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BACKGROUND
Pelton turbine is a tangential flow hydraulic impulse turbine in which water jet hits the bucket on a wheel, and it is used in the hydroelectric power plant for electricity generation purpose. The total available head is first converted into kinetic energy through one or more nozzles in the impulse turbines. The wheel is rotated by the torque which is generated by the produced force through the jet impact at right angles to the buckets.1 This turbine was named ‘pelton’ to honor an American Engineer, who researched the best shapes of the bucket.
Many large machines with power outputs of more than 100 MW has been developed on this small concept which produces an efficiency of around 95%. However, the power output and efficiency fall considerably in small laboratory model due to the bearing losses and comparatively more air friction. It is used for a high head in the hydroelectric power plant, i.e. 150 m to 2000 m or even more.2
The central parts of the pelton turbine are:
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Nozzle and flow regulating arrangement (spear).
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Runner and buckets
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Casing
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Breaking Jet
The main purpose of this experiment is to study the performance of the Pelton turbine.
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REQUIREMENTS
Materials: Pelton Turbine
Spring Balance
Optical Tachometer
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PROCEDURE
First of all, adjust the spring balance to zero deflection, and shut the spear valve by rotating it in a clockwise direction. Now, open the control valve along with the spear valve (anticlockwise) after starting the hydraulic bench. Make sure that the control valve is opened until the bench flow is at maximum. After this, measure the initial flow for reference by using the hydraulic bench, and note down the inlet pressure for the flow. Initially, measure the maximum speed of the turbine in the no-load condition by using an optical tachometer, and then note down the speed by increasing the load in steps. These values are recorded for each spring balance, and stop it when the speed becomes unstable. Alas, repeat the above procedures with 50% and 25 %spear open respectively.
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CONCLUSION
The procedure on the performance of Pelton turbine has been discussed. The rise of electric power generated through the generator is proportional to the available water head.
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REFERENCES
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K. V. S. Bryan R.Cobb, “Impulse (Turgo and Pelton) turbine performance characteristics and their impact on pico-hydro installations,” Renewable Energy, vol. 50, pp. 959-964, 2013.
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Z. W. J. Z. Yexiang Xiao, “Numerical and experimental analysis of the hydraulic performance of a prototype Pelton turbine,” Journal of Power and Energy, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 332-355, 2013.
