Experimental Investigation of Small Scale Pelton Turbine Characteristics

Abstract

Electricity is typically generated at hydroelectric power facilities using hydraulic
turbines. Hydraulic turbines use the potential energy of the water to convert it into mechanical
energy, which is subsequently transformed into electrical energy by means of a generator. The
hydraulic turbines are separated into two main parts namely action and reaction turbines. The
Francis, Kaplan, Uskur, and other reaction turbines are utilized at lower heads and flow rates,
whereas the action turbines, such as Pelton, Turgo, and so forth, are employed at high heads and
low flow rates. The power, efficiency, and specific speed of hydraulic turbines under different
operating situations must be determined in order to determine their operational limits, sustainability,
economy, and maintenance duration. While it is feasible to identify by numerical approaches at a
lesser cost, experimental research of the characteristics of hydraulic turbines is a more practical
approach. However, due to the size of the hydraulic turbines, experimental research is very
expensive and challenging. Hence, small scale models are used in the experimental investigation for
the reduction of the test cost. Using a particular experimental setup, an experimental examination
was carried out in this study to determine the small scale Pelton turbine characteristics at various
working conditions. The results of the study show that the power produced by the Pelton turbine
increases with the increase of net head while the efficiency of the Pelton turbine reaches the
maximum level at a specific flow rate and then decreases. On the other hand, power and efficiency
of the Pelton turbine increase at a specific load depending on the valve opening position while
turbine specific speed decreases with rising load and valve opening position.