Draft tube and

cavitation
Ajay Kumar
164206
Mechanical
Content
• Draft tube
• Types of Draft Tube
• Conical diffuser or straight divergent tube
• Simple elbow type draft Tube
• Elbow with circular inlet and rectangular outlet
• Moody spreading draft tube
• Function of draft tube
• Application of draft tube
• Cavitation
• Effect of cavitation
Draft tube
• The draft tube is pipe of gradually increasing area which
connects the outlet of the runner to the tail race.
• It is used to discharging water from the exit of the turbine to
the tail race.
• One end of the draft tube is connected to the outlet of the
runner while the other end is sub-merged below the level of
water in the tail race.
• Draft tube is used to increase the pressure from the low
turbine exit pressure to the pressure of the surrounding to
which the fluid is rejected.
Types of Draft Tube
• Conical diffuser or straight divergent tube
• In this type of draft tube the flow path way is straight and
divergent. Cross sectional area varies from beginning to ending of
draft tube.
• It is used for low specific speed and vertical shaft Francis turbine.
• Cone angle is less than 100. If the cone angle is high cavitation
occurs.
• Efficiency of this type of draft tube is about 90%.
• Simple elbow type draft Tube
• It consists of an extended elbow type tube.
• Generally, used when turbine has to be placed close to the tail-
race.
• In this type of draft tube the shape of the tube is elbow and the
cross section area remains same throughout the length of draft
tube. The inlet and outlet of the draft tube are circular shaped.
• Used at the places of low head.
• Used when the turbine is to be placed close to the tail race.
• Efficiency of this type of draft tube is about 60%.
• Elbow with circular inlet and rectangular outlet
• It is an improvement of simple elbow draft tube. In this type of
draft tube the inlet is circular shaped and where as the outlet is
rectangular shaped. The cross section area changes from circular
to rectangular from inlet to outlet.
• Outlet of draft tube should be suited below tail race.
• Generally used in Kaplan turbine.
• Efficiency of this type of draft tube is about 70%.
• Moody spreading draft tube
• In this type of draft tube there will be one inlet and two outlets.
Inlet and both the outlets of draft tube are circular.
• Moody spreading draft tube is also called as HYDRA
• The central solid core will divide both the outlets.
• Used for reducing swirling action of water.
• Efficiency of this type of draft tube is about 88%.
Function of draft tube
• The primary function of draft tube is to reduce the velocity of
discharge water to minimize the loss of kinetic energy at
outlet.
• It permits negative head to be established at the outlet of the
runner and thereby increase the net head on the turbine. The
turbine may be placed above the tail race without any loss of
net head and hence turbine may be inspected properly.
• The draft tube prevents the splashing of water coming out of
the runner and guides the water to the tail race.
• Hence by using draft tube the net head on the turbine
increases . The turbine develops more power and also the
efficiency of turbine increases.
Application of draft tube
• Reaction turbines and centrifugal pump requires a draft tube
as there is low pressure at the exit of the turbine, where as in
impulse turbine the pressure at the inlet and the exit is
essentially the same, which is above the pressure to which the
fluid rejected and thus it require no draft tube.
Cavitation
• Cavitation is a phenomenon of formation of vapour bubble of
a flowing liquid in a region where the pressure of liquid falls
below its vapour pressure and sudden collapsing of these
vapour bubble in a region of higher pressure.
• When vapour bubble collapse, a very high pressure is created.
The metallic surface above which these vapour bubble
collapse is subjected to these high pressure which cause
pitting action on the surface.
• It result in noise and vibration.
Effect of cavitation
• The metallic surface are damaged and cavities are formed on
the surfaces.
• Due to sudden collapse noise and vibration are produced.
• The efficiency of turbine decreases due to cavitation.

‘The hydraulic machine subjected to cavitation are reaction

turbine and centrifugal pump.’
• In reaction turbine cavitation occur at outlet of runner or inlet
of draft tube.
• In centrifugal pump cavitation occur at inlet of the impeller of
the pump or at the suction side of the pump.
Thank you