Department of Aerospace Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology,

Bombay
Aerospace Propulsion Laboratory (AE607)

Propulsion Lab Report

STUDY OF IMPULSE TURBINE PERFORMANCE

CHARACTERISTICS
Submitted by:

DIPRANAJN GUPTA

(213011003)

Date performed: 24th September, 2021

Instructors: Hrishikesh Gadgil

Anupam Pareej

Venue: Combustion Research Laboratory

List of Figures

1 Large Low Pressure Steam Turbine(Source:Fluid Mechanics and thermody-

namics of turbomachinery by Dixon S.L,Hall C.A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2 Classification of turbines(Source:Aircraft Propulsion and Gas Turbine Engines
by Ahmed F. El-Sayed) .............................. 2
3 The thermodynamic cycle(Source:Fluid Mechanics and thermodynamics of tur-
bomachinery by Dixon S.L,Hall C.A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
4 A single stage of axial turbine(Source:Course AE651,Lecture No. 23) ..... 4
5 Pressure and Velocity characteristics across a single stage of an Impulse Turbine
(Picture courtesy: basicmechanicalengineering.com) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
6 Schematic of P. A. Hilton Experimental Turbine (Picture Courtesy: Impulse
Turbine Experimental Manual, University of Texas at Arlington) . . . . . . . . 6
7 P A Hilton Compressible Flow Range F300 (right) (Picture courtesy: p-a-
hilton.co.uk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
8 P A Hilton Experimental Impulse Turbine F300C (left) (Picture courtesy: p-a-
hilton.co.uk) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
9 Actual power versus Pressure Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
510 Actual power versus RPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
11 Efficiency versus Pressure Ratio ......................... 16
12 Efficiency versus RPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
13 Specific Air Consumption versus Actual Power for constant RPM . . . . . . . 17
14 Specific Air Consumption versus Actual Power for constant inlet pressure . . . 17
15 Torque versus Pressure Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
16 Torque versus RPM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

i
Experiment No. 6 Report

Aim:
To study the performance characteristics of an impulse turbine under two
conditions, namely constant turbine RPM, with varying inlet pressure and
constant turbine inlet pressure, with constant turbine RPM.

Theory:
A turbine, meaning ”vortex”,is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy
from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine
can be used for generating electrical power when combined with a generator. A
turbine is a turbo machine with at least one moving part called a rotor assembly,
which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades so
that they move and impart rotational energy to the rotor. Early turbine examples
are windmills and waterwheels. Gas, steam, and water turbines have a casing
around the blades that contains and controls the working fluid.

Figure 1: Large Low Pressure Steam Turbine(Source:Fluid Mechanics and thermodynamics of

turbomachinery by Dixon S.L,Hall C.A)

1
Experiment No. 6 Report

Classification of turbines
Turbines may be classified based on the surrounding fluid, whether it is extended or
enclosed. Hydraulic turbines deal with incompressible fluids (mostly water turbines).
Compressible turbines may be either steam or gas turbines. Gas turbines may operate
as subsonic or supersonic turbines. Turbines may also be classified based on the gasflow
direction within its passage as axial, mixed, or radial turbines. The below figure shows
the classification of turbines:

Figure 2: Classification of turbines(Source:Aircraft Propulsion and Gas Turbine Engines by

Ahmed F. El-Sayed)

2
Experiment No. 6 Report

Thermodynamic cycle of a turbine

The thermodynamic cycle of a turbine is as follows:

Figure 3: The thermodynamic cycle(Source:Fluid Mechanics and thermodynamics of turbomachinery by

Dixon S.L,Hall C.A)

A single stage axial turbine will consist of a stator (nozzle) and rotor. In the
nozzle flow expands and kinetic energy of the flow gets increased. Working fluid
at high pressure and temperature enters the nozzle where this pressure energy gets
converted to kinetic energy. This kinetic energy is imparted in the rotor blades
giving some work output. Due to this transfer of energy from the fluid to the rotor
blades, the blades start rotating. As turbine works in a favourable pressure

3
Experiment No. 6 Report

gradient, high cambered airfoils are chosen to design the blades without the risk
of flow separation. A single stage of turbine can drive many stages of a
compressor. Higher efficiency can also be achieved in a turbine as compared to a
compressor. The figures below shows an axial flow turbine. The figure below
shows a single stage of an axial turbine:

Figure 4: A single stage of axial turbine(Source:Course AE651,Lecture No. 23)

4
Experiment No. 6 Report

There are two types of axial turbine configurations:

• Impulse turbine - Entire pressure drop takes place in the nozzle. Rotor blades
simply deflect the flow and hence have symmetrical shape. The degree of
reaction is zero.

• Reaction turbine - Pressure drop shared by the rotor and the stator.The amount
of pressure drop shared is given by the degree of reaction.

Figure 5: Pressure and Velocity characteristics across a single stage of an Impulse Turbine
(Picture courtesy: basicmechanicalengineering.com)

5
Experiment No. 6 Report

Apparatus :
1. P. A. Hilton Experimental Impulse Turbine F300C (consisting of Inlet
Pressure Gauge, 4 nozzles with flow control valves, impulse turbine, brake
drum, strain gauge to measure brake force and thermocouples at inlet and
exit of turbine).

2. P. A. Hilton Compressible Flow Range F300 (consisting of Exit Pressure

Gauge, display for inlet and exit temperature, display for brake force,
tachometer and a rotameter to measure mass flow rate through turbine).

3. External pressurised air supply from a Compressed Air Tank.

Schematic of the experimental setup:

Figure 6: Schematic of P. A. Hilton Experimental Turbine (Picture Courtesy: Impulse Turbine

Experimental Manual, University of Texas at Arlington)

6
Experiment No. 6 Report

Figure 7: P A Hilton Compressible Flow Range F300 (right) (Picture courtesy: p-a-hilton.co.uk)

Figure 8: P A Hilton Experimental Impulse Turbine F300C (left) (Picture courtesy: p-ahilton.co.uk)

7
Experiment No. 6 Report

Procedure:
1. The experiment is carried out in two configurations: With 4 nozzles open :

(a) In the first run, we will measure the flow parameters, by maintaining a
constant turbine RPM (20000), while varying the inlet pressure.
(b) We open the inlet valve from the compressed air cylinder and by
operating the throttle valve, increase the inlet air pressure to 11kN/m2.
(c) Operate the brake adjusting screw, to bring the turbine RPM to around
15000 or any value felt suitable (below 20000).
(d) Once the desired RPM is reached, note all the flow parameters like inlet
and outlet pressures and temperatures. Flow rate and Load cell reading
should also be noted from the rotameter and load display respectively.
(e) Maintaining the same RPM, we follow the procedure from steps (b) to
(d) for two more values of inlet pressure (say 20kN/m2 and 30kN/m2)
and collect the corresponding data.
(f) Once the three data sets have been collected, we now start the second
run, in which we will measure the flow parameters, while maintaining
a constant inlet pressure (40kN/m2) and varying the turbine RPM.
(g) One data set is taken common from the first run. Hence, whichever data
set is taken common, the constant inlet pressure to be maintained is
determined from the same.
(h) For the remaining two data sets, we choose two suitable RPM values
(below 20000, 17110 and 15550). For each of the chosen RPM values,
note down all the corresponding flow data.

8
Experiment No. 6 Report

2. With 2 nozzles open :

(a) Repeat the same procedure as above by following steps 1(a) to 1(g). Note that two
diametrically opposite nozzles are closed when conducting the experiment in this
configuration.
(b) For two nozzles open first set (constant RPM) we vary the pressure from 20–
40KN/m2 in steps of 10 to obtain three data sets. The flow parameters for constant
inlet pressure is same as for four nozzle open system.

Formulae Used:
1. Absolute Pressure Ratio :
(1)

2. Exit ideal temperature (T2,ideal) :

(2)

3. Torque(T) :
Force(F) × Radius(r) (3)

4. Shaft Ideal Power (Pact) :

(4)

5. Shaft ideal power (Pisen) :

m˙ × Cp × (T1 − T2,ideal) (5)
6. Specific air consumption :
(6)

7. Efficiency (η) :
(7)

9
Experiment No. 6 Report

Where, Pin = is the inlet

pressure, Pout = is the outlet
pressure, m˙ is the mass flow
rate,
T1 is the inlet temperature.

Sample Calculation:

Sample calculation is done for constant pressure = 141325 and RPM = 20000.

Observed Data :
a) Inlet Pressure (Pin) = 141325.00 Pa

b) Outlet Pressure (Pout) = 101325.00 Pa

c) Inlet Temperature (T1) = 302.75 K

d) Outlet Temperature (T2) = 301.1 K

e) Mass Flow Rate (m˙ ) = 0.0016 kg/s

f) Turbine Rotation Speed (RPM) = 20000 rpm

g) Force exerted on Brake (F) = 0.59 N

10
Experiment No. 6 Report

Calculated Data:

b) Ideal Outlet Temperature ( =275.295 K

c) Torque (T) = Force(F) × Radius(r)= 0.59 × 0.0145= 0.0085 N-m

d) Actual Shaft Power ( =17.918 W

e) IdealShaftPower(Pisen)=m˙×Cp×(T1−T2,ideal)=0.0016×1005×(302.75−275.295)=44.14
8W
f) Specific Air Consumption = = 0.000089 kg/W-s

g) Efficiency ( = 0.40585 or 40.585 %

NOTE: All calculations are performed using the following constants:

1.γ = 1.4
2. Radius of turbine blade = 0.0145 m
3. Cp =1005 J/kgK

11
Experiment No. 6 Report

Observations:

1. 4 nozzles open
Table 1: Constant RPM = 20000

RPM Inlet Pressure Outlet Pressure Inlet Outlet Load Mass Flow Rate
Temperature Temperature
Pa Pa K K N kg/s
20000 112325 101325 302.55 301.8 0.01 0.0018
20000 121325 101325 302.65 300.6 0.13 0.00245
20000 131325 101325 302.45 299.1 0.38 0.003

Table 2: Constant inlet pressure = 141325 Pa

RPM Inlet Pressure Outlet Pressure Inlet Outlet Load Mass Flow Rate
Temperature Temperature
Pa Pa K K N kg/s
20000 141325 101325 302.75 301.1 0.59 0.0016
17110 141325 101325 302.85 301.4 0.34 0.0016
15550 141325 101325 302.85 301.3 0.4 0.0016

2. 2 nozzles open
Table 3: Constant RPM = 20000

RPM Inlet Pressure Outlet Pressure Inlet Outlet Load Mass Flow Rate
Temperature Temperature
Pa Pa K K N kg/s
20000 121325 101325 302.75 301.4 0.03 0.0014
20000 131325 101325 302.75 300.3 0.16 0.0015
20000 141325 101325 302.75 301.1 0.59 0.0016

12
Experiment No. 6 Report

Table 4: Constant inlet pressure = 141325 Pa

RPM Inlet Pressure Outlet Pressure Inlet Outlet Load Mass Flow Rate
Temperature Temperature
Pa Pa K K N kg/s
20000 141325 101325 302.75 301.1 0.59 0.0016
17110 141325 101325 302.85 301.4 0.34 0.0016
15550 141325 101325 302.85 301.3 0.4 0.0016

Calculated data tables:

1. 4 nozzles open
Table 5: Constant RPM = 20000

Ideal Ideal Specific Air

Outlet Actual Shaft Shaft Consumption
Press. Ratio Temp Torque Power Power Efficiency
K N-m W W kg/W-s %
1.109 293.771 0.00015 0.304 15.882 0.006 1.912
1.197 287.467 0.002 3.948 37.384 0.001 10.560
1.296 280.849 0.006 11.540 65.126 0.0003 17.720

Table 6: Constant inlet pressure = 141325 Pa

Ideal Ideal Specific Air

Outlet Actual Shaft Shaft Consumption
Press. Ratio Temp Torque Power Power Efficiency
K N-m W W kg/W-s %
1.395 275.295 0.009 17.918 44.148 0.0001 40.585
1.395 275.386 0.005 8.833 44.163 0.0002 20.002
1.395 275.386 0.006 9.445 44.163 0.0002 21.386

13
Experiment No. 6 Report

2. 2 nozzles open
Table 7: Constant RPM = 20000

Ideal Ideal Specific Air

Outlet Actual Shaft Shaft Consumption
Press. Ratio Temp Torque Power Power Efficiency
K N-m W W kg/W-s %
1.197 287.562 0.0004 0.911 21.369 0.002 4.263
1.296 281.128 0.002 4.859 32.595 0.0003 14.907
1.395 275.295 0.009 17.918 44.148 0.0001 40.585

Table 8: Constant inlet pressure = 141325 Pa

Ideal Ideal Specific Air

Outlet Actual Shaft Shaft Consumption
Press. Ratio Temp Torque Power Power Efficiency
K N-m W W kg/W-s %
1.395 275.295 0.009 17.918 44.148 0.0001 40.585
1.395 275.386 0.005 8.833 44.163 0.0002 20.002
1.395 275.386 0.006 9.445 44.163 0.0002 21.386

14
Experiment No. 6 Report

Results:

Figure 9: Actual power versus Pressure Ratio

Figure 10: Actual power versus RPM

15
Experiment No. 6 Report

Figure 11: Efficiency versus Pressure Ratio

Figure 12: Efficiency versus RPM

16
Experiment No. 6 Report

Figure 13: Specific Air Consumption versus Actual Power for constant RPM

Figure 14: Specific Air Consumption versus Actual Power for constant inlet pressure

17
Experiment No. 6 Report

Figure 15: Torque versus Pressure Ratio

Figure 16: Torque versus RPM

18
Experiment No. 6 Report

Conclusions:
1. All the graphs for constant inlet pressure overlap each other. As for both the
cases the data set remains the same. Intentionally the ”4 nozzles open” case
has been plotted in dotted lines and thick width to show that the graphs
overlap each other.

2. For the actual power versus pressure ratio curve,i.e., fig. 9, we see an
increase in the actual power developed with increase in pressure, i.e. with
greater expansion work occurring across the turbine, we are being able to
achieve higher actual power which follows the expected trend.

3. For the actual power versus RPM curve,i.e.,fig. 10, we see a slight decrease
followed by an increase in the actual power developed with increase in
turbine RPM. This is also as expected since a higher amount of power is
required to be generated by the turbine to rotate at higher RPMs. As
mentioned above the graphs for varying RPM overlap due to same dataset.

4. We see an increase in the efficiency with increase in pressure ratio,i.e., fig.

11 ,which actually is the case with Brayton Cycle, thus the result is justified.

5. Similarly, like the trend for pressure ratio, we see that with an increase in
RPM, there is higher efficiency as shown in fig. 12. This is because at higher
RPMs, the rotor blade actually deflects the flow much more resulting in
greater work extraction from the fluid.

6. We see that for both constant inlet pressure as well as turbine RPM,i.e.,fig.
13 and 14, the specific air consumption decreases very slightly with increase
in actual power produced. This is because the air is more energised (higher
inlet pressure as well as higher rotational speed) in the cases, and hence for
the same flow rate we are able to develop greater output power. The slight
error in const pressure case can be attributed to observational error.

19
Experiment No. 6 Report

7. For the torque versus pressure ratio curve,i.e.,fig. 15 we see a positive slope.
This is indicative of the greater force or impulse acting on the rotor blades
facing an airflow having greater kinetic energy (due to the higher inlet
pressure). Thus, the trend observed is in agreement with the expected trend
from theory.

8. For the torque versus RPM curve,i.e., fig. 16, the slope is more or less flat,
i.e. zero slope. This is because essentially force is independent of RPM.
Hence, torque which is essentially the force acting on the blades multiplied
by the blade radius.
Note : The values calculated, viz. Power, Efficiency, Torque etc should be
greater for 4 nozzles operating as compared to 2 nozzles, however the
calculated values shows an opposite trend which may be attributed to error
while noting down the data from the Apparatus. Also the values for both the
cases (4 nozzles open and 2 nozzles open) in constant pressure are exactly
similar (which ideally should not be), thus, confirming the observational
error.
References:
1. ‘Aircraft Propulsion’ by Saeed Farokhi

20