You are on page 1of 3

Impact Of A Jet

1. Abstract
This objective of this experiment is to study the jet forces impacting against stationary
deflectors. The deflectors used in this experiment can be categorised into three geometries.
Plate, hemisphere and slope deflectors are used for this experiment. Calculated force, Fth and
the percentage of error will be calculated in this experiment.

2. Introduction 
Water turbines are widely used throughout the world to generate power. By allowing fluid
under pressure to strike the vanes of a turbine wheel, mechanical work can be produced.
Rotational motion is then produced by the force generated as the jet strikes the vanes. One of
the common types of water turbines is Pelton wheel. In this type of water turbine, one or
more water jets are directed tangentially on to a vanes or buckets that are fastened on the rim
of the turbine disc. The impact of the water on the vanes generates a torque on the wheel
causing it to rotate and to develop power. To predict the output of a Pelton wheel and to
determine its optimum rotational speed, understanding on how the deflection of the jet
generates a force on the buckets and how the force is related to the rate of momentum flow in
the jet are needed. This experiment aims at assessing the different forces exerted by the same
water jet on a variety of geometrical different plates. Under this experiment, the force
generated by a jet of water striking a deflector is measured.

3. Experiment Methods and Materials


The apparatus used in this experiment are hydraulic bench, deflectors (plate, hemisphere and
slope), water jet apparatus, weighing tank, stopwatch and loading weight.

Before the experiment was carried out, a quick inspection was performed to ensure that the
unit is in proper operating condition. First, a hose connection was made and is connected to
the nearest power supply. Then, the discharge pipe was opened. When assembling the
deflector, the 3 screws on the cover were first loosened and the cover was removed together
with the lever mechanism. Plate deflector was then fitted. After that, the lock nut on rod was
tightened and the cover was screwed back onto vessel. The pointer was set to zero using
adjusting screw before placing any loading weights on measurement system. Desired loading
weight: 0.2N, 0.3N, 1N, 2N and 5N were then applied. The main cock was closed and the
pump was switched on. The main cock was carefully opened until the pointer is on zero
again. After that, drain cock was closed and the flow rate was determined. Time required for
the level in the volumetric tank to rise from 20 to 30 litres was recorded. Then, the pump was
switched off and the drain was opened. These steps were repeated for hemisphere and slope
deflectors. All the results were recorded and tabulated.

4. Data Analysis
The specific results from the experiment allow us to determine the properties of force acting
on each type of deflector and to calculate the calculated force, Fth and the percentage of error.

Plate
Flow Rate, Q Calculated Force, Fth Measured Force, F Time, t Percentage of
(m3/s) (N) (N) (s) Error (%)
2.01 x 10-4 0.5144 0.2 49.76 157.20
3.648 x 10-4 1.6944 0.3 27.41 464.80
4.272 x 10-4 2.3237 1.0 23.41 132.37
4.554 x 10-4 2.6406 2.0 21.93 32.03
6.693 x 10-4 5.7036 5.0 14.94 22.81

Hemisphere
Flow Rate, Q Calculated Force, Fth Measured Force, F Time, t Percentage of
(m3/s) (N) (N) (s) Error (%)
9.599 x 10-5 0.2346 0.2 104.28 17.30
1.773 x 10-4 0.8005 0.3 56.41 166.83
2.456 x 10-4 1.5360 1.0 40.71 53.60
3.357 x 10-4 2.8697 2.0 29.79 43.49
5.179 x 10-4 6.8302 5.0 19.31 36.60

Slope
Flow Rate, Q Calculated Force, Fth Measured Force, F Time, t Percentage of
(m3/s) (N) (N) (s) Error (%)
1.899 x 10-4 0.2296 0.2 52.66 14.80
2.947 x 10-4 0.5529 0.3 33.93 84.30
5.882 x 10-4 2.2026 1.0 17.00 120.26
7.77 x 10-4 3.8435 2.0 12.87 92.18

5. Discussion
For this experiment, we used 10 litre of water and a nozzle of diameter 10mm. Based on the
time recorded and the information above, we are able to calculate the calculated force, Fth and
the percentage of error. First, we convert the unit of the flow rate, Q from L/min to m 3/s for
the easier of calculation. For the calculated force, F th and percentage of error, they are
calculated according to the formulas below.
Formulas used to calculate the calculated force, Fth:-
ρQ 2
Plate:
A
2 ρQ 2
Hemisphere:
A
ρQ 2 cos 2 45o
Slope:
A
Formula used to calculate the percentage of error:-
Calculated Force – Measured Force
Percentage of Error = Measured Force

In this experiment, when the measured increased, the time needed for the level in the
volumetric tank to rise from 20 to 30 litres decrease. This results in a decrease in the flow
rate. When comparing the three types of deflectors, the flow rate for the hemisphere is found
to be the lowest.
The percentage of error ranged from around 14% to around 470%. Some of the percentages
of error are very large due to several errors made during the experiment. One of the errors
may be the error made during setting the pointer, the pointer may not precisely set to zero due
to parallax error. Another possible error is the error made when recording the time. Other
than that, error made when adjusting the main cock is also possible. The main cock may not
properly open causing the pointer not exactly at zero.
6. Conclusion
As a conclusion, the calculated force is correlated with the measured force. Both of the forces
will have directly proportional relation. Theoretically, the calculated force should be the same
as the measured force. However, this cannot be achieved experimentally due to the errors
made during the experiment. Form this experiment, the flow rate for the hemisphere is found
to be the lowest and thus require a longer time for the volumetric tank to rise from 20 to 30
litres.

You might also like