Selection factors of a hydraulic turbine

1. Specific speed
N P H 5/ 4 N Turbine Speed P Output Pow er H Effective head on turbine Ns
1. To achieve good rotational speed 2. Reduce the cost of Turbo generator Power house

low head and large output

High specific speed

2. Rotational speed

- Depend on the specific speed

If turbine is directly coupled rotational speed is depend on frequency and number of pair holes

Note
Medium capacity plants even low specific speed , high rotational speed can be attained Therefore there are not need to choose high specific speed for medium capacity plants.

3. Efficiency
- There are four efficiencies are usually considered (mechanical, hydraulic, power, overall) Affect to power output

the selected efficiency must give highest overall efficiency of various

4. Cavitations
- Affect to noise, vibration, loss of efficiency and durability of turbine - Consider for appropriate placement, speed of the turbine etc

conditions.

- Cavitations indices must in the safe zone of turbine operation

5. Deposition of turbine shaft

-

Vertical shaft arrangement

- better for larger size reaction turbines - vertical shaft system need deeper foundation and high roof

Horizontal shaft arrangement

- better for large size impulse turbine - need larger floor space

6. Available head
Head (m)
350 and above 150 - 350 60 - 150 Bellow 60 bellow 30 Up to 15

Prefer turbine type

Pelton turbine Pelton or Francis (for higher specific needs Francis type more economical and compact) Francis turbine Kaplan or Francis types ( Francis type expensive but higher efficiency) Kaplan turbine Propeller type turbine

7. Water quality
- Sand content, chemical and other impurities in water - mostly affect to a reaction type turbine(reactive turbine)

8. Load conditions
Multiunit turbine system prefer for complex and more considerable load systems

9.

Cost and economical aspects