Turbines

(Pelton, Cross Flow, Kaplan and

Francis)

Dr. Ajmal Shah, PE, DME, PIEAS

Turbines
The device in which the kinetic ,potential
or intermolecular energy held by the
fluid is converted in the form of
mechanical energy of a rotating member
is known as a turbine .
Also , defined as all machines in which
hydraulic energy is transferred into
mechanical energy (in the form of
rotating shaft ) ,or in some other moving
parts are known as turbines or

Turbines
A simple design of a turbine contain a rotor
assembly, which is the moving part, having
shaft or drums with blades attached to them.
The movement of the blades, which is caused
by the flow of fluids, creates rotational energy.
Some example of turbine impulse , Reaction
etc.

Turbine Selection
The selection of the best turbine for any particular
hydro site depends on
the site characteristics, the dominant ones being the head
and flow available.
Selection also depends on the desired running speed of the
generator or other device loading of the turbine.
Other considerations such as whether the turbine is
expected to produce power under part-flow conditions, also
play an important role in the selection.

Turbine characteristics
They will tend to run most efficiently at a particular speed,
head and flow combination.
A turbine speed is largely determined by the head under
which it operates.
Turbines can be classified as high head, medium head or low
head machines.

Types of Turbine
Turbines are divided by their principle way
of operating and can be either impulse or
reaction turbines.
Reaction Turbines: (Reaction turbines convert potential
energy in pressurized water to mechanical energy)

The rotating element (called `runner') of a

reaction turbine is fully immersed in water and
is enclosed in a pressure casing. The runner
blades are profiled so that pressure differences
across them impose lift forces, like those on
aircraft wings, which cause the runner to rotate.
Francis
Kaplan

Kaplan Turbine
Kaplan Turbine is designed for low water head
applications. Most of the turbines developed earlier
were suitable for large heads of water.
With increasing demand of power need, it was felt
to harness power from sources of low head water,
such as, rivers flowing at low heights.
For such low head applications Viktor Kaplan
designed a turbine similar to the propellers of ships.
Its working is just reverse to that of propellers.
The Kaplan Turbine is also called as Propeller
Turbine.
The Kaplan Turbine has 3 to 8 number of blades.
For Kaplan Turbine very large flow rate is required.
Kaplan Turbine speed range is 250 to 850 rpm.
Kaplan Turbine heavy duty generator is required

Kaplan Turbine

Francis Turbine
Francis Turbine is the first hydraulic turbine with
radial inflow.
It was designed by American scientist James
Francis.
Francis Turbine is a reaction turbine.
The Francis Turbine has 18 to 24 number of
blades.
For Francis Turbine medium flow rate is required.
Francis Turbine speed range is 50 to 250 rpm.
For France Turbine regular generator is required.

Types of Turbine
Impulse Turbines:

(Impulse turbines convert the kinetic energy of a

jet of water to mechanical energy)

In contrast an impulse turbine runner operates in

air, driven by a jet (or jets) of water.
The water remains at atmospheric pressure
before and after making contact with the runner
blades.
In this case a nozzle converts the pressurized low
velocity water into a high speed jet.
The runner blades deflect the jet so as to
maximize the change of momentum of the water
and thus maximizing the force on the blades.
Pelton
Cross Flow

Pelton Turbine
A Pelton wheel has one or more free jets
discharging water into an aerated space and
impinging on the buckets of a runner.
Draft tubes are not required for impulse turbine
since the runner must be located above the
maximum tail water to permit operation at
atmospheric pressure.

Cross Flow Turbine

A cross-flow turbine is drum-shaped and uses an
elongated, rectangular-section nozzle directed
against curved vanes on a cylindrically shaped
runner.
It resembles a "squirrel cage" blower.
The cross-flow turbine allows the water to flow
through the blades twice.
The first pass is when the water flows from the
outside of the blades to the inside; the second
pass is from the inside back out.
A guide vane at the entrance to the turbine
directs the flow to a limited portion of the runner.
The cross-flow was developed to accommodate
larger water flows and lower heads than the

Selection of Turbine

Highhead Mediumhead

Lowhead

Impulse
turbines

Pelton

cross-flow
multi-jetPelton

cross-flow

Reaction
turbines

Francis

Kaplan

Impulse Turbines:
Tolerate sand.
Easy to fabricate.
Efficient at wider range of head and flow.
A nozzle converts pressurized water into a high-speed jet of
water.

Characteristic curves of a
Turbine
These are curves which are characteristic of a
particular turbine which helps in studying the
performance of the turbine under various
conditions.
These curves pertaining to any turbine are supplied
by its manufacturers based on actual tests.
The data that must be obtained in testing a turbine
are the following:
1. The speed of the turbine N
2. The discharge Q
3. The net head H available
4. The power P
5. The overall efficiency

Characteristic curves of a
Turbine
The characteristic curves obtained are the
following:
a) Constant head curves or main characteristic curves

b) Constant speed curves or operating characteristic curves

c) Constant efficiency curves or Muschel curves

These curves are plotted from data which can be

obtained from the constant head and constant
speed experiments.
The objective of obtaining this curve is to determine
the zone of constant efficiency so that we can
always run the turbine with maximum efficiency.
These curve also gives a good idea about the
performance of the turbine at various efficiencies.

Experiment Procedure
Keep the spear rod at full open position
of the nozzle and adjust the input
pressure P.
Note down the reading of the calibrated
orifice meter and determine the flow rate
Q.
Note down the speed at various brake
loads with the help of a tachometer.
Repeat the procedure for and
opening of nozzle, keeping each time
supply head constant.

Experiment Procedure
Specific weight of water, w

9810 N/m3

Brake drum radius D

0.45 m

Rope diameter d

0.012m

Weight of the hanger

19.62 N

Sr.
No.

Nozzle
opening

Input
head
H (m
of
water)

Orifice
Q
meter
(m3/s)
reading
(mm of
water)

Input
power
(W)

Net
mass
on
drum
(kg)

Output
power
(W)

Speed
(rpm)

Efficiency
%

Experiment Procedure
Sr.
No.

Nozzle
opening

Input
head H
(m
of
water)

Orifice
Q (m3/s)
meter
reading
(mm
of
water)

Input
power
(W)

Net
Output
mass on power
drum
(W)
(kg)

Speed
(rpm)

Efficiency %

Input head H

Input power Q H
2 N T
Output power
60
where T
Efficiency

W De
for net weight of W Newton on the drum
2

Output
Input

Graphs:PlotthefollowingcharacteristiccurvesforallthenozzleopeningsatconstantheadH1.Outputvs.speed
2.Efficiencyvs.speed