speed of the exiting jet is zero (all of the kinetic energy of the
jet is expended in driving the buckets), negligible head loss at the nozzle and at the impact with the
buckets (assuming that the entire available head is converted into jet velocity), the energy equation
applied to the control volume provides the power extracted from the available head by the turbine,

Where Q is the discharge of the incoming jet, and Hi is the available pressure head on the nozzle.
By applying the angular momentum equation (assuming negligible angular momentum for the
exiting jet) to the same control volume about the axis of the turbine shaft the absolute value of the
power developed by the turbine can be written as,

Where is the angular velocity of the runner, T is the torque acting on the turbine shaft, r is the
pulley radius, Fb is the force brake, and N is the rotational speed of the runner.

The efficiency of the turbine is defined as the ratio between the powers developed by the
turbine to the available water power,

In general the efficiency of the turbine is provided as isoefficiency curves. They show the
interrelationship among Q, w, and h. A typical isoefficiency plot is provided in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Isoefficiency curve for a laboratory-scale Pelton turbine

Under ideal conditions the maximum power generated is about 85%, but experimental data
shows that Pelton turbine are somewhat less efficient (approximately 80%) due to windage,
mechanical friction, back-splashing, and non-uniform bucket flow. The purpose of the present
experiment is to determine the efficiency of a laboratory-scale Pelton turbine.

3.0 EXPERIMENT APPARATUS

Demonstration of Pelton Turbine (Model: FM41)

Tachometer

Stopwatch

4.0 PROCEDURES
Part 1: Equipment set up
i.

Tensioning screw and belt were slacken to apply minimum force to the pulley.

ii.

The pump was then started and the throttle valve was fully open (set point) to allow water to
circulate.

iii.

The spear valve is opened and adjusted until 1.5 of inlet water head, P1 (kgf/cm2) and recorded.

Part 2: Taking a set of results

i.

The spring balance value was adjusted by achieving some mass difference at spring balance 1 and
2 for suitable six increments force brake value started from zero to maximum value of force brake,
Fb. m1 and m2 (g) were recorded.

ii.

Turbine rotational speed (N) was measured twice using tachometer and recorded.

iii.

Value of volumetric flow rate, Qa (LPM) was determined by measuring the time taken, t (s) to fill
the volumetric tank from zero to 10 liters and then recorded.

iv.

The experiment was repeated by tighten up the tensioning screw for the first increment for force
brake.

v.

All readings were recorded again when the readings were steady enough.

vi.

The experiment was started again from Part 1 by decreasing the volume flow rate of water by
changing the set point to half round of throttle valve and the pressure was maintained at 1.5
kgf/cm2.

Graph 1: Torque vs Turbine rotational speed (Fully-opened throttle valve)

Graph of Torque against Turbine Rotational Speed

0.3

Torque, T (Nm)

0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
0

10

15

20

25

30

Turbine rotational speed, N (Hz)

Graph 2: Power output vs Turbine rotational speed (Fully-opened throttle valve)

Graph of Power Output against Turbine Rotational Speed

14

Power output, Ph (W)

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

10

15

20

Turbine rotational speed, N (Hz)

25

30

Graph 3: Turbine efficiency vs Turbine rotational speed (Fully-opened throttle valve)

Graph of Turbine Efficiency against Turbine Rotational

Speed

Turbine efficiency, Et (%)

14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

10

15

20

25

30

Turbine rotational speed, N (Hz)

Graph 4: Torque vs Turbine rotational speed (Half-opened throttle valve)

Graph of Torque against Turbine Rotational Speed

0.2
0.18

Torque, T (Nm)

0.16
0.14
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0

10

15

Turbine rotational speed, N (Hz)

20

25

Graph 5: Power output vs Turbine rotational speed (Half-opened throttle valve)

Graph of Power Output against Turbine Rotational Speed

7

Power output, Ph (W)

6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0

10

15

20

25

Turbine rotational speed, N (Hz)

Graph 6: Turbine efficiency vs Turbine rotational speed (Half-opened throttle valve)

Graph of Turbine Efficiency against Turbine Rotational Speed

Turbine Efficiency, Et (%)

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
0

10

15

Turbine rotational speed, N (Hz)

20

25

6.0 SAMPLE OF CALCULATIONS

Given, Acceleration due to gravity, g = 9.81 m/s2

Pulley radius, r = 0.04 m
Inlet water head, P1 = 1.5 kgf/cm2
Density of water, = 1000 kg/m3
Flow rate of water, Qa = 6.34 10-4 m3/s (Fully-opened throttle valve);
Qa = 4.34 10-4 m3/s (Half-opened throttle valve)

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7.0 DISCUSSIONS

Based on the results obtained above, higher flow rate of water gives higher value of power output
and hydraulic power at input. Slower flow rate resulted in higher turbine efficiency in average.

As the mass difference increases, the value of force brake increases as well.

From the plotted graph above, it was observed that as the turbine rotational speed increases, the
torque decreases.

When the turbine rotational speed increases, the power output increases to a peak value and then
decreases.

Turbine efficiency rise to a peak value and then decline as the turbine rotational speed increases.

Decreasing the flow rate of water will help to increase the efficiency of the turbine.

8.0 CONCLUSIONS

The performance of Pelton turbine was determined, where different flow rates of water will
affects the efficiency of Pelton turbine.

The characteristic curves of Pelton turbine operating at different fluid flow rates were obtained
and the trend was studied, which are Torque against Turbine Rotational Speed curve, Power
Output against Turbine Rotational Speed curve, and Turbine Efficiency against Turbine
Rotational Speed curve.

9.0 APPLICATION IN INDUSTRY

Pelton wheels are the preferred turbine for hydro-power, when the available water source has
relatively high hydraulic head at low flow rates, where the Pelton wheel is most efficient. Thus, more
power can be extracted from a water source with high-pressure and low-flow than from a source with
low-pressure and high-flow, even when the two flows theoretically contain the same power. Also a
comparable amount of pipe material is required for each of the two sources, one requiring a long thin
pipe, and the other a short wide pipe.
Pelton wheels are made in all sizes. There exist multi-ton Pelton wheels mounted on vertical
oil pad bearings in hydroelectric plants. The largest units can be up to 200 megawatts. The smallest
Pelton wheels are only a few inches across, and can be used to tap power from mountain streams
having flows of a few gallons per minute. Some of these systems use household plumbing fixtures for
water delivery. These small units are recommended for use with 30 feet (9.1 m) or more of head, in
order to generate significant power levels. Depending on water flow and design, Pelton wheels
operate best with heads from 495,905 feet (14.91,799.8 m), although there is no theoretical limit.

10.0 REFERENCES
1. Yahya, Izzah. Pelton Turbine Report Scribd.com. 26 Apr. 2013. 30 Nov. 2014.
<https://www.scribd.com/doc/138061490/Pelton-Turbine-Report>.
2. Pelton Turbine Experiment Engineering.uiowa.edu. 29 Nov. 2014.
<http://user.engineering.uiowa.edu/fluidslab/pdfs/53-071/lab4.pdf>

11.0 APPENDIX
Tensioning screw
Spring balance

Pressure gauge

Belt
Spear valve
Pelton turbine

Volumetric tank
Throttle valve

Pump