Introduction

Pelton Wheel Turbine is an impulse or a constant pressure water turbine. In this case water head
is very high. Pelton wheel consists of a wheel called rotor. The rotor of the turbine consists of a
circular disc with a number of double spoon shaped buckets evenly distributed over the
periphery. The water is the supplied from the reservoir. In such type of Turbine available
hydraulic energy of the water is converted into the kinetic energy at atmospheric pressure by
means of the nozzle. Each nozzle directs the jet along a tangent to the circle through the centers
of the buckets. Each bucket consists of a splitter which divides the incoming jet in to two equal
portions and after flowing round the smooth inner surface of the bucket the water leaves with a
relative velocity almost opposite in direction to the original jet. The change in momentum of the
water jet in passing over the buckets exerts tangential force on the wheel causing it to rotate.
Thus converts the hydraulic energy into the mechanical energy by means of the shaft rotation.

Objective

To study the operation of Pelton Wheel and also to determine the efficiency and power output of
Pelton Turbine.

1
Procedures

1. First of all, perform the general start-up procedures.

2. Fully open the throttle valve and allow the water to circulate until all air bubbles have
dispersed.
3. Open and adjust the spear valve for a particular nozzle opening.
4. Tighten up the tensioning screw on the pulley wheel until the turbine is almost stalled (
rotor just turning).
5. Decide on suitable increments in force to give adequate sample points and note the value
of the pulley brake.
6. Slacken off the tensioning screw so no force is being applied to the turbine.
7. Tighten the screw to give the first increment in force for the brake. When readings are
steady enough, record all the readings again.
8. Repeats step 7 above for a gradually increasing set of fb values. The final sample point
will correspond to the turbine stalling.
9. The data may now be used for analysis and to plot the pelton turbine characteristics
curve.
10. Now decrease the volume flow rate to a new setting by changing the throttle valve
position and at the same time also change the spear valve position to maintain the
pressure at 1.0 kgf/cm.

2
RESULT ANALYSIS

Formula Used :
𝑃1
1. Hi =
𝜌×𝑔
2. Ph =ρ× 𝑔 × 𝐻𝑖 × 𝑄
3. T = Fb × r
4. Pb = 2 × π × N × T
𝑃𝑏
5. Et = ×100%
𝑃ℎ

Experiment 1 : Turbine Characteristic

g = 9.81 m/s2

π = 3.142

r = 0.04 m

ρ = 1000 kg/m3

Flow rate Measurement Data :

V1 T1 T2 Q Q
(L) (MIN) (MIN) (LPM) (m3/s)
10 9.3 12.9 0.90 9.0E-04
10 11.0 12.0 0.86 8.70E-04
10 12.1 12.1 0.82 8.29E-04
10 12.3 12.5 0.80 8.07E-04
10 12.5 12.5 0.80 8.01E-04
10 11.9 11.7 0.84 8.48E-04
10 12.5 12.4 0.80 8.05E-04
10 13.2 12.4 0.78 7.82E-04
10 12.6 12.4 0.80 8.01E-04

3
M1 M2 Fb1 Fb2 Fb N1 N2 N N
(g) (g) (N) (N) (N) (rpm) (rpm) (rpm) (HZ)
40 30 0.3924 0.2943 0.0981 1765 1770 1767.5 29.46
190 40 1.8639 0.3924 1.4715 1600 1596 1598 26.63
340 40 3.3354 0.3924 2.943 1367 1354 1360.5 22.68
490 40 4.8069 0.3924 4.4145 1199 1186 1192.5 19.88
640 40 6.2784 0.3924 5.886 963.9 955.4 959.65 15.99
790 50 7.7499 0.4905 7.2594 867.1 853.3 860.2 14.33
940 70 9.2214 0.6867 8.5347 612.6 627.3 619.95 10.33
1090 150 10.6929 1.4715 9.2214 568.8 586.7 577.75 9.62
1250 150 12.2625 1.4715 10.791 36.7 84.6 60.65 1.01

Q Fb N P1 Hi Ph T Pb Et
(m3/s) (N) (HZ) (bar) (m) (w) (Nm) (W) (%)
9.0E-04 0.0981 29.46 1.0 9.99 88.20 0.00392 7.249 8.218
8.70E-04 1.4715 26.63 1.0 9.99 85.26 0.0588 10.89 12.77
8.29E-04 2.943 22.68 1.0 9.99 81.24 0.1177 21.78 26.80
8.07E-04 4.4145 19.88 1.0 9.99 79.08 0.1765 32.67 41.31
8.01E-04 5.886 15.99 1.0 9.99 78.49 0.2354 43.57 55.51
8.48E-04 7.2594 14.33 1.0 9.99 83.10 0.2903 53.74 64.66
8.05E-04 8.5347 10.33 1.0 9.99 78.89 0.3413 63.18 80.08
7.82E-04 9.2214 9.62 1.0 9.99 76.63 0.3688 68.27 89.09
8.01E-04 10.791 1.01 1.0 9.99 78.49 0.4316 79.90 101.79

4
 Torque vs Turbine Rotational Speed
0.5
0.45
0.4
0.35
0.3
Torque

0.25
0.2 Torque vs Turbine
0.15 Rotational Speed
0.1
0.05
0
0 10 20 30 40
Turbine Rotational Speed

Power output vs Turbine Rotational

Speed
120
100
power output (W)

80
60
Power output vs
40 Turbine Rotational
20 Speed

0
0 10 20 30 40
Turbine Rotational speed (hz)

5
 Efficiency vs Turbine Rotational
Speed
100

80
Efficiency(%)

60

40 Efficiency vs Turbine
Rotational Speed
20

0
0 10 20 30 40
Turbine Rotational speed (hz)

Sample Calculation

Volumetric Flow Rate, Q

Q=V
T
10
=
(0.155+0.215)/2

= 54.05 LPM
0.90 𝐿 1𝑚 1𝑚𝑖𝑛
= × ×
𝑚𝑖𝑛 1000𝐿 60𝑠

= 9.0 E-04𝑚3 /s

Brake Force, Fb

Fb =Fb1 – Fb2

= (m1×g) (m2×g)

= (0.04 kg × 9.81m/𝑠 2 ) (0.03 × 9.81m/𝑠 2 )

=0.0981 N

6
 𝑁1+𝑁2
N=
2

1765+1770
=
2

= 1767.5 rpm
1 𝑚𝑖𝑛 1 𝐻𝑧
=1767.5 × ×
60 𝑠 1/𝑠

= 29.46 Hz

Input Head to Turbine, Hi

H = (P1)
Ρ×g

1.0 ×98066.5 𝑝𝑎
= 𝑘𝑔
1000𝑚3×9.81 𝑚/𝑠

= 9.99 m
Hydraulic Power at Input, Ph

Ph = p×g×Hi×Q

= 1000 kg/𝑚3 × 9.81 m/𝑠 3 ×9.99 m ×9.0E - 04𝑚3 /s

= 88.20 W

Torque, T

T = Fb × r

= 0.0981 × 0.04 m

= 0.00392 Nm

7
Brake Power, Pb

Pb = 2 × π × N × T

= 2 × 3.142 × 29.46 × 0.00392 Nm

= 7.249 W

Turbine Efficiency, Et
𝑃𝑏
Et = × 100%
𝑃ℎ

7.249 𝑊
= × 100%
88.20 𝑊

= 8.218 %

Discussion

The working principle of Pelton wheel turbine is water flows along the tangent to the path of the
runner. Nozzles direct forceful streams of water against a series of spoon-shaped buckets
mounted around the edge of a wheel. As water flows into the bucket, the direction of the water
velocity changes to follow the contour of the bucket. When the water-jet contacts the bucket, the
water exerts pressure on the bucket and the water is decelerated as it does a "u-turn" and flows
out the other side of the bucket at low velocity. In the process, the water's momentum is
transferred to the turbine. This "impulse" does work on the turbine. For maximum power and
efficiency, the turbine system is designed such that the water-jet velocity is twice the velocity of
the bucket. A very small percentage of the water's original kinetic energy will still remain in the
water; however, this allows the bucket to be emptied at the same rate it is filled, thus allowing
the water flow to continue uninterrupted.
From the results obtained, we can see how Pelton Wheel reacts to different kind of input.
Different flow rates give different value of work input. The slower the flow rates, the larger the
work being put into the wheel. The efficiency of the slower flow rates is also better than faster
one. The speed of the wheel also dropped when much weight being dropped until it stopped
suddenly when the weight is too much for it to go against.

8
Conclusion

As a conclusion from the experiment that had been performed, we can conclude that different
range of flow rates and rotational speeds influences the performance of Pelton wheel turbine.
The combination of flow rate and jet velocity manipulates the power or work input. The bigger
the diameter nozzle the faster the flow rates but lower in velocity jet. Therefore we need the
perfect combination of both. In general, impulse turbine is high-head, low flow rate device. So
we can assume that our experiment is successful due to the result we obtained.

REFERENCE

 Frank M. White. 2008. Fluid Mechanics. Sixth Edition. New York: Mc Graw Hill

International Edition. pp341-446.

 Brady, James E. Engineering Thermodynamic. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.