Turbine specic speed concepts The turbine specic speed is a quantity derived from dimensional analysis.

For a specic turbine type (Francis, Kaplan, Pelton), the turbine eciency will be primarily a function of specic speed. The specic speed should be a dimensionless quantity, yet often (as in the book) it is presented in dimensional form. These notes outline the derivation and use of the specic speed. Neglect, for the moment, the eect of head losses on the turbine power. The power will then be given by T = T V gH (1) W Obviously the turbine should have as large an eciency T as possible. In general, T will depend on the specic geometrical conguration of the turbine , the head H , and system, as well as the ow rate V the turbine rotation rate . , H , and , an optimum For specic values of V geometrical design would exist which would optimize the turbine eciency. Determination of this optimum design would be performed using either experimental methods or (more recently) numerical CFD simulations, and work of this type has led to the development of the Francis, Kaplan, and Pelton designs of common hydroelectric use. Alternatively, given a specic turbine design (i.e., Francis, Kaplan, Pelton), one would anticipate that there would be a specic set of operating conditions , H , and which would optimize the turbine eV ciency. The basic concept of the turbine specic speed is to identify the optimum operating conditions for a given turbine design. This identication process can be developed via simple dimensional analysis, coupled with an inviscid (i.e., ideal) model of uid mechanics. Say that we have developed an optimized turbine design (i.e., 1 , H1 , and maximized T ) for the specic conditions V 1 . This design would have associated it a characteristic size D1 . You could view D1 as the turbine runner (or rotor) diameter, yet it is not important to precisely connect D1 to some actual dimension of the turbine; the length D1 is simply meant to represent the overall size (or scale) of the turbine. Since the design is optimized for the specic conditions, we can state that T,1 = T,opt V 1 g H1 W (2) If the conditions at state 2 give the same eciency as state 1, then Eq. (2) would imply that T,2 2 H2 W V = T,1 1 H1 W V (3)

will be proportional to a The volumetric ow rate V characteristic velocity in the turbine, V , times a characteristic ow area. The ow area, in turn, would be proportional to the square of the characteristic size, D2 . Therefore, 2 V D2 V2 = 2 (4) 2V 1 D1 V 1 If we neglect viscous eects (i.e., friction losses), Bernoullis equation would show that V2 gH 2 and this implies that ( )2 ( )1/2 2 V D2 H2 = 1 D1 H1 V (5)

(6)

Therefore, for the same turbine design operating at the two optimized states 1 and 2, we would expect that ( )2 ( )3/2 T,2 W D2 H2 = (7) T,1 D1 H1 W Now consider the rotation speed of the turbine, . If R represents the radius of the turbine runner and U the velocity at this radius, then = U/R, in radians per s. For two turbines of the same design, one would expect that U2 /U1 = V2 /V1 and R2 /R1 = D2 /D1 . Using again the head relation for the characteristic velocity V , Eq. (5), we get ( )1/2 2 D1 H2 = (8) 1 D2 H1 The size ratio D2 /D1 can be eliminated between Eqs. (7) and (8), and after rearranging, ( )1/2 T,1 1 W (H1 )
5/4

( )1/2 T,2 2 W = (H2 )

5/4

= constant Nsp

(9)

where T,opt is the optimum (i.e., maximized) eciency. Say we change the head to some new value H2 : we want to estimate the corresponding condi 2 and 2 which will maintain the optimum tions V eciency of the turbine. Or, perhaps, we scale the turbine to a new characteristic size D2 : what are the 2 , H2 which maincorresponding new values of 2 , V tain T,opt ?

The quantity Nsp is referred to as the specic speed of the turbine. Understand that Nsp , as dened above, is not a dimensionless quantity we would need to appropriately include and g to cancel out the units (see the text). The important point of Eq. (9) is that a turbine operating at its optimum design conditions would have a constant value of Nsp . Figure 3.9 in the book presents a plot of turbine eciency T as a function of specic speed Nsp . The

units of Nsp , which are not shown on the plot, would , correspond to the conventional denition in which W , and H are in hp, RPM, and ft, respectively. The plot shows characteristic curves for the three main designs of water turbines: Pelton (impulse), and Francis and Kaplan (reactive). Please pay attention to the fact that Nsp is presented on a log scale. Figure 3.9 can be used to select an appropriate turbine for a given hydropower application. In most hydropower design problems one would typically know beforehand the available head H . The to would also be known beforetal available owrate V hand, which would correspond to some fraction of the total river ow. If this ow is sent through a single T produced by the turbine, turbine, then the power W assuming an eciency of 1 and no head losses, could be estimated from Eq. (2). Figure 3.9 could then be used, in conjunction with the head H and the es T , to determine the corresponding timated power W rotational speeds of Pelton, Francis, and Kaplan turbines operating at their maximum eciency, i.e., = H 5/4 Nsp,opt 1/2 W
T

Experience would then tell the engineer which of the calculated rotation rates, for the three turbine types, is best suited for practical use. Of course, none of the three values calculated via this procedure may be feasible. An alternative approach is to specify beforehand the desired rotation rate of the turbine. The power produced by the three turbine types, operating at optimum eciency, would then be obtained by
5/2 2 T = H W Nsp,opt 2

(11)

The ow rate through the turbine could then be calculated from Eq. (2), and the number of required turbine units would be obtained from the total available owrate divided by the ow through a single turbine.

In general, impulse turbines are most suitable for high head situations, for which the head can be converted into a high speed jet. Francis turbines are (10) used for intermediate heads, and Kaplan for the lowest heads.