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Aim:
To study the performance characteristics of Impulse turbine at various RPMs and
pressure differences.
Apparatus:
An Impulse turbine setup which is made to run by creating a pressure difference
between the inlet and the outlet consists of the following apparatus.
An Impulse turbine.
External compressor setup for providing high pressure at the inlet.
Tachometer to measure the speed (rpm) of the turbine.
Strain gauge to measure the resistance given to the turbine.
Thermocouples to measure the temperatures at inlet and exit conditions.
Rotameter to measure the air mass flow rate.
Theory:
In impulse turbine all fluid energy is converted into kinetic energy by a nozzle and it is is
the jet so produced which strikes the runner blades. It has a Zero Degree of Reaction which
means
that
no
pressure
drop
occurs
in
the
rotor.
Figure 1 Impulse Turbine. It shows four nozzles(D) impelling the blades(A) around shaft(c).
By definition, Degree of reaction is the ratio of static pressure drop in the rotor to the
static pressure drop in the stage or as the ratio of static enthalpy drop in the rotor to the static
enthalpy drop in the stage.
In this setup, the flow is initiated by creating a large pressure difference between the
inlet and the exit of the turbine. We can change the mass flow rate by changing the inlet
pressure. The four nozzles are used to convert most of the flow energy to kinetic energy. With
this kinetic energy, the flow impinges on the turbine blades which initiates and maintains the
rotation of the turbine.
The nozzles are positioned such that they produce couple to rotate the turbine. In his
setup, four nozzles are positioned as shown in the figure. They provide two couples to drive he
turbine. The nozzle is also provided with valves so that they can be closed or opened to change
the inlet flow which facilitates the study of the turbine at different conditions.
A strain gauge is attached to the belt the turbine to measure the force to the resistance
created during various operating conditions. This setup measures the strain which is converted
to force in Newton by the setup.
Precautions:
All the nozzles should not be set to close at the same time.
We need to decrease the resistance before reducing the pressure difference.
The pressure supply should not be more than 50KPa so that the chances of instabilities
due to vibration at high speeds (rpm) are reduced.
Procedure:
There are two steps followed in this experiment
In the first step, the inlet is provided with different pressures and hence different mass
flows. As we vary the pressure, the mass flow will vary and the rpm of the turbine will
vary accordingly. The rpm will be controlled by varying the resistance and it will be set at
particular constant value for different pressures. The resistance to the load will be
measured using a strain gauge while the mass flow rate will be taken from a tachometer.
In the second step, the inlet pressure is kept constant and the rpm is varied by varying
the resistance load. This gives the value of resistance force at different rpm. The mass
flow rate remains constant as the pressure different is maintained constant.
Both of the above steps are repeated with two adjacent nozzles shut off and the
readings are recorded for calculation of performance parameters.
Observation Tables:
For case 1:
4 nozzle open
Reference RPM=21500
P1
P2
Kpa
Kpa
131.325
101.325
141.325
151.325
Actual RPM
Load
T1
T2
Kg/sec
21480
0.66
0.0029
298.7
295.2
101.325
21490
0.96
0.0033
298.7
293.9
101.325
21450
1.16
0.0037
298.8
293
Actual RPM
Load
T1
T2
Kg/sec
18500
18400
1.41
0.0037
298.9
294.4
20500
20590
1.23
0.0037
298.9
293
22500
22410
1.14
0.0037
298.9
293.1
Case 2:
2 nozzle open
Reference RPM=19500
P1
P2
Kpa
Kpa
131.325
101.325
141.325
151.325
Actual RPM
Load
T1
T2
Kg/sec
19400
0.38
0.0008
299.7
296.5
101.325
19500
0.56
0.001
299.6
296
101.325
19600
0.68
0.0015
299.6
294.5
Actual RPM
Load
T1
T2
Kg/sec
16500
16580
0.77
0.0015
299.6
294.4
17500
17490
0.6
0.0015
299.6
294.4
18500
18410
0.74
0.0015
299.6
294.8
Formulae used:
Pideal = mCp T = mCp(T1-Tideal)
Pactual=(2.Phi.NT)/60
Here T is torque.
Efficiency =Pactual/Pideal
Specific Air consumption SAC= m/Pactual
Sample Calculations:
The calculation has been done for the Ref RPM 21500 with inlet pressure of 131.325 KPa.
Using isentropic relation to find ideal T2:
T2(ideal)/T1= (rp)^(y-1/y => T2(ideal) = ((rp)^(y-1/y )T1= (.771)^(.4/1.4)(298.7)= 277.3671 K
Power:
Pactual= (2Phi N T)/60 = (2*3.14* 21480*.0095)/60 = 21.515W
Pideal=mCp(T1-T2ideal)= .0029*1005*(298.7-277.36) = 62.17 W
Efficiency:
= Pactual / Pideal = 21.515/62.17 = .346 = 34.6%
Specific Air Consumption:
SAC = m/Pact= (.0029/21.515)*3600*1000= 485.22804 Kg/KW-Hr
Ref.RPM=
21500
m
Actual
RPM
Kg/sec
T1
T2
Rp
T2 Ideal
SAC
N-m
Kg/KW-Hr
0.0029
21480
298.7
295.2
0.771
0.0095
21.515
62.17
277.3671
34.60
485.22804
0.0033
21490
298.7
293.9
0.716
0.0139
31.310
89.83
271.6119
34.85
379.43063
0.0037
21450
298.8
293
0.66958
0.0168
37.762
120.30
266.447
31.38
352.73011
T2
Kg/sec
0.0037
0.0037
298.9 293
0.0037
Rp
T2 Ideal
SAC
N-m
Kg/KWHr
346.550
Reference
RPM=19500
Rp
T2 Ideal
SAC
N-m
Kg/KW-Hr
0.771559109
0.00551
11.18824
17.20905
278.2957
65.0137
257.4131716
0.716964444
0.00812
16.57292
27.30554
272.4303
60.69434
217.2218293
0.66958533
0.00986
20.22746
48.90271
267.1604
41.36266
266.9638029
T2 Ideal
SAC
N-m
Kg/KW-Hr
0.66958533
0.011165
19.37544
48.90271
267.1604
39.62039
278.7033
0.66958533
0.0087
15.92639
48.90271
267.1604
32.56751
339.0598
0.66958533
0.01073
20.67578
48.90271
267.1604
42.27942
261.1752
Efficiency vs RPM
(Constant Inlet Pressure)
70
60
Efficiency(%)
50
40
4 nozzle open
30
2 nozzle open
20
10
0
15000
16000
17000
18000
19000
20000
21000
22000
23000
RPM
60
50
40
30
4 nozzle open
20
2 nozzle open
10
0
0.66
0.68
0.7
0.72
0.74
Pressure ratio
0.76
0.78
Torque vs RPM
(Inlet pressure constant)
0.023
0.021
Torque(N-m)
0.019
0.017
0.015
0.013
4 nozzle open
0.011
2 nozzle open
0.009
0.007
0.005
16000
18000
20000
22000
24000
RPM
Torque(N-m)
4 nozzle open
2 nozzle open
0.66
0.68
0.7
0.72
0.74
Pressure ratio
0.76
0.78
Actual Power(W)
40
35
30
25
4 nozzle open
20
2 nozzle open
15
10
15500
17500
19500
21500
23500
RPM
30
25
20
4 nozzle open
15
2 nozzle open
10
5
0
0.66
0.68
0.7
0.72
Pressure ratio
0.74
0.76
0.78
320
310
300
4 nozzle open
290
2 nozzle open
280
270
260
250
0.015
0.02
0.025
0.03
0.035
0.04
0.045
P actual (W)
P actual(W)
0.035
0.03
0.025
4 nozzle open
0.02
2 nozzle open
0.015
0.01
100
150
200
250
300
350
SAC (Kg/KW-Hr )
400
450
500
Conclusion:
The efficiency drops for both 4 nozzle open (Case 1) and 2 nozzle open (Case 2) with increase in
RPM. This is because of the higher rate of increase of ideal power than the actual power with increase in
RPM. So more the RPM, less efficient is the turbine as the thermal losses become more pronounced at
higher speeds. In the case with pressure ratio, efficiency increases directly with it as turbine efficiency
depends much on its pressure ratio. We get more efficiency for 2 nozzle case as for the same pressure
ratio as the RPM of this case is lesser for the same pressure ratio. It is obvious that torque vs. RPM curve
shows a negative trend because torque always decreases with RPM. The main reason for this trend is
that the performance of the engine in terms of power, torque, efficiency etc. decreases as the turbine is
unable to convert the energy efficiently as the losses such as thermal, vibrational and stress related
losses begins to increase. The actual power first decreases and then changes the trend with RPM. For
both cases (Case 1 and case2) the actual power decreases with pressure ratio because of the losses
discussed above. SAC shows a variation which first decreases with power and then mildly increases as at
the optimum value of power, the SAC becomes the least and beyond that, SAC increases.