Hydraulic Turbine»

211 INTRODUCTION
Hydraulic ( or water ) turbines are the machine which tm the
*
-
energy of water ( hydro power ) and convert it into mechanical ene rgy

) As such these may be considered as hydraulic motor*, or prime-.

movers. The mechanical energy developed by a turbine in med in
running an electric generator which is directly coupled to the shaft
of the turbine. The electric generator thus develops electric power,
- .
which is known as hydro eUctric power Since the generation of
-
hydro electric power is relatively cheaper than the power generated
by other sources such as coal, oil, etc, , now a days a number
hydro- electric and multipurpose projects has been undertaken
-- of
in our
country in order to harness more and more power from
the available
water power potential.
The idea of utilising hydraulic energy to
develop mechanical
energy has been in existence for more than 2000 years
.
In the earlier
-
days of water power development , water wheels
made of wood , were
widely applied which used either the energy
of falling water ( i.e . ,

> potential energy ) or the kinetic energy of the

One of the types of water wheels formerly used
It consisted of a series of buckets
the diameter of which was equal to
permitted to enter the buckets at the top,
flowin g stream of water.
was the overshot wheel

Wate r
.
was
and the unbalance created
by the weight of the water caused the
wheel to rotate’ The buckets
were destgned to empty themselves when they
the wheel. The overshot wheel when 5S
reached the
,
,
“ h L
botto m off

,
builtTo leT
^
’ 1
good efficiency, but it could not be " d
* ’
water . Another type of water wheel (> , y used e large quant ity oi
whe4, which used the kinetic energy of the was the unde rsho t
undershot wheel consisted of a series of wate r , An earli er type of
a straight blades attached to
a periphery of a wheel and so placed
that a «, T, I
water used to strike the blades on the , \
effiaency of this type of wheel was low
t Y[ 3 tream
'
o
The
(

A * , „„1, an on
the straight blade type of undershot whee
' '
injP rov
vh .ell was suggested by PonceJet, eme nt
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES
963
who ia^ tcad of straight blades designed
curved blades so that water
strikes the blades of the wheel, practically
without shock . This type
of wheels were called Poncelet wheels .
However, these water wheels utilised
capable of producing small powers sma ll hea ds and wer e
. Moreover, these whe els had a
low efficiency and they used to run very
not be directly coupled to the modern
slowly and hence these « can
fast running electric generalors
-
for the purpose of power generation. As
such the water wheels have
been completely replaced by the modern
type of hydraulic for water )
turbines, which may operate under
any head and practically
any desired speed thereby enabling
the generator to be coupled
directly.
In general a water turbine consists of a wheel call
ed runner ( or
rotor ) having a number of specially designed vanes or
blades or buckets.
The water possessing a large amount of hydraulic
energy when
strikes the runner, it does work on the runner and causes
it to
.
rotate The mechanical energy so developed is supplied to
the
generator coupled to the runner, which then generates
electrical
energy.
21*2 ELEMENTS OF HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
One of the essential requirements for the hydroelectric power
generation is the availability of a continuous source of water with a
.
large amount of hydraulic energy Such a source of water may be
made available if a natural lake or a reservoir may be found at a
higher elevation or an artificial reservoir may be formed bv
constructing a dam across a river, Fig. 2 IT shows a general layout
of a hydroelectric power plant, in which an artificial storage
reservoir formed by constructing a dam has been s own. The water
. ,
surface in the storage reservoir is known as bead race lev' l or simply
.
head race Water from the storage reservoir is carried through pen -
stocks or canals to the power house .Pens lncl * are the pines of large

diameter, usually made ofjisel , rein forc ed conc rete , whic h

carry water under pressure fiom
In some installations smaller reserve * *
rese rvo
^
ir
fore
(<J [ hfi

bay s ^are also

provided . A forebay is esse ntial ly a stora ^
ge reser ir
voir at the head of
the penstocks. The purpo se of a forebav is to temp orar ily store wate r
when it is not required by the turb ine and supp ly the sam e whe n
required . the pow er hou se is loca ted just at the base of the
Where
dam no forebavs are required to be pro vid ed since the reser voir mel t
serves the same purpose. However .., if the pow er hom e is gjja fed
away from the storage wwvnir. then a fore baii fflay to- piuv idcd » -
964 HYDRAULICS AN D FL UI D ME CH AN IC S

that case water from the res erv oir is firs t led int o tor eb ay wh ich in
turn distrib ute s it to pe ns toc ks thr ou gh wh ich it is sup pli ed to the
turbines. Fu rth erm ore, wh ere the po we r ho use is loc ate d at the en d
of a canal, a forebay mav be pro vid ed oy enl arg ing the can al jus t
ahead of the power house.

RACE
r
•
~ OAM
U ENERGY UNE

-
C RCSS

TAR.
RACE
1
DRAFT TU56
«
Z
*
0£TlW pi
K*

*C££ RACE ENERGY IUE

*f
i * MPutsg
ivfcs) TUR&INE
CROSS
HE AO
Mi

1 TAH RACE

fit
Li
*
2
*
r\A 1M
rt » ~ //
t
7/AW 1
'

.
Fig *1 I .
Genera :ayou: of a hydroelectric power plant

The water after passing through the turbines is discharged to

the tail race The .iaU . .
+ac
- • . a c . . rr - > "
;stl ' *

-
'
.
. .. . • . •

(know n as sail water ) away from the power house after it has pas**1
through the turbine. It may be a natural stream channel or %

genially excavated channel entering the natural stream at some poi»

‘
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES 965
downstream from the power house. The water surface in the tail

213
^
race channel known as tail race level or simply tail race.
DS AND EFFICIENCIES OF HYDRAULIC TUR.
ES
( a ) Heads. The head acting
on a turbine may be defined in
two ways as follows :
( ? ) Gross head is defined as the
difference between the head
race level and the tail race le el when no water is flowing. As such
^
the gross head is often termed as static head or total head
and it may
be re resented by H1 as shown in Fig. 21 1.
£ *

( ii ) Net or effective head is the head available at the

.
entrance to the turbine It is obtained by subtracting from gross
head all the losses of head that may occur as water flows from the
head race to the entrance of the turbine, The losses of head are
mainly due to friction occurring in penstocks, canals etc. Thus if
H represents the net head and hf is the total loss of head between
the head race and entrance of the turbine then
H = H 1 hf —
For a reaction { or encased ) turbine as shown in Fig. 21 1 (a) the
•* * ( 21 1 )
'
*

net head is equa 1 to the difference between ( l ) the pressure head at

the entrance to the turbine plus the velocity head in the penstock at
this point plus the elevation of this point above the assumed datum ,
and ( 2 ) the elevation of the tail water plus the velocity head in the
draft tube at its exit. Thus

(
H= W + 2g + iTV Z Z ~
i~
V \
)
, • ( 21 *
2 )
^ 2g 7 * *

For an impulse turbine as shown in fig . 211 ( b ) the net head is

equal to the difference between (1 ) the pressure head at the entrance
to the nozzle plus the velocity head in the penstoc k at this point
plus the elevation of this point above the assume d datum and ( 2 ) the
elevation of the tail water. Thus
n=(-S +
Hydro - electric power plants are
5
usually
«• )-*
classifi ed accordin g to
* * • 21 3)
( *

the heads under which they work as high head , medium head and
low head plants. High head plants are those which are working
under heads more than about 250 m ; while low head
less than about bC m , a t
those which are working under heads
tedium head plants are those which are working under heads ranging

from 60 m to 250 m.
 966 HYDRAULICS
energy ( or head ) losses

—
The variou s th
ft * **** Effici encies
r
-
(
ts r !

.
lmPulSe

-
ma. .
£“rx
varioUs
1 < < »
* • • »
* *
POWER
POWER
GROSS POWER NET POWER DEVELOPED OBTAINED FROM
FROM FROM BY RUNNER SHAFT
RESERVOIR RESERVOIR (B.H.RJ
.
(WH R )
(H,) (H)

ENTRANCE OF TURBINE S SHAFT

RESERVOIR SPIRAL CASING RUNNE
a R

MECHANICAL
HEAD LOSS IN LOSSES- BE ARWG
PENSTOCK hf , FRICTION

(0) HYDRAULIC LOSSES

(1) BLADE FRICTION GENERATOR
LOSSES
(It) EDDY FORMATION
’
[ill) FRICTION IN DRAFT
TUBE POWER DEVELOPED
(iV ) ENERGY
'
CONTAINED BY GENERATOR
M REACTION
TURBINE BY WATER LEAVING
DRAFT TUBE
..
(K W )

(b) DISC FRICTION - 1Z

a
•

(C) LEAKAGE LOSS 3 GENERATOR

nut f&rJSZJ. *xm* xxmaEztisam

GROSS POWER NET POWER POWER POWER POWER

FROM FROW

—
SUPPLIED DEVELOPED OBTAINED
RESERVOIR RESERVOIR TOWHEEL 6Y WHEEL FROM SHAFT
(H5
SET®
m {!” KyjiH
I
(W H R ).. p5
.
(B. H.P )
a33
1 PENSTOCK U i
RESERVOIR END ,
csauaryy > <> t ;vWyiy'jfl
NOZZLE p
END Jj
sma&MwsM.
|TURBINE
I WHEEL
sbmmifiimataaasM
l
a
”
rl SHAFT
i2vjS£T

HEAD LOSS IN HEAD LOSS IN MECHANICAL

PENSTOCK hf, NOZZLE L0SSES 6E ARIN6
FRICTION
-
W ii QB&JUC_AQS£S
*
i BLADE FRICTION
( )
GENERATOR
LOSSES
(Hi EDDY FORMATION POWER DEVELOPED
® IMPULSE TURRIMF (lii)
BY GENERATOR
ENERG Y CONT AINED (K W.) ,
,
BY LEAVING WATER
^ -
(b)
AEAKAfflUGS& 1GENERATOR

.
Fig 21 2 - Losses of energy in hydroelectri
installations
(0 Hydraulic
effic;eil y the
turbine is the ratio of the ' The hydraulic efficiency
Power developed by
of
the runner ( he - wate r
 967
,, nrce po w er , W . H . P. )to the net power
.
Jce suDDlied k„ .U

^
the
to the turbine. These two powers
hydraulic lo ss es . Th at is

4 /» =
we
ff ir by

W.H. P.
'*
th e

+ AQ)/T/ 75]
"
am ount of

*«*
^-
( 21 4)
where 0 is th e qu an tit y of water actually strik
ing the runner and
AC M te gu an m y of waterffiat is discharged directly
to t
st ri ki ng ta il
^
ra w ith
ce ou t
.gibly small, equation
the turbine
21‘4 becomes

.=
W .
runner:

H . P.
However, i f
—
AO iTneegli
t);
( u' QUp i) '
* *• ( 21 5)-
( n ) Mechanical efficiency
w The mechanical efficiency of
the turbine is the mtio of the power obtained from the
..
turbine { i e , shaft or brake horse power , S. H. P. or B H )
sh af
P .
t of
to
th
th
e
e
power developed by the runner ( i .e , W.H P ) These two powers . . ..
differ by the amount of the mechanical losses vi viz . , bearing friction
etc. That is
•

B_ H . P. ( or S. H . P. )
Y] m
—
W H . P. * * ( 21.6 ) *

( in ) Volumetric efficiency TJ # . The volumetric

efficiency is
the ratio of the quantity of water actually striking the runner and
the quantity of water supplied to the turbine. These two quantities
differ by the amount of water that slips directly to the tail race with
out striking the runner. That is
-
Q
QT AQ •* • ( 21 7)
*

{ iv ) Overall efficiency .
The overall efficiency of the
y] 0
turbine is the ratio of the power available at the turbine shaft to the
power supplied by the water at entrance to the turbine. That is
B.H P . ( or S . H . P. )
0^ •* « ( 21 *8)
( Net power available at the turbine entrance )

It is evident from equation 21'3 that overall efficiency of the

turbine is
?lo —^ h X Y} m « •* -
(21 9)
is given by equation 21'4 in which the volumetric efficiency is
"
nplied ; and
( 21 '9 a )
Y ] 0 — 7J / X ] v
Y X Y ] m • *

*
\IS giv
o\ en
by equation 2 T 5.
 */ v v

214 \SLASSIFICATION O F T U R B IN E S
Hydraulic turbines m
be
ay
.
be cl as si fi ed according to several con -
siderations as in di ca te d lo w
urbme5 may e class,,
jhe ‘
^ ^
h P
()
\ A cc or di ng to th ei r jd ra u
^
^ ^
5 tu rb m e

^
fied as impulse turbines an m
all the available energy of water is
velocity head by passing it th ro ug
^
h a co ntr ac
.
tin g no
,
p
, ,
de d at
the den of th e penstock . Th e w at er co mi ng ou t of th e no zz le is ^
m rmed
of th e rurmer
into a free jet which impinges on a series
thus causing it to revolve. The runner re
of
vo iv
buckets
es fr ee ly m air . The
of th e c*. time,
water is in contact with only a part ru nn el and
throughout its action on tho runner an d in its su bs eq ue nt no w to the
tail race the water is at atmospheric
, pr es su re , A ca si ng is however
provided on the runner to prevent splashing and to guide the water
discharged from the buckets to the tail race. Some of the impulse
turbines are Pelton wheel, Turgo-impulse wheel, Girard turbine,
Banki turbine, Jonval turbine etc. Out of these turbines only Pelton,
wheel is predominantly used at present, which has been described^
latter.
In reaction turbines, at the entrance to the runner, only a part
of the available energy of the water is converted into kinetic en
ergy
and a substantial part remains in the form of pressure
water flows through the runner the change from
energy , As -
pressure to kinetic
energy takes place gradually. As such the pressu
re at the inlet to
the turbine is much higher than the pressure
at the outlet and it
varies throughout the passage of water
through the turbine. Further
for this gradual change of pressure to
be possible the runner in this
case must be completely enclosed
in an air tight casing
age is entirely full of water throughout - and the pass -
,
th e op er at io n of th
me turb
rDin e .
,„
Some of the reaction turbines ar
.
^
ine

PT „ I , Kaplan, e c. On , e Foumevrnn Ti
* • *“ ”
turbines are predominantly used an d K ap la n
at present which have been described

9..
jRSi
T
. he
,tu rb in es m ay al s
° be _ classified according
^^ QaLofwater in th to the main
(M) radial flow turbin
turbine.
e, { in )
aXliiSrturbtleten 8ential fl W tUrbin6
°
and (fo) mixed flow '

In a
to the path
flow turbine.
J r‘
flows along the tangent
leI ton wheel iis
a tangential
 m UJVNUJLI
^ 1 UJKJBINJ2S yt> y

In a radial flow turbine the water flows along the radial direc-
and remain s wholly or mainly in the plane normal to the axis of
tion
rotatio n , as it passes through the runner . A
,
radial fl „
nv turbine may
„ ,
inward radial flow

^-
or
be either
inward radial flow turbine
cvDe
theente rT
water d ^" ^ In an
C rCUmference
'
and flows radially inwards towards the c th runner Old
the
ntre
turbine Thomso
, n turbine - p , . j
*

Francis

mrd
m
*!° !° ‘ f he
, 'es
eXa
mP
“ radial flow turbine
of
“ ward rad iaT flow
,
water enters at th »
turb f
„ ,
eW In ^
radially
an ouU

outwards towards the outer periphery of th

*
** ^
turbine is an example of outward radial flow tur “ '

In an axial flow turbine the flow of water through the runner

is wholly or mainly along the direction parallel to the axis of rota -
tion of the runner . Jonval turbine, Girard axial flow turbine, Pro
peller turbine, Kaplan turbine etc., are some of the examples of axial
-
flow turbine.
In mixed flow turbine, water enters the runner at the outer
periphery in the radial direction and leaves it at the centre in the
direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the runner. Modern
Francis turbine is an example of the mixed flow type turbine ,
*
Di"
*
v
^) On the Dasis of the head
^
and the quantity of
the turbines may be classified as ( i ) high head turbine, ( ii ) medium
head turbine, and ( H i ) low head turbine.
water required ,

High head turbines are those which are capable of working

under very high heads ranging from several hundred metres to few
thousand metres , These turbines thus require relativel y less quantity
of water . In general impulse turbines are high head turbines . In
particular Pelton wheel has so far been used under a highest head of
about 1770 m (5800 ft .)
Medium, head turbines are those which are capable of working
under medium heads ranging from about 60 m to 250 m . These
turbines require relativel y large quantit y of water . Modern Francis
turbines may be classified as medium head turbine .
are those which are capable of woiking under
Low head turbines
. These turbine s thus require a large
the heads less than 60 m
and other propell er turbine s may be
quantity of water , Kaplan
classified as low head turbine s .
accordi ng to their specific
f The turbines may also be classified
of a turbine is the speed of a geome trically
The specific speed when
develop one horse power ( metric )
similar turbine that would specific
metre . On the basis of the
working under a head of one
 rJL/ KJULJ ^ rmi’iiw
lujuv

970 HYDKAUUW

turbines may be considered in the following three

speed the various
groups :
( i ) Specific speed varying
for double
from
jet.
10 to 35 Pelton —wheels with
single jet and upto 50
( H) Specific speed varying from 60 to 400 —
Francis turbines ,

( Hi ) Specific speed
.
varying from 300 to 1000 —
Kaplan and
other propeller turbines
of turbines noted above may be disposed
The different types
with either vertical or horizontal shafts .
21-5 PELTON WHEEL
This is the only impulse type of hydraulic turbine now in
common use. It is named after Lester A . Pelton ( 1829- 1908 ) , the
American engineer who contributed much to its development in
about 1880. It is well suited for operating under high heads .
Fig. 21
‘
3 shows the elements of a typical Pelton wheel
installation . The runner
^
consists of a circular disc with a
^
number
of buckets evenly spaced round its periphery. The buckets have a
shape of a double semi- ellipsoidal cups. Each bucket is divided into
two symmetrical parts by a sharp edged ridge known as splitter.
One or more nozzles are mounted so that eachT directs a jet along a
tangent to the circle through the centres of the buckets called the
pitch circle. The jet of water impinges on the splitter, which divides
the jet into two equal portions, each of which after flowing round
the smooth inner surface of the bucket leaves it at its outer edge,
f he buckets are so shaped that the angle at the outlet tip varies
from 10° to 20° ( usually kept as 15°) so that the jet of water gets
deflected through 160 to 17(3°. The advantage of having a double
"
cup shaped buckets is that the axial thrusts neutralise each other ,
being equal and opposite, and hence the bearings supporting the
wheel shaft are not subjected to any axial or end thrust The back
of the bucket is so shaped that as it swings downward into the jet
.
no water is wasted by splashing. Further at the lower
lip of the
bucket a notch is cut which prevents the jet striking
the preceding
bucket being intercepted by the next bucket very soon ,
and it also
avoids the deflection of water towards the centre of
the wheel as the
bucket first meets the jet. For low heads the
buckets are made
_
but for higher heads they are made of
cast steel , bronze
or stainless steel.
In order to control the quantity of water striking the
runner,
the nozzle fitted at the end of the penstock is provided with a spear
 niUKAULIC TURBINES 971
need le havin g a strea mlin ed
-
or
show n in Fig. 21 3. The
head which is fixed to the end of a
rod as spear may be operated either by a

FKOM PENSTOCK
PITCH erode

rashsr
^ iNOiCATCP
z
2
X
Vj

2
X
YsX
,
'V
X
A
V,

YsA
'Y
Ys
,
i
Ys
Ys
i8 I 2
2
2
A
Ys
i rs,
WWWWWl

.
Fig 21 * 3 Single jet Pelton wheel

hand wheel ( Fig. 21‘3) in case of very small units or automatically

by a governor ( described later ) in case of almost all the bigger units.
When the shaft of the Pelton wheel is horizontal then not more than
two jets are used. But if the wheel is mounted on a vertical shaft a
larger number of jets ( upto six ) is poss ible ,

A casing made of cast iron or fabr icate d steel plate s is usua lly
provided for a Pelton wheel as show n in Fig . 21 3*
. It has no
hydraulic function to perform . It is prov ided only to preve nt
, to lead wate r to the tail race ana also to act as
splashing of wate r
a safeguard against accidents.

Pelto n whe els are usua lly equi pped with a smal l brak e
Larger
open ed direc ts a jet of wate r on the back of the
nozzle which when
the whe el quic kly to rest after it is shut
buckets, thereby bringing
it wou ld go on revo lving by inter tia fora
down, (as otherwise
considerable time).
EFF ICI EN CY OF PEL TON WH EEL
21 6 WORK DONE AND
the jet of wate r to the buck ets ,
The transfer of wor k from
mom entu m equa tion as indi cate d in
takes place according to the
 .
y tv it A ^

. ' 4 shows the velocity triangles at the tips of th&.

Chapter 20 . Fig 21
wheel . Let;

-
bucket of a Pelt on
before striking the bucket
^_
.
absolute
F absolute
; ;toh„
alrecdon e
velocity
velocity
velocity
of
of

tangential
jet
jet
of
to
leavir
bucket
the ptch
g
.
cons d
ctrcle
ered along the.

incoming jet relative to the ucket

Fr = velocity of the .
relative
velocity of the jet leaving the bucket to the
bucket
velocity of whirl at inlet tip of t he bucket
FK = of the bucket
„
F = velocity of whirl at outlet tip
deflected by the
6 =angle through which the jet is

bucket
Since the velocities V and u are collinear , the velocity triangle
at the inlet tip of the buckets is a straight line ana thus
Vr= (V - u ) and VW = V .
At the outlet tip three velocity triangles as shown in Fig . 21 ' 4 *

are possible depending upon the magnitude of u , corresponding to

which it is a slow, medium or fast runner. As the inlet and the
outlet tips of the bucket are at the same radial distance the tangential
velocity of the bucket at both the tips is same, i .e ,, u ux Further
—
the relative velocity Vrl with which the jet leaves the bucket will be
.
somewhat less than the initial relative velocity Vr at the inlet tip . .
This is because, although the inner faces of the buckets are polished
so as to minimize frictional losses as water flows over them such
losses cannot be completely eliminated . In addition to this some-
Joss of energy will also take place as the jet strikes the
These losses of energy reduce the relative
splitter .
velocity between the je$
and the bucket, and hence
k (
—
Vn Vr ) ~ k (V u )
where k is a fraction slightly less than unity ,
—
Now from the outlet velocity triangle
tri { % ) of Fig. 21 4
— —
*

Vw1 Vn COS <f U 1 ) =: ( kVr cos

and from the outlet velocity triangle ( Hi
)

) 0f Fig 2 .4
—^,
u)

Kt ul Vn cos
= { - ( f> )
-
where ?S = ( jt 0 ) is the angle of the COS
bucket at the outlet tip
However, if the losses* are neglected
.
velocity triangle (n) Fwl = u then k = Also for outlet
1
*
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES
973
If w kg f wa er per
° ‘
second strikes the buck
ets then ,
Chapter 20 , the work done per as shown
second on the wheel is
^ Work done
given as

g KUi
~
w r
cos u
W r
ff
- -
u ) ( \ \- k cos tj ) ,J u •••( 21 -10)

Y
M L
l

Jra
—^
a
PLAN
us

100 -
fr

u
SECTION YV
v* vw
XIT.
*=
—1
» Yf *KV- «)
INLET VELOCITY TRIANGLE

(Ill)
tfo M

Vr , V !%
.**<
•
AlL$ !5
i sifeo*« :'ia 6oa< c <
&
*
&'

^ ^< 90* , fCGABVE ) -( jB KCT) Vw! « ©)

OUTLET VELOCITY TRIPLES
< &> S0*> VW 1 POSITIVE)

velocity triangles
.
Fig 21*4 Pel ton wheel bucket and
The the wheel is in the form of kinetic
®ner
energy supplied to
§7 of the jet which is equal to ( WV 2 / 2 g ) per second .
'
 HYDRAULICS AN D FL UI D M EC H A N IC S
97 4
eff ici en cy of th e Pe l ton w he el is gi ve r
Therefore the hydraulic *
by
( W / a )\( V — n ) ( l -f k cos
f
\h = " "
TWV P g ) ^
or
2u{V — u ) {\ Jr k cos 4> )
V 2
•• 4 (2 Ml )

For a given jet velocity V an d th e bu ck et tip an gl e <f> at outlet

the co nd iti on fo
.
r m ax im um ef fic
as
ie
su
nc
m
y
ed
m ay
co ns
be
ta
ob
nt
ta in ed by co ns id er -
{ du
ing d ri h / = ) 0 Th us
^
if
j fo _ +
2
is
( & co s 4 )
l ( 27 — 4w ) = 0
( )

-
du V 2

or (f ) = V
0 5 - •••( 21 ' 12)*
Thus the hydraulic efficiency is maximum when the bucket
speed is equal to half the velecity of the jet. Substituting this
condition in equation 21 11, the maximum hydraulic efficiency is
*

obtained as
(%)ma = £ 0 + & C O S 4> ) • •( 21 *
13 )
* «

Now if Jc = 1, then equation 21 13 indicates that the maximum

*

value of V} h will be equal to 1 or 100 % when = 0 or 0 = 180° i .e .

the buckets are so shaped that the jet gets deflected through 180°.
This is however, theoretical maximum value of y
^ f

\h The actual
maximum value of TJA will be slightly less and it varies from
0 9 to
-
0‘94 ( or 90 to 94 % ). This is so because the actual
value of k is not
equal to one but it is slightly less . Further in
actual practice 0 can
not be made equal to 180 , because in that case
the jet leaving one
bucket will strike the back of the bucket just
ing a retarding force on it. Hence im orde
keeps clear of the following bucket , the
following it, thus exert
r that the outgoing jet
-
bucket tip angle $ at outlet
is usually kept ranging from 10” to 20 ,
” ( the average value being 15» ) ,
so that the jet gets deflected thro
ugh 160° to 170° The angle is
also known as side clearance angle. $
If there is no loss of energy as the
water flow3 over the
th en th e work done per second
on the Pci ton wheel bu ck et s
output of the Pelton wheel ) may also (or the power
be expressed as
Work done = ^
29
( V 2 ~V 2 )
* ••( 21
*
14)
The hydraulic efficiency of
sed as P el to n wheel raay also be expres-

( W / 2 g )V 2 ( * 15)
V 2 •• 21«
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES
975
sub stit uti ng the value of V 1 obtained from
g the outlet velocity
triangie’ equ atio n 21 15 bec omes exactly similar to equation 21 11
with —
k SSS 1 •
The loss of head as the waler flows through the buckets of the
*

pel ton wh eel may be obt ain ed by applying the Bernoulli’s equation
the inlet and the outlet tips of the
between bucket. Thus
Vw U ,
- ±Vm u F- \- - llL , 2

is the loss
* of
9
hea
9 2g
where hi d in the buckets.
From the velocity triangles at the inlet and the outlet
tips of
the bucket
Fwu dr V F FA
2
—
9 L 2g 29 2g
^[
V 2 ~
Vl Vr l VJ (since
2
, 2 -~

L 529 2g uj
= u1 )

Thus by substitution , we get

Vr
JlL= 2 gVr i2~
_Vr 2
~ B )=
( V ~ 2
u ) 2

2g d 2g
( 1 -F )
••( 21 16)
*
«•

The other efflciencies of Pelton wheel may be expressed by the

equations 2 T 6, 21' 7 and 2 T 8 (or 2 T 9) .
—
The overall efficiency of 85 90 % may usually be achieved for
large Pelton wheels. The volumetric efficiency for Pelton wheel ,
ranges from 0 * 97 to 0 99.
*

2 P 7 WORKING PROPORTIONS OF PELTON WHEEL

( i ) The ideal velocity of jet usually known as spouting velocity
= V 2gH ) where H is the net head . Plowever, the actual velocity
{
of the jet is slightly less, due to friction loss in the nozzle. Thus
V =Cv i/ 2gH (21 17) *

where Gv is the coefficient of velocity for the nozzle with its value
ranging from 0 97 to 0 99. *

( wj As obtained above for maximum ?) h the velocity of wheel

u at pitch circle is equal to 0 5 V . However, in actual practice the
*

Maximum efficiency occurs wh en the val ue of u is abo ut 0 46 V .

Moreover , it is convenient to exp res s u in term s of Hf in the for m ol

^ expression u=4>(\/ 2gB) where is known as spe ed rat io . Thus

Coiffidering F = 0 98 ( V 2g H )
*

W = 46 F =
Q 0 45
* ( V 2g H ) ' ... (2 H 8)
In Practice the value of ranges from 0 43 to 0 47. * *

u ^
 AND FLU ID ME CHA NIC S
976 HYDRAULICS
thro ugh wh ich jet of wat er gets defl ecte d in bu ck ets
( in ) Angle
° , unl ess oth erw ise stat ed .
= 165
by
( iv ) Least diameter d of the jet is giv en
Q 1 / 2
-
= 0 542 W H( \
metres
LnCv ( V 2QH ) A '
•••( 21 19 ) -
where Q is the disc harg e thro ugh the jet in m 3
/sec .
(u) Mean dia met er or the pitc h diam eter D of the Pel ton wh eel
may be obtained as foll ow s If .the wh eel rota tes at N r.p .
m . , the n
.
u={ nDNj60) Thus
„
D~ ”
60 « 60 ( _
(£\/ 2 gH )
•••( 21 20) -
7 zN izN
(vi) The ratio of pitc h diam eter D of the whe el to the jet
diameter d is known as jet rati o and is rep rese nte d by m i .e , }

—
m ( Djd ) . The jet
design of a pelton
diam
wh eel.
eter is
For
an
max
imp
imu m
orta nt
effi
para
cien cy
met
the
er in the
jet ratio
should be from 11 to 14 and nor mal ly a jet rati o of 12 is adopted
in practice. A smaller value of m results in either too close a
spacing of the buckets or too few buckets for the whole jet to be
used. A larger value of m results in a more bulky installation.
However, in extreme cases a value of m as low as 7 and as high as
110 has been used.
( vi ) Some of the main dimensions of the bucket of a Pelton
wheel as shown in Fig. 21 ' 4 expressed in terms of the jet diameter
are as noted below :
5= (4 to 5)d ;
CMO ‘81 to TO 5 ) d ;
£ = ( 2 4 to 3 2 ) d ;
Z = ( T 2 to T 9)d ;
- -
-
M =( l 1 to T 25) <J ; Angie = 10° to 20°
^
Again = 5° to 8°.
)(
^
vii The number
of buckets for a Pelton wheel should be
such that the jet is always completely intercepted by the
,
buckets so
that volumetric efficiency of the turbine is very close to unity. The
number of buckets is usually more than 15. Certain empirical
formulae have been developed for determining the
number of
ouckets. One such formula which is widely used has been given by
faygun according to which the number of buckets
2 is approxi -
mateiy given by
z= G1 ) + 15
This equation has been found to hold good for all
~ (0 '5 m + 15) •• * ( 2 T 21 )

values of
ranging from 6 to 35.
 —
HYDRAULIC TURBINES 977

'8 MULT IPL E JET PELTON WHEEL

2 l

—
jet is
the jet velo city, whe el spee d and
* r tn
8
lons
*
ikTZt !* ' “" “
"
of mad e big enou gh to
C3B 11ot be deve lop any desi red pow The
of power developed by a single runner of a Pelton wheel
amount
runn
byp
er . The nozz les must
» «
*•
neve r be *
space ,
so close ly that wate r issu ed
uea f one r
after striki ng
s the
spaced . . r •
lrorn jet
inte rfer es with i
anot her jet As num ber
runner far used with a single runner of some large units is six. A
such the max imum
0f jets so
pelton whe el havi ng mor e than one jet spac ed arou nd its runn er is
called mult iple jet Pelt on whe el . If P is the pow er deve lope d by a
pelton whe el whe n wor king unde r head H and havi ng one jet only ,
"then the power developed by the same Pelton wheel will be ( nP ) , if n

jets are used for its wor king unde r the same head .
Sometimes even if by usin g mor e num ber of jets for a sing le
, the requ ired pow er is not deve lope d then a num ber of runn ers
runner
mounted on a com mon shaf t may be used . In som e case s a com bi -
nation of the abov e two syste ms may be used , i .e ., a num ber of
multiple jet wheels may be mou nted on the sam e shaf t .
219 RA DIA L FLO W IMP ULS E TUR BIN E
a radi al flow imp ulse turb ine the inlet velo city trian gle is
For
not a strai ght line and henc e

Further if
Work done g
there is no
W

loss of
—
ener
—
gy in the runn er vane s then
the work done may also be expr esse d by equa tion 2 T 14 . Thu s
equating the two , we get

J = 27
at the inlet and the outl et tips of a radi al
From the velo city trian gles
vane it can be show n that
— Fr
rv -Vi J
2 2
2 2 Frl
2 2 L ^
this valu e in the abov e expr essi on it
Thus by subs tituti ng
becomes
w 2
—
2g
tq 2 y
_
Fn,2
2g
— yy r 2 Q
2 2 \
2 U ~ UX ,( 21* 22 )
„
or Fri ^Vr
2 (
2g
.
J
2g 2g \
 978 HYDRAULICS' A N D FL U ID M EC H A N IC S

The se co nd te rm on th e ri gh t ha nd si de of eq ua tio n 2 1 2 2 re pr es en ts .
im pr es se d on th e w at er as it flo w s th ro ug h the
the centrifugal head
runner of a radial flo w im pu ls e tu rb in e. Fo r an ou tw ar d flow
;
wardlwmrbini ZndCce io n 21 22 *, V rl > V r ; an d fo r an m -
^
6

th e re la tiv e ve lo ci
Vn r
ty
<
of
V
w at
-
er
T ha
in
t is
an
th e
ou
centrifugal
tw ar d flow
head creases
in
turbine and decreases it in an in w ar d flo w tu rb in e . A s su ch a better
control of eedsp ca n be en fo rc ed in th e ca se of an inward flow
turbine.
21 10 REACTION TURBINES
As stated earlier the principal distinguishing features of a
reaction turbine are that only part of the total head of water is
converted into velocity head before it reaches the runner, and that
the water completely fills all the passages in the runner . Thus the
pressure of water changes gradually as it passes through the runner.
The two reaction type of turbines which are predominantly used
these days are Francis turbine and Kaplan turbine, which are
described below.
2111 FRANCIS TURBINE
Fig. 21 ‘5 illustrates a Francis turbine which is a mixed flow
type of reaction turbine. It is named in honour of Ja
mes B. Francis
—
11815 92 ) , an American Engineer , who was the first to develop an
inward radial flow type of reaction turbine in 1849. Later on
it was
modified and the modern Francis turbine is a mixed
flow type, in
which water enters the runner radially at its
outer periphery and
leaves axially at its centre.
The water from the penstock enters a
scroll case ( also called
spiral case ) which completely surrou
nds the runner . The purpose
of the case is to provide an ev
en distribution of water around
the circumference of the turbine
runner, maintaining an approxi
mately constant velocity for the
water so distributed. In order to
-
keep the velocity of water
constant throughout its path arou
runner, the cross-sectional area of nd the
TK o • , th
uiee ca sm
si ncgr n
gradually decreased.
J J
1 he casinS ls made of
cast steel, plate steel,
steel depending upon concrete or concrete and
the pressure to which it
these a plate steel spiral ( is subjected . Out of
or is
turbines op C as e c m m on ly
ODer
erat
atin
inga under 30
on m or
higher heads. ° . provided for
From the scroll case the
wafer passes thro
comprising of a series of ugh a stay ring ,
scroll case all around
fi x ed v an es, which is assembled with the
its inner perip
functions to perform. ft d h er y . The stay ring has two
irects the water from
the case to the
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES
979
: Ae vanes o r w ic k e t ga

^ ^
te s
gui
upon it by th e c ase , u n d e r in te n d p r Tu
‘ r e Ttf
s a
^ 'T* imposed

0fthe
st
e
ay
le c
ri
tr
ng
ica
m
l g
ay
e
b
n
e
e ra to r a n d tr an
produced either by c st;
sm it th e
!“ m J7 ? * thewei&t
16 found«ion .
The
the c a s e ;
.
o r ca st in g o r fa b ri c a ti n g it sepaSy ^
with th e ca se
rh SHAFT SCROLL CASING

-h -
\ V
‘

I
I
"

GUIDE VANE
WICK$* GATE
RUNNER VANE

DRAFT TUBE

--T 2T .
TL
TAIL RACE
X 3L
sr
r. rrr---
H
*

I FROM
PENSTOCK
I
REGULATING RING
T
GUIDE VANE

o . O

9
o

o o UNK

SCROLL
CASING - o
o
o

Fig. 21 * 5 Sectional arrangement of Francis turbine

from the stay ring the water passes through a series of guide
^ U e s 0r
bine wic ke t gates p r o v id e d a ll a r o u n d the periphery of the tur -
runner The function of the guide vanes is to regulate the
.
 980 HYDRAULICS AN D FLU ID ME CH AN ICS

quantity of water sup pli ed to the run ner and to dire ct wa ter on to
the runner at an angle app rop ria te to the des ign . The gui de vanes
are airfoil shaped and the y ma y be ma de of cas t stee l or stainless
steel or plate steel . Eac h gui de van e is pro vid ed wit h two stems,
the upper stem passes thr oug h the hea d cov er and the low er stem
ring. By a sys tem of lev ers and link s , all the gui de
seats in a bottom
vanes may be tur ned abo ut the ir stem s, so as to alte r the wid th of the
passage between the adj ace nt gui de van es , the reb y allo win g a variable
quantity of wat er to stri ke the run ner . Th e gui de van es are ope rate d
either by means of a hand wh eel ( for ver y sm all uni ts } Gr automatic
cally by a governor.

The main purpose of the var iou s com po nen ts so far described
is to lea d the wa ter to the run ne r wit h a min imu m los s of en erg y.
The runner of a Fra nci s tur bin e con sist s of a ser ies of cur ved vanes
(about 16 to 24 in number ) evenly arranged around the circum
ference in the annular space between two plates . The vanes are
-
so shaped that water enters the runner radially at the outer peri -
phery and leaves it axially at the inner periphery. The change in
the direction of flow of water, from radial to axial , as it passes
through the runner , produces a circumferential force on the runner
which makes the runner to rotate and thus contributes to the useful
output of the runner. The runners are usually made up of cast
iron, cast steel , mild steel or stainless steel . Often instead of making
the complete runner of stainless steel, only those portions of the
runner blades, which may be subjected to cavitation erosion, are
made of stainless steel. This reduces the cost of the runner and at
the same time ensures the operation of the runner with a minimum
amount of maintenance. The runner is keyed to a shaft which is
usually of forged steel. The torque produced by the runner is
transmitted to the generator through the shaft which is usually con
nected to the generator shaft by a bolted flange connection -
.
Th
_ e wa ter aft er_ pas sin g thr ou gh the
, , runner flows to the tail
race through a draft tube. A draft tube is a
pipe or passage of
-
gradually increasing cross sectional area which
con nec ts the run ne r
exit to the tad race It may be made cf
cast or plate steel or
concrete. It must be airtight and under all
co nd itio ns of op era tio n
lts
IoWlend, mfUSt bKe StubmerSed below the level of water in the tail
race. The draft tube has two purposes as follows ;
( i ) It permits a negative or sucti n
, . , , . . ° hea d to be est abl ish ed at
the runner exit, thus making it possible to install
the turbine above
the tail race level without loss of head.
 JL
l UKtslNES
981
(ii )It converts a large proportion of velocity
energy rejected
the runner into useful pressure energy i.e., it acts as a recupe
from
of pressure energy . -
rator
employed in
-
Kg. 21 6 shows the different types of draft tubes
the field to suit particular which are
conditions of installation.

{ Q ) STRAIGHT DIVERGENT TUBE.

(b) MOODY SPREADING TUBE (OR HYDRACONE).
(c) SIMPLE ELBOW TUBE .
(d) ELBOW TUBE HAVING CIRCULAR CROSS SECTION
AT INLET AND RECTANGULAR AT OUTLET.
Fig. 21 ' 6 Different types of draft tubes
Of these the types (a) and ( b ) are the most efficient, but the types
(c) and ( d ) have an advantage that they require lesser excavation for
their installation. It has been observed that for straight divergent
type draft tube the central cone angle should not be more than 8°.
This is because if this angle is more than 8° the water flowing
through the draft tube will not remain in contact with its inner
surface, with the result that eddies are formed and the efficiency of
the draft tube is reduced .
2112 WORK DONE AND EFFICIENCIES OF FRANCIS
TURBINE
.n If W kg of water per second strikes the runner then as derived
* Chapter 20 the work done per second on the runner may be ex
Passed as
-
W
Work done = [V „u- VmvJ
9
 982 HYDRAULICS AND FLUID MECHANICS

Evidently the maximum output under specified conditions is

obtained by making the velocity of whirl at exit FW1 equal to zero .
Then

or Work done per kg

Work done =
of water
—
—
• ( P„«)

(?)
Now if H is the net head then the input energy per second for the
runner ~ { WH ) .
Therefore hydraulic efficiency of the Francis turbine is given
by
VyjU
••( 21 ’ 23) %

,
However if VW 1 is not equal to zero, then

Vh=
VuU V
gH
)
••• ( 21 - 23 a )
The value of t\h ranges from 85 to 95 % .
Again if P represents the horse power developed by the runner
shaft then the mechanical efficiency is given by
P
1) m ( 21 - 24)
W ( V u\
75 ^ U
f Further the overall efficiency is given by equation 21 '9 as
*
]
*o X — P
( WHJ 7 5 ) ••• ( 21 -25)
The overall efficiency of a Francis turbine ranges from 80 to
90 % .

2113 WORKING PROPORTION OF FRANCIS TURBINE

(i ) The ratio of the width B of the wheel
to the diameter D
( Fig. 21’8) of the runner is represented by n ,
that is
—
n { B/ D )
The value of n ranges from 0T 0 to 0’ 45.
•••( 21 26 )
*

( ii ) The ratio of the velocity of

flow Vf at the inlet tip of
the vane to the spouting velocity { 2gh)
V is known as flow ratio
that is
V ,
••• ( 21 - 27)
The value of 41 ranges from 015 to 0 30. *

{ in ) In this case also the speed

(
— ratio f
fr uflVZgH ). The value of <f
<> is defined as
> ranges from 0’ 60 to 0 * 90 .
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES
983
DE SIG N OF FRANCIS TURBINE RUNNER
2 VU
A Fra ncis turb ine runn er is required to be designed to
P, when running at a known speed iV r p m
dev elon
pow er
a known H e probable values TQ , 7) , n and |
under a
known hea d * 0 < > are assumed
desi gn of the runner which involves the
The determination of its
and the vane angl es is carried out as follows :
size
(* ) Determine the required discharge Q from the relation
'

P= T )O( W H / 75 ) = TI ( )(WQ H / 75 ) .
( ii ) If Z
the number of vanes in the runner, t is the thick
of the vane at
is
inle t and B
-
ness is the width of the wheel at inlet
area of flow sect ion
then the
k a fact or
at the wheel inlet = ( rrD Zt ) B= kKB D ,
which allows for the thickness of the vanes.
—
where is

Then
Q = kuB DV f = kKn D2Vf • •• ( 21 - 28)

•since —
B nD.
Thus assuming a suitable value of k the diameter D and the
width B of the runner can be determined. For the first approxima -
tion the vane thic knes s may be negl ecte d in whic h case k may be
assumed to be equa l to unit y .
( Hi ) The tangential velocity of the runner at inlet may be
determined from the equa tion u (—nDN / 60 ) .
( iv ) The velo city of whir l Vw at inlet of the runn er can be
determined from the expr essi on y
\h= ( Vw ujg H ) .
( v ) From the inlet velocity trian gle , the guid e vane angl e a
and the runner vane angle 6 at inlet can be calc ulat ed from the
expressions tan ct = /Vw
( Vf ) and tan 0 = = Vf / { VW — . u )

( vi ) The runner diameter Dx at the outl et end vari es from

( 1 /3) D to ( 2/3) D and usually it is taken equa l to ( 1 / 2 ) D . Thu s the
of the runn er at outl et may be dete rmi ned from
tangential velocity
the expression «1= ( rcZ )
1 /
JVr 60 ) .
resp ecti vely the thic kne ss of the van e
( vii ) If tx and B1 are
and the width of the runner at outl et , then
—
Q = ( nD1 Zt 1 ) B1 xVf l k nD iBi Vfi
= 1
••• ( 21 29 ) -
From equations 2 T 28 and 21 29
V f kx nB1 D1 » • » ( 21 - 30 )
vfl knB D
-Normally it is assumed that V f V f x and k — — kv then Bx 2 (

A = ( l /2 ) D .
 "
m
AND FLUID MECHANICS
984 HYDRAULICS
is designed to have the velocity f
runner
(yin ) Generally
at outlet
the
equal to zero , i e ..
, Vwl = 0 and (3 = 90.
°
0
Thenn,

whirl Vm the runner vane angle $ at outlet may

triangle
from outlet velocity
= (Vfl / u ) .
be determined from
( ix ) The number
the expression
of runner
tan
vanes ^
should be
1

either one more or

guide vanes , in order to avoid setting
the number of
one less than
up of periodic impulse .
2T15 DRAFT TUBE THEORY
Refer Fig . 21 7 in which
* points 1 , 2 and 3 have been
outlet
consider
end of
-
, runner exit and at the the
ed at the runner entrance
’s equation between
draft tube respectively . By applying Bernoulli
velocity heads at the inlet and the
points 1 and 2 the pressure and
outlet ends of the runner may be obtained .
equation between points 2 and 3, we get
Applying Bernoulli’ s
Pa Ek
2 V
+ + ( 21 31 ) -
^
z h
w * 2(/ + * '
•••

, are the pressures and velocities at points 2

where p2 , Pz and V 2 V 3 .
, and Jif is the loss of head in the draft tube From >
and 3 respectively
equation 31
21'

—
w = ~
w — >—
—
fe 23

But n= +h
w w

• 9
w w 2 (H)tt
Since ( z2 z2
level, thus
— — h )= H „ the height of runner exit above tail race -
_
i = Pi r Ha+vJ-i£ ]+hf
? ••• ( 21 32
*
)
ww L J
It may be seen from equation 21 32 that the pressure at the
*

runner exit is suction pressure, that is below atmospheric. Hs lS

—
known as static suction head and [F22 F32) /2g] is known as dyna
mic suction head. Generally hf is expressed as hf fc(F
— -
then
= 22 Pa )l ’
^
f ? = -[* + < -*> !
2ff ] •• • 21
( 33) *

Now if the draft tube is made cylindrical then F F \ and if

2= 3
the frictional loss is neglected, then equation '
21 32 indicates that the
pressure head at the runner exit
would be less than atmospheric
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES 98&
pressure by an amount H the height of the runner exit
above the -
race. Hence with such a draft tube the turbine would
ta11 not loose.

f
J I t
l
1

2 I

(D AT RUNNER ENTRANCE
® AT RUNNER EXIT
*2 I d) OUTLET OF DRAFT TUBE
Pc
r
|

JL
h

23
DATUM

Fig . 21 7 Draft tube theory

*

head Ha because of equal reduction in pressure head at the runner *

exit. On the other hand if a draft tube of gradually increasing

-
cross section is used , then the value of pressure at runner exit is
further reduced by an amount equal to ( 1 — &)[ (F22 F32) / 2gf ]. In
other words such a draft tube causes a large portion of kinetic head
—
to be converted into pressure head .
The efficiency of a draft tube is defined as
Actual regain of pressure head
Velocity head at entrance to draft tube
The actual regain of pressure head
F22-F32
[ F22- F321-
2g / = ( 1 - 1 c
* )
2g ( )
- rfllW hf - ( l - fc ) ( F 22 -F r
32 ) / 2g1 - 34)
• »ld =
UV
^
( F */ 2g ) , ( F */ 2g ) , •••( 21

2116 SHAPE OF FRANCIS TURBINE RUNNER AND

DEVELOPMENT OF KAPLAN TURBINE RUNNER
A Francis turbine runner of given diameter , when required
to develop certain power P , under a low head, should be so designed
that it admits comparatively large quantity of water . This can bo
 u e
"
. " 6y /
"'crease /„
ratJO (

®
T,
h— o
U+2IL'
*
value of /7 aJ
r> »
3/ rj \
* kh 4
*
•' fy
H =
C
fj
^ eooml
^
- 36dm-
"

Fs
’ - 21 - g
?f
Uk ® e
ce
* Ssive ,
lost
4s
? * (
° fa* ??* *
vet
«ease
.
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' o
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ec
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^ large
bine a
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES 987
'
M
w at er is re qu ir ed to be p as se d , it is so d es ig n ed th at th e
nt ity o f
qua" urely axial right from the inlet section to the outlet section
p
is
flow
jj
'jr KAPLAN TURBINE
*
K apla n tu rb in e is a ty pe o f p ro p el le r tu rb in e w hi ch w as
A
de veloped by th e A u st ri an en gi ne er V . K ap la n ( 1 8 7—6 1 9 3 4) . It is

SCROLL
GUIDE VANE CASING

RUNNER VAN

OR
BOSS

DRAFT TUBE

RUNNER VANE

GUIDE VANE

- a l ar ra n ge m en t o f K ap la n tu rb in e
Fig . 21 9 Section
 HI
988 relatively low heads , and )
s ®
an axial flow turbine , which "'* is
ef t 0 develop large amount off
hence requires a large quantity and hence it operates in ,
turbine
power . It
an entirely
is also
closed
a reaction
conduit from tne ^ race to the tail race,

e
INLET VELOCI nf
TRIANGLES Vf u=u

1 l '!,/ / _L
f NO SHOCK AT
INLET
BLADE POSITION
AT PART LOAD

pTIVOT

reRTAmETOWpAfiT BSw ' oPERAnOI*

_ ^££..
4
L
4 v*
)
Uj*= U
OUTLET VELOCITY
0 TRIANGLES
Uf = U
BLADE ANGLES 9 AND 0 AT FULL LOAD
CHANGE TO 6' AND 0' AT PART LOAD

Fig . 21 10
* Velocity triangles for a Kaplan turbine runner blade
From Fig. 21 - 9 it will be seen that the main components of at.
Kaplan turbine such as scroll casing, stay ring, arrangement of guide
vanes, and the draft tube are similar to those of a Francis turbine.
Between the guide vanes and the runner the water in a Kaplan ( or
propeller ) turbine turns through a right - angle into the axial direction
and then passes through the runner. The runner of a Kaplan (or
propeller ) turbine has four or six (or eight in some exceptional
cases ) blades and it closely resembles a ship’s propeller. The blades
(or vanes) are attached to a hub or boss and are so shaped that water
flows axially through the runner. Ordinarily the runner blades of a
propeller turbine are fixed , but Kaplan turbine runner
blades can be
turned about their own axes, so that their angle of
inclination may
be adjusted while the turbine is in motion • This
adjustment of the
runner blades is usually carried out
. . automatically by means of a
servomotor operating inside the hollow t

coupling of turbine and

.
generator shaft When both guide vane ormi
angle may thus be varied a high efficiency
wide range of operating conditions.
-j
' *
can be maintffined over a
,
- " "
rn
other words even at part load,
when a lower discharge is flowing throug
h the runner, a high effi
ciency can be attained in the case of a
Kaplan turbine. It may be
-
explained with the help of Fig 21 10, ln . *
w ch inlet
^ and outlet vela-
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES 989
. triangles for a Ka pla n turb ine runner working at constant speed
co nst an t hea d at ful l loa d and at par t loa d are shown. It will
under tha t alth oug h the cor res pon din g cha nge in
observed runner does affect the shape of the velocity
the flow
through the turb ine
trangles , yet as the bla de ang les are sim ult ane ous ly adj ust ed , the
und er all the wo rki ng con diti ons flow s through the runner
water
blades wit hou t sho ck . As suc h the eddy losses which are inevitable
in Francis and pro pel ler tur bin es are alm ost com ple tely elim ina ted in
a Kaplan turb ine .
2118 WO RK IN G PR OP OR TIO NS OF KA PL AN TU RB INE

In general the main dimensions of Kaplan turbine runner are

established by a pro ced ure sim ilar to that for a Fra nci s turb ine
runner . Ho we ver , the fol low ing are the ma in dev iati ons :
(i ) Choose an appropriate value of the ratio n ( d / D ) , where —
d is boss dia me ter and D is run ner out sid e dia me ter. The val ue of
0 0 * 60.
n usu ally var ies fro m 35*
to

( ii ) The disc har ge Q flow ing thro ugh the run ner is given by

^ ( D* -d )ty JH
Q= ( D* -d? ) Vf = ~ > V 2 ••* ( 21 * 35)

The value of flow rati o ty for a Kap lan turb ine is aro und 0 70. -
( Hi ) The runner bla des of Ka pla n turb ine run ner are wa rpe d
or twisted , the blade angle bei ng gre ater at the out er tip tha n at the
hub. This is because the per iph era l vel oci ty of the bla des bei ng
directly proportional to radius , it wil l var y from sec tion to sec tion
along the blade, and hence in ord er to hav e sho ck free ent ry and exi t
of water the blades with angles var yin g fro m sec tion to sec tion wil l
have to be designed.

The expressions for the wo rk don e and the eff icie nci es of
Kaplan turbine are sam e as tho se for Fra nci s turb ine .
2IT9 GOVERNING OF TURBINES
All the modern hyd rau lic tur bin es are dire ctly cou ple d to the
electric generators. The generators are alw ays req uir ed to run at
constant speed irrespective of the var iati ons in the loa d . Th is con sr
•tant speed .
N rp . m ., of the gen era tor is giv en by exp res sio n
pN
f= © « • 21 36)
( *
60
 A N D FL U ID M EC H A N IC S
990 HYDRAULICS
gen er a te d in cy cl es pe r se co nd an d
fr eq ue nc y of power
where / is the . Usually / = 50 an d he nc e
p is th e nu m be r of pa ir s of po le s
60/ 3000 •••( 21 37)
—
*

N= V
V
be m ai n ta in ed co ns ta nt on ly if th e
The spee d of th e ge ne ra to r ca n
co ns ta nt eq ua l to th e on e gi ve n by
speed of the tu rb in e ru nn er is
as th e sy nc hr on ou s sp ee d of th e
equation 21 37. *
It is th en kn ow n
turbine runner fo r w hi ch it is de si gn ed .
r w ill ho w ev er , go on va ry in g an d
The load on th e ge ne ra to
re m ai ns sa m e th en th e sp ee d of th e
now if the in pu t fo r th e tu rb in e
ei th er in cr ea se or de cr ea se de pe nd in g
turbine runner will tend to
. T hi s in tu rn
e lo ad on th e ge ne ra to r is re du ce d or in cr ea se d
on th
ge ne ra to r al so to va ry ac co rd in gl y , w hi ch
will cause the speed of the
is, howev er , no t de si ra bl e be ca us e it m ay re su lt in va ry in g th e fr e -
w er ge ne ra tio n A s su ch th e sp ee d of th e tu rb in e
quency of po ,

be m ai nt ai ne d co ns ta nt so th at th e ge ne ra to r
runner is required to
always runs at constant speed un de r al l co nd iti on s of w or ki ng . It
is us ua lly do ne by re gu la tin g th e qu an tir y of w at er fl ow in g th ro ug h
the runner in accordance with th e va ri at io ns in th e lo ad . Su ch an
operation of regulation of sp ee d is kn ow n as go ve rn in g an d is us ua lly
done automatically by m ea ns of a go ve rn or . O ne of th e co m m on
types of governor whi ch is pr ed om in an tly us ed w ith m od er n tu rb in es
is oil pr es su re go ve rn or . A s sh ow n in Fi g . 21 *
11 its co m po ne nt pa rts
are as follows :
( £ ) Servomotor also known as relay cylinder .
( ii ) Relay valve also known as control valve or distribution
valve.
( in ) Actuator or pendulum which is belt or gear driven from the
turbine main shaft.
( iv ) Oil sump.
( v ) Oil pump which is driven by belt connected to turbine
main shaft.
i r*

( vi ) A system of oil supply pipes

connecting the oil sump with
the relay valve and the relay valve with the
rvomotor.
se
The working of the governor is explained below :
When the load on the generator drops, the
speed of turbine
runner increases. Now since the actuator or pendulum
the turbine main shaft, due to crease is dr iv en by
in in the speed the balls move
upward, resulting in an upward
Fig. 21T 1 (a ). As the sleeve movesm o v em en t of th e sl ee v es shown in
up, the left hand end of the maim
 ttXUKAULlC TURBINES 991
which causes the bell
16vef
A
is ra *se <
’
simultaneously ^
pushes the piston
crank
of
lever
the
to move downward
control valve down in
SYMBOL
ACTUATOR OR
PENDULUM OPENING
CLOSING
i
FLY BALL
i
t SLEEVE BELL CRANK
MAIN LEVER
’ si / LEVER
i
RELAY OR

CONNECTED
TO TURBINE
FULCRUM
CONTROL !1 £s
o f.

MAIN SHAFT

I FULCRUM
OIL
I
I

PUMP } ROLLER SPEAR

'OLy-
Z CAM NOZZLE
-«
OIL
SUMP
-
SERVO MOTOR OR
RELAY CYLINDER /
or ( o
OEFlECTOR (V
( 0) FOR IMPULSE TURBINES SPEAR
FROM v
ROD
CONNECTED TO PENSTOCK
RELAY VALVE
t SCROLL
I
I
CASING
!

-
SERVO MOTOR
i

REGULATING .
SHAFT
m
>* .«
GUIDE VANE -

REGULATING ROD
REGULATING
LEVER
*
FROM
PENSTOCK REGULATING
RING
8)} FOR REACTION TURBINES
Fig. 21 11
* Governing mechanism of turbines
its cylinder . In the case of a Pelton turbine the downward motion
of the bell crank lever brings the deflector in front of the jet thereby
diverting a portion of the jet away from the buckets . On the other
hand in the case of a reaction turbine such as Francis or Kaplan
turbine the downward motion of the bell crank lever ( or other suit -
able arrangement ) operates the relief valve shown in Fig . 21 12 , thus *

allowing a portion of water to flow directly from the spiral casing to

the tail race without striking the runner Thus, both these devices
viz . deflector and relief valve have similar function to perform ,
3
 AND F L U ID MBV^
HYDRAULICS
992 n ra p id cl o su re o f th e n o zz le 0 pe ni n
n ec es si ty f §
e li m in th e s a m ti m e th e qu an ti ty o f
T h e se a te
v a n e s at th e e w
or th e g u id e , i T he ra p id cl o su re o f th e n o, ,,
striking the
opening o r th
r
e
u
g
n
u
n e
id
r
e
iS
^ isCenot p
desirable
e n s to ck m
b
ay
ec
re
au
su
se
lt
a
in
su d
se
d
ri
en reduc
o u s
!
th ra te
, the w a te r
tion of e
hammer p r o b le m s . o f th e
m o ti o n o f th e p is to n co n tr o l v a lV e
With th e d o w n ward u n d e r p re ss u re
fo r p ip e li n e 2 o p e n s a n d o il is
a d m it te d
the passage
1 PILOT VALVE

WATE
L I '

O IL O R R.
UNDER PRESSURE

WATER FROM >

T U R B IN E
C A SI N G

SPEAR

BYE PASS
TO
TAIL RACE

. 2112 Relief valve

Fig
from the control valve cylinder
to the servo
the piston. The servomotor , m o to r o n th
tn e le ft si d e o f
In the case of Pelton wheel
nistnri
’
,
th e re
,
fo re “
m o v e s to
le lt
th e ri g
,
h t -
the s rV m ’
to the spear rod , thus
ward motion of the spear

normal turbine speed is

causes the
re
tile rate of flow (as requir d
ed
u c e s ti
°
’
o

!ozz e

d e
to

c
r

for
re
o
a
^
P
u
s
is
tl
e
t
e
d
°
t
n
* ^ l m Ve forward. The fer-
° °
b e

'
in g c o n
and thus decreases
n e c te d

turbine the forward motion

to the regulating ring
guide vanes to mo
re st o re d
0f the
H
°
Se
W ev er
as shown in 1?. °motor piston is
in th e

/*
ve simultaneously8’ 1 1 ( 6 which cause all the
-
lo
c
a
a
d
se
) w
o f
h
a
er
re
eb
a
y
c ti
th
o
e
n
transmitted
rea of flow passage
, > s
the rate of flow 0f
b e tw e
water
e n tl e n e d
‘ Jacei« guide
striki
ir J' -
e c ti o °
n, and
vanes is
th u s th e
reduced
runner is also reduced *
w HYDRAULIC TURBINES 993
once the normal turbine speed is restored the main lever
WheIJ initial normal position and through a suitable cam
its
* ngement the deflector is brought back to its original position or
the re ] jef valve stops byepassing of water to the tail race.
When the load on the generator increases, the speed of the
runner decreases. Due to this the balls move downward
turbine
resulting in the downward movement of the sleeve. The left hand
end of the main lever is lowered which pulls the piston of the control
valve up in the cylinder . With the upward motion of the piston of
the control valve the passage for pipeline 1 opens and oil under
pressure rushes from the control valve cylinder to the servomotor on
the right side of the piston . The servomotor piston then moves to
the left . This increases the nozzle outlet or the passage between
the adjacent guide vanes , thereby allowing a larger quantity of water
to strike the runner ( as required for the increased load ) and the
normal speed for the turbine runner is thus restored .
In the case of Kaplan turbine since in addition to guide vanes
the runner vanes are also adjustable , the governor is required to
operate both sets of vanes simultaneously . The runner vanes are
also operated by a separate servomotor and a control valve and the
servomotors and the control valves for both the runner and the
guide vanes are interconnected to ensure that for a given guide vane
opening there shall be a definite runner vane inclination .
However, the large hydroelectric units are nowadays provided
with electrohydraulic governors . In general , an electrohydraulic
consists of a hydromechanical actuator and an electrical
governor
equipment cabinet , both mounted in the machine room . The
cabinet contains the electrical part of the
electrical equipment
governor only , while the actuator cabinet contains the hydromechani -
tachogenerator connected to the main shaft
cal devices. A special
transmits currents at a frequency oi 50 cycles to the electric
the
.
measur -,
. the speed oi unit changes

.
ing circuits of the governor When
the frequency of the tachogenerator supplies also
vanat
changes
o ns
, where
emits an
-
upon a discriminator responding to frequency
being amplified , this signal is transmitted to
electric signal. After transformed
,
the electromechanical final control -
element
transmitted
where
through
it
the
is
lever system
into a mechanical displacement
of the amplifier valve to the main governor valve . Being moved
in direct proportion to the strength
from its mid (or normal ) position under pressure
governor feeds oil
of the electric signal, the main
t0 the servomotor of the turbine distributor , lhe spear
 AND FLUID MECHANICS
994 HYDRAULICS
turn in
in the direction corresponding
nozzle or the guide vanes thus
to the sign of electric signal .

21 20 RUNAWAY SPEED
head and full gate
under maximum zero
to almost value
opening, of the turbine also
and at the same time the governing it will
tend to race up and attain
fails, then the turbine runner will
or limiting speed
speed . T
the maximum possible
of the turbine runner isknown as “ . Obviously for
,w ? «med for
"
rotating " ' runaway speed normally
"
safe design the various
runaway speed . For
ranges from 18 to 1 '9
a Pelton
times
it normally ranges from 2 to 2
its
' 2
wheel
normal
times
from
^
speed
its
2
, for
normal
5 to >
a Francs
speed
times
.
an
its
tnru-
turbine
for
normal
a
Kaplan turbine it normally ranges
speed .
21- 21 SURGE TANKS
As indicated earlier when the load on the generator decreases
the governor reduces the rate of flow of water striking the runner
in order to maintain the constant speed of the runner . But the
sudden reduction of the rate of flow in the penstock may lead to
setting up of water hammer in the pipe, which may cause excessive
inertia pressure in the pipeline due to which the pipe may burst.
Two devices viz . , deflector and relief valve as described earlier are
thus provided to avoid the sudden reduction of the rate of
flow in
the penstock. But neither of these devices
are of any assistance
when the load on the generator increases and
the turbine is in need
of more water. Thus in order to fulfil
ments, in addition to the above noted
both the above noted require
devices certain
-
such as sufcjc tank and fovsbay are other devices
are employed in the case
usually employed .Surge tanks
and medium head hydro
plants where the penstock is
er n
-
power
for medium and low head hvr| ^ ° ’^ an
hydropower plants wi
<
^^
orekays are suitable
the penstock is short . wnere the length of

wL?:rdnCai ^ ^
An ordinary surge tank
i
reservoir, as shown in Fig. 0 pen'
21 T 3 toPPed storage
at a point as close as possible
is kept well above the~
to the turbine T ^ th ® penst 0ck
' 1 U p p e r ilp of tank
When the load on the
maximum water level •
m
turbine is stearlv , the suPPty reservoir .
no velocity variations in
the pipeline ^ J normal and there are
gradient oaav The water
surfaced * ?
Wi
th surge “
be a normal pressure
tank will be lower
 HYDRAULIC TURBINES 995
the re se rv oi r su rfa ce by an am ou nt equal to the friction head
*I
^
1
s n the pip ® co nn ec tin g the res erv oir an d the su rg e tan k When .
1oa d on the ge ne rat or is re du ce d , tur bin e ga tes are clo sed an d
he
tjie Nv ate r mo vin g tow ard s the tur bin e ha s to m ov e ba ck wa rd . The
ected wa ter is the n sto red in the su rg e tan k in the sp ac e be tw ee n
leve ls a an d b an d a ris ing pr es su re gr ad ien t ob b1 is de ve lop ed .

-
SURGE TANK
REISEVRV OI R • . • IV
~
>- » L . S s:
a
c

A
X
yilHHMBP

>
O X
6
x x
.9
X
e
(a ) ( b) (C)
a
7 \

<TPI3ER
OVER
PLOW
7 = s rar-
o
c FORTS
T
uoBrtkuHaa aam«JKaiiJ

*• >

(a )

Z
YA
A
r/
77777777?7777777777777777. V \

zz
•v zz
//////s/ £r
7* %
77
/ / / // / / // // / / / / / / / / / / / / // / /YY/
^^^
Fig . 21 13 Different
* types of surge tanks
up in the su rg e tan k re du ce s the ve loc ity
The retarding head so built
co rre sp on di ng to the re du ce d dis ch arg e
of flow in the pipline
required by the turbine. , the go ve rn or op en s
When the load on the ge ne ra to r inc rea ses
th e rat e of flo w en ter ing the ru nn er .
the turbine gates to increase
by th e tu rb in e is pa rtl y me t by the
The increased demand of water
a an d c in the su rg e tan k . As su ca the
water stored between levels gr ad ien t
tan k fa lls an d a fal lin g pr es su re
water level in the su rg e
, tan k de ve lo ps an ac cc e ^
,
occ is developed . In other words , the m ge
lirc e
tQ a
lerating head which ten ^^^ ^
value corresponding
turbine.
incasesto tne
required by the
i
 AND FLUI D MEC HAN ICS
996 HYDRAULICS
c i i r e-e t a n k s a r e a l s o s h o w** .
The various other t y p e s n U»
e t a n k > t y p e ( fi )
Fig. 2

SSSCSKT
1 '1 3. T y p e ( a ) i s a cor nea W

^ .,;.Z. r$
overflow

« » ,
h «
T
may be less than
P *
that of ,
a
same stabilising effect its capac ity sln ple
cylindrical surge tank. This is so becau se in a diffe renti al ta.uk
retarding and accelerating heads are devel ope or ® Prorn pby
only t up
than
in a simple surge tank in which the head s in
gradually
as the tank fills. Moreover no water is spille d to waste from the
differential tank . Type d ) ( is also simil ar in perfo rman ce to the
differential tank , but it is suitab le waen appro priate earth or rock
excavation can be carried out .
Illustrative Example 21 1 Prove that the maximum efficiency
‘

of Pelton wheel occurs when the ratio of bucket velocity u to the jet veto
city V is given by the experssion
-
u
P ~ V = [l-
2
—
1 cos 0 -f- &i
cosd ) + k1+ ki
where the loss due to bucket friction and shock is
kj ( V u )
vg
— 2
and that due to bearing friction and windage losses
expre ssed as
as
( k
k2 ~ ) ; kx and k2 are constants and 0 being the bucket angle at out -
Ut . Neglecting volumetric losses.
Solution :
Gonslde g the losses given in
t
work done per unit weight the probl em the net amount of
of water
1
r -
Thus
~ t (
T -
«)( i c o s 0) ] u k F~ M )
1
(
2g
a
k
«2
— %
l
(V - U ) 2
2g k —
F 2

2g
For V t0 be f
maximum drL
respect to ut we get

22 2 (
_ du J
F 2tt ) ( i ——
°» thus by differentiating with

or
du
# Ly

( V ~ 2u ) ( ( _ _ cos —^ — — u ) ~~ 2 k9u

(F u) ~ k u~0
2
—
1 =0 :
 22
Performance of Turbines

22 1 INTR ODU CTIO N

Turbines are often required to work under varying conditions
! speed , output and
of head , gate openin g As such , in order to
i
; , ,
predict their behav iour , it is essem - * i *0 StUCty the performance of
•
the turbin
tne turDineess under
under the varying conditions The variations in the
conditions for worki ng may be as follows :
| ( i ) The head and hence the output of the turbine may change,
1 the speed being correspondingly adjusted so that no appreciable
-change in efficiency occurs, the gate opening remaining constant.
( n ) The output may be varied by the movements of the gates
or the spear (or needle) ; the head and speed remain ing consta nt .
of the turbin es.
J These are the normal operating conditions for
.
most
Such variat ions are comm on
( Hi The head and speed may vary
)

particularly in low head units , It may , howev er , be stated that -

al
though the speed is permitted to vary within very narro w limits , the
head may vary by even 50 % or more i4 % N wi
-
( iv ) The speed may be allowed to vary by adjust ing the load on
'the turbine ; the head and gate opening remain ing const ant . These
labora tory turbin es or those in
conditions can be developed only for
the test plant and are otherwise uncommon.
turbine worki ng under
between the perfor -

to facilitate the comparison

certain specific quautiii&s a so recmired to be const
these quantities are explained in the next p
i
 HYDRAULICS AND FLUID MECH ANICS
1016
UNDER UNIT HEAD — UNIT
222 PERFORMANCE
QUANTITIES
turbin e corre spond ing to differ ent work ing
From the outpu ts of a
comp ute the outpu t whic h would be deve loped
heads it is possible to speed
if the head was reduced to unity (say 1 metre ) ; the being
adjusted so that the efficie ncy rema ins unaf fecte d . The e ciency of
unch anged if the veloci ty triangl e under
a given turbine will remain
working head H and under unit head are geom etric ally simil ar so -
that shock at entry is avoided.
Fig . 22 1 show
*
s two inlet veloc ity triang les for Franc is turbi ne -
worki ng head H and under unit head , the subsc r ipt w
under its
being used to denote unit conditions . But these triang les are simil ar
if their corresponding sides are parallel. It then follow s that
n uu an
, u __ • •• ( 22 T )*
~
VW ( VW U ) Vf (V f u )

Further it may be shown that

I {Y mUjg ) ( Viuu } ('Uu ) I (j ( VUIM IQ ) ( VM U ) i^' u ) Iff
( F/A f ) ~
( r f J / 2 g ) ’ ( F/12/ ?
2
'

) “ ( „
Vn l 2
2 g )

The above expression indicates that the ratio of the useful

energy to wasted velocity energy is same under the unit head and

v* w.

'
1 Q
- v, *\b
A T
© ’ '
ve T
vru \ t vfu
V
» Vf ic ±
FOR HEAD H
C FOR UNIT HEAD

-
Fig. 22 1 inlet velocity triangles
of head H and unit head
the working head conditions. In other words the required
o unchanged efficiency is fulfilled condition *
. Thus
- f
Ph
^ hu j QJ
m ^£t x i
ut/ u'U' u,

•••( 22 2}< -
Eliminating Vw and V mu from equations
22 T and 22‘2
2 fc u
uu = T
2
or K „
—V H " ~
•••( 22 -3)
and F, V/ Vf
( 22 - 4}.
2
=u or Vfu =
vH t # •
 mKruKMANCE OF TURBINES
1017
Since u
JxDN
60
N
— and
60 it follows that
Nu=
V E ••• ( 225)
Nu represents the speed of the turbine under unit head
where
• js known
t
as speed . and
Further it can be shown that both the speed ratio
ratio remain canstant $ and the
flow under the head E and the unit
ead.
The rate of flow and Qa= ( kxDB )Vu , hence
Vfu
l

where Qu
Q
represents the
v/ V E ’ •
1
~
• ~
Qu
VE
Q
—
•••( 22 '6)

discharge flowing through the turbine under

a unit head and is known as unit discharge .
The power developed
P ^ iwQH )
and
^
P= ( wQuX 1 ) YJ 0 , hence
Pu ~
Qu
~
1
* p
_ _
u
_P
•( 227)
P Qx E ’ E 3/2 » *

where Pu represents the output of the turbine under unit head and

—
is known as unit power .
T
—
Although the above expressions have been deduced from the
velocity triangles of a Francis turbine, the same are applicable to all
types of turbines. The advantage of obtaining the performance at
unit head is that from the known values of discharge Q , speed N and
power P of a turbine working under head E , the values Qv Nx and P1
corresponding to some other head Hx may be computed as indicated
below :
Since Nu and Pu will be same for both the heads , as such
Q« = ( QlJH ) = { QJ V BJj % Q iQyfSfth/ IT
V H ( N / H
^
Nu= / ( N ) = 1l s 1 ) :
I 2 12
1 MPHI I
P„= ( P/53 = 1/ '
2) ( P if
'
3 2 ) ; P 3 )
^
that
The above derived expressions are based on the assumption
the efficiencies remain constant at all the heads , which is however
.
not correct In practice it has been found that the efficiency vary ’
~
with head which will cause the
-
scale effect .
The expressions for the various quantities <as derived above
can be used for comparing the performance of any one turbine only
Under different conditions of operation .
HowewF ; accoFdmgto
as
another definition for the unit quantities for the unit quantities

r
 AND FLUID ME CH AN IC S
1018 ; HYDRAULICS
mo re gen era [l expressions foi• tbe
perf( . J

-
indicated bel ow
Tame

- - .
be ob tai ned wh ic * the typ e . Ac cor din g to
def
this
ine d
hfunbW po we r are
°
-
? disc har ge and uni t
definition the unit speed , unit " ~ ~;er 0f a turbine having
d

rsrszssi J U *
f »r

head )
Thus fro m equ atio n 22 3 *

1
60
^
n X lx N u Jx J60!
“
v
\
ND • ( 22 5 a )
—
*
**

or Nu \/ H
22 6 and 22 7 the fol
* low ing exp res sio ns
Similarly fro m equ ati on s
for Qu and Pu may be obtained
Q • ( 22 6 a )
«
*

Qu =
DW H
and
P
—
Pu JJ Z H 6 Z , • ( 22 *7 a )
* *

the val ues of the uni t qu ant itie s ma y

By using these expressions
one tur bin e and the sam e app lies to all the
be determined for any
h.similar turbines of the sam e typ e .
sim
It
ilar
ma y
tur
how
bin es
eve
wL
r
U
be
Jb
sta
ee
led -tha
l__
-Oii
t the
ly if _
( ft yalues of the nnl t qu ant itie
their efficiencies are ecpial .
s for
Sin ce the eff ici enc ies of
-
eve n
ii
^
the ^sim ila r
tjurbines are not equal the val ues ofj tK eU nit qua nti ties wi llld so dif fer .
22 3 PE RF OR MA NC E UN DE R SP EC IFI C CO ND ITI ON S
The performance of turbines under unit head facilitates the
‘ com par iso n of tur bin es of the sam e typ e . Ho we ver , the tur bin es of
different types may be compared by considering an imaginary
turbine called specific turbine . The specific turbine is an imaginary
turbine which is identical in shape, geometrical proportions, blade
angles, gate setting etc., with the actual turbine but reduced to such
a size that it will develop one metric horse power under unit head .
The suffix s is used to denote the symbols expressing the performance
* of the specific turbine

Fig. 22 2 shows the actual and the specific runners for two types
of turbines. Since the actual turbine under unit conditions and the
•
specific turbine both work under a head of 1 metre it is evident that
.
the velocity triangle abc in Fig 22T will hold good for the specific
turbine as well. In other words us uu , V f V f u etc. Now
Qu ~ nD( nD )Vfu and Qs= nDs( nDt )V fs 8 = —
Qu /
( ~7
v
••
Q . VD J. * •• ( 22 3)
k
% PERFORMANCE OF TURBINES
10 J 9
.Again P * wQuX 1 Xvj0 ; and pa
Assuming 7]0 to be same for both
=
^= wQs x i x i)o

P„ Qu f D \2
p3

—
* •• ( 22 9)
*

-
f no j
nDsh-
~
^
0 0S

ACTUAL SPECIFIC (a)

RUNNER FRANCIS TURBINE
RUNNER

/ A
*
,0

EE
* zd = ( Ds /m )

C$ = ( D / m) ACTUAL SPECIFIC
' WHEEL WHEEL
(b) PELTON WHEEL

Fig 22 2. *
Actual and specific runners
Equation 22 9 shows that the power of geometrically similar turbines
working under the same head varies as the square of the runner
diameters.
P
Since Ps = l h .p ( by .
definit ion ) and Pu = jpT2
31
D DH *
Dt=
n DNU
Further uu 60

and 7T DSN a
60
but Uu Us 5

bence 7 iDNn 7T DSN ,(

60 60
 1020 HYDRAULICS AN D FLU ID ME CH AN ICS

JL N ,= NU D V Pu •••( 22 10
>
N
but Nu= V H
P
and £ 3 /2
~
N */ P •» • ( 22 11)
Na=
*

Bbl*

This value of N 8 , the speed of s eci_fic

exa
run
ctly
ner
sam e
is
rel
kno.
ati
wn
on
as
specific speed . For any other turbine also shi p ,

for Ns may be derived.

A significant point about the abo ve not ed exp res sio n for the
specific speed is that it is ind epe nde nt of the imen sions oi size,
both of the actual turbine and of the spe cifi c turb ine. It therefore
means that all turbines of the sam e geo me tric al sha pe , working
hav ing the
under the same values
efficiency, will have the
of
sam
<f
>
e
and
spe
4* »
cifi c
an
spe
(

ed ^
thu
, no
s
ma tter
same
what their
sizes be and what powers they develop under what heads As .
such it may be stated that Ns represents the specific speed of the
actual turbine, as well as of the specific turbine. T herefore, the .

following general definition for the specific speed may be given .

The. specific speed of any turbine is the speed in r.p .m. of a tur
bine geometrically similar to the actual turbine but of such a size that
-
under corresponding conditions it will develop 1 metric horse power when
working under unit head (i .e., 1 metre ) .
The specific speed is usually computed for the operating condi
tions corresponding to the maximum efficiency.
-
It may be seen from equation 2211, which is dimensionally
nonI'homogeneous, that the specific speed is not a pure . By
^
num ber
considering the dimensions of N , P and H it can be
shown that the
value o f N s in metric units is equal to
about 4 44 times its value in
'

F.P.S. units.
There exists a general trend to
select a turbine of higher
specific speed because higher specific
speed of a turbine results in the
reduction of the runner diameter as
well as the overall size of the
runner, due to which the weight and the .
cost of runner are reduced
This may be explained from equation
22 T 1 which shows that for
a given power output and head ,
an increase in the specific speed
permits a higher speed of rotation for
ing to which even for a runner of
the turbine runner, correspon -
smaller diameter a higher peri -
 PERFORMANCE OF TURBINES 1021
may he devel
velocity
asTn 38 its overall
As s h hv
^
.
Crea*hg the
pheralthe runner diameter ' ?
speed
^ ; ! / ** he r
,?? -
•** ^
as shown in Illustret ple Ss p
Furthermay be expressed
turbine
* » i » %
*"
^ -
,= 3 65 JVU VQur 0 ,
jYom the above expression itis seen that the specific speed may be
incr eased by increasing the unit speed Nu or unit discharge Qu . It is,

ph
Ns = 50

m
-— i

NS = I 0 0

Ns = 2 f 0

m
j

Ns = 300 Ns = 500 Ns = 700

.
Fig 22’ 3 Relative sizes of turbine runners developing
same power under same head for different
specific speeds

given discharge Q and head H

tion ally to the square
» « inc«®d
r0M
discharge may be increase
, -
- SSCi
^
- th

* fjs
*
a
tr
Z Z.
reduced and the discharge
As indicated
and
in Chapter
consequently
through
,

required
the runner must
wing
turbine
to
through

allow
t ie
operating
larger
.
& larger area of
a
charge
low head
to flow
passage,
^
 1022
which

( or
ma

dis
y be

cha
ob

rge
of an axial flow

been illustrated
types of runners
tam

an ,
e

d
tnr
other types of turbines
in
de
he
b
—
sig
HYDRAULICS
, bv designing
y

ne

Fig
ne
.
d
s
hav
22
to
the
hu s axiaJ

ad ,
..he
6 1

ing
3
dev
run
flo

-
wh
w
ne
AND

r. r s^
am
h
^
r
tur

low
ich
elo p
FL
wi

ete
UI
th
bin es

et

sa
D

sho
me
ME

ax
CH

ial
are h

ws
po
AN

fl.

^ ^ ^. ^
IC

ov

rel
we
S

r
sp
at . .
r ee
ve
an d
dS
s z
op
Th
es
era
is
of
tin
fac
g
act

u
t£t
na
dlffer„ea
de
1

s
t
j

dif fer en t sp ec ifi c sp ee ds. It ma y be se en fro ni

the same head, for run ne r
sp ee d rad ial flo w wi th a lar ge
Fig. 22 3 that for low sp ec ifi c
diameter and relatively na rro w flu id pa ssa ge , is req uir ed to be pro .
inc rea sed spe cif ic sp ee ds tne 1 min us of sm all er
vided , and for
r flo w pa ssa ge s are req uir ed to ! > < pro vid ed ,
diameters and wide
It may thus be stated tha t an inc rea se in the spe cif ic spe ed of
a turbine results in the red uct ion of the dia me ter as we ll as the over *

all sizes of the tur bin e run

a
ner
co
,

rre
Sin
spo
ce
nd
thi
ing
s red
red
uc
uc
tio
tio
n
n
in
in
siz e of a tur
the cost, it is
-
bine runner wi leall d to
evident that for economic reasons a turbine runner with highest
SDecific speed possible should be selected .
22 4 EXPRESSIONS FOR SPECIFIC SPEEDS IN TERMS OF
-
KNOWN CO EFFICIENTS FOR DIFFERENT TURBINES
From the general expression for the specific speed represented
by equation 2211 it is possible to obtain the expressions for specific
speed in terms of known co-eflicients for different
cated below :
turbines as indi -
,
(a Specific Speed of Pelton
Wheel. An expression for the
specific speed of Pelton wheel may be obtained
Kv ) , and,, „
as indicated below • * tCr mS
, , (
f ot
“
? °
?
u= <f, V 2 gB as
6U
A Y-f 60
^KD
p wQ H Cv V 2 gH
Xylo = X #7)0
75
75
or —
P 46 36 ( Cvd QV 2
\ )
*

Since «> = 1000 kg/ms and

0 = 9 81 m /sec2 - .
 PERFORMANCE OF TURBINES 10 23:
N *f P
Thus, Nt= ,
r
// M
_ ( 84 67 ) 0 (V H~ ) ( 46 36 ) l/2 ( O1,/i2y]0fir3/ 2 ) l / 2
'

D( l p / 4 )
_ ( 576 - 6
or
N ,=
* 46, C„
^ ( \/ C
( D/ d ) ^
-
) ( 576‘6 ) ( Ot, Ylo) 1 /a
^m •• * (22* 12 )

Now taking <£ = 0 = 0 98 and v)0 = 0’85, which are the

SU al values, equation 22 '
12 gives
11
242 - 1
Ns =^ m •••( 22 -13)
Equation 22 13 gives a relationship between the specific speed
*

jf and jet ratio m for a single jet Pel ton Wheel. Since the value of
m is more or less constant and in most of the cases it is equal to 12 ,
almost all the Pelton wheels have the same specific speed , However,
in some exceptional cases an abnormally low value of m equal to 7
has also been used . As such from equation 22‘13 it is found that for
i n varying from 7 to 12 the value of Ns varies from about 35 to 20,
which is quite a narrow range.
For a multiple jet Pelton wheel having number of jets n, the ex-
pression for specific speed may be obtained in a similar manner. The
discharge will be (nQ ) and hence the power will be ( nP ). Therefore,
the specific speed in this case will be (\/ n ) times the specific speed
for a single jet Pekon wheel.
( b ) Specific Speed of Francis Turbine. For Francis turbines
an expression for the specific speed may be obtained in terms of
V aiJd n as indicated below :
uDN
u — f
( ) V 2 gU
= 60 ’
- ,
84 67 <f y/ B
N= D
wQH
/5
XY) 0 =
n (
^
2
w nD )
^ 4 2 gH ( HX
75
'f ]0 \

or P = l 85 5 { knD '\> H
’ 2 3 l2
ri 0 )

•»
NVT
5/
tf *
_ - ( 84 67) V H 185 5 1/ 2 ( & #‘-f yffa /-2 /)0 / 2
(
^ )
) tt 1

DE 5 li

or
N'^ UMMVJcn o ) ] •••(22 14 )
^
*
 HYDRAULICS AND FLUID MECHANICS
" 2024
» 7 A HP constant , equation 22 14 ' indicates
* on speed ratio ,
that specific s p e e d , for Francis
.
turbines depends
Generally ranges from 0 6 to *
flow ratio iji and breadth ratio n
* .
- ,
0 9, 4 ranges from 0 15 to
variation of any or
,
'

all
'
0
of
available
30 and
these
for
» ranges
will alter
Francis
.
from
N ,
turbines
0
and
10

as
to 0
hence
45

compared
a
The
much
to
greater range of N is
that for Pelton wheel .
Francis turbine runners are classified as slow runners { Ns = 60
to 120 ) , normal or medium runners [ —
Ns 120 to 180 ) ana fast runners
—
( JSf 9 180 to 300 ) . It has been
60 to 180 is obtained by
observed
increasing n and
that
tj/ ,
the
but
increase
to attain
in
the
A , from
higher
value, it would be necessary to increase simultaneously 0 and n .
It may, however , be pointed out that in order to increase Na the
values of and |t ; cannot be increased to any value , because unduly
higher values will result in increased hydraulic losses and consequently
lower efficiency . It has been explained in Chapter 21 that as the
value of n increases the runner shapes are also altered . For slow
runners the flow is predominantly radial and exit is axial. For fast
runners the flow is more or less axial both at entry and exit .
(c ) Specific Speed for Kaplan and Propeller Turbines .
Since these axial flow turbines work under low heads, it is evident
from equation 22 11 for N 8 that these turbines have very high specific
*

speeds ranging from 300 to 1000. As for the Francis turbine in this
case also it can be shown that

_ ( VCy[# V <Kl
60 V V g
s
-» ) ] ••

wn ( V2gr ) Y)o
« ( 22*15)

where Ll~ zTC and C 2

— 4x 75
Now if yj0 = 90 % = 0 35 then
'
iV s = 512' 4 ( 4& v/ ).
22 5 PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTIC CURVES
The turbines are generally designed to
work at particular
values of H , Q , P , N and v)0 which are known
as the designed con -
ditions. But often the turbines aie re(
r luired
different from those for which they have been
to work at conditions
designed. Therefore,
it is essential to determine the exact behaviour
of the turbines under
the varying conditions by carrying out
tests either on the actual
turbines or on their small scale models, The
results of these tests are
usually graphically represented and the resulting
curves are known as
characteristic curves. For the sake of convenience
the characteristic
 PERFORMANCE OF TURBINES 1025
plo tte d in ter ms of un it qu an titi es , These characteristic
curves are are fol low ing thr ee typ es :
of the
curves Constant head characteristic curves, (or Main characteristic
W
curves) •

(fl ) Co ns tan t sp ee d ch ara cte ris tic cu rve s, ( or Op era tin g ch ara -
c
(eristicic cu rv es ) .
( Hi ) Constant eff ici en cy cu rv es .
(i ) Co ns tan t He ad Ch ara cte ris tic Cu rve s , In order to
obtain the
a
se
co ns
cu rv
tan
es
t he
the
ad
tes
an d
ts
a
are
co
pe
nst
rfo
an
rm
t
ed
gat
on
e op
the
en
tur
ing
bin
an
e
d
by
the
ma
spe
in-
ed
taining
is varied by ch an gin g the loa d on the tur bin e . A ser ies of va lue s of
# are thu s ob tai ne d an d co rre sp on din g to eac h va lue of N , dis ch arg e
$ and the ou tpu t po we r P are me asu red . A ser ies of suc h tes ts are
performed by va ryi ng the ga te op en ing , the he ad be ing ma int ain ed
constant at the pre vio us va lue . Fr om the da ta of the tes ts the
values of Qu > Pu , Nu an d yj0 are co mp ute d for eac h ga te op en ing .
Then wi th Nu as ab sci ssa the va lue s of QU i Pu an d TQ 0 for eac h gat e
opening are plo tte d . Th e cu rve s thu s ob tai ne d for Pe lto n wh eel an d
the rea cti on tur bin es for fou r dif fer en t gat e op en ing s are sho wn in
Fig. 22 4. *

Fo r Pe lto n wh eel s sin ce de pe nd s on ly on the ga te op en ing

d
an is ind ep en de nt of Na , the Nu v / s Qu plo ts are ho riz on tal str aig ht
lines. However , for low spe cif ic sp ee d , Fr an cis tur bin es Nu vj s Qu
are drooping curves , the reb y ind ica tin g tha t as the spe ed inc rea ses
the discharge through the tur bin e de cre ase s . Th is is so be cau se in
these turbines a cen trif ug al he ad is de ve lop ed wh ich ret ard s the
flow. Since the centrifugal head inc rea ses wi th the spe ed , the flo w
through the turbine is reduced as the sp ee d inc rea ses . On the oth er
hand, for high specific speed , Francis tur bin es as we ll as Ka pla n
turbines since the flow is axial there is no suc h cen trif ug al he ad
developed which may cause the retardation of the flo w .
The curves of N u / v s Pu an d N u v / s Y ] 0 are pa rab oli c in sh ap e
' 4. It wi ll be ob ser ve d
for the different turbines as shown in Fig . 22
that for a Pelton wheel, for each gate op en ing the ma xim um va lue
f > jo is attained at almost the same va lue ot N u wh ich co rre spo nd s
° of rea cti on
to 0 = 0 46 [ 4>= ( N un D ) / 80 { V 2 g ) ]
*

ma
- Ho
xim
we
um
ve r
va
, in
lue of
cas
%
e
is att ain ed at
turbines for each gate opening the
different values of N u .
(it ) Constant Speed Characteristic Ca rv es . In ord er to
dt ai n
° these curves the tests are pe r fo rm ed on the tur bin es at co ns -
tent speed. The constant speed is attained by reg ula tin g the ga te
 HYDRAULICS AND FLUID MECHANICS
1026
- rifcrhar,^e flowing through
• the turbine
1, -
opening thereby varying *the
discnarge &
. °
may or may not reman constant . The-
as the load varies . The head
power developed corresponding to each setting of the gate openmg
© FULL GATE OPENING
I
3!
Ci
LkJ
e>
^ 3/4 GATE OPENING

<
u
x ^ \l/2 GATE OPENING {CO FOR PELTON WHEEL
ifi
Q 1/4 GATE OPENING

UNIT SPEED Nu
©
Z5
t FULL
a. FULL
3/4
o:
LU
§ 1/ 2
o
CL

z 1/4
O

UNIT SPEED Nu UNIT SPEED

- Nu
FULT
© jj GATE OPENING '
3/4 GATE
2 FULL GATE OPENING
OPENING 3/4 GATE
31
<3
OPENING *
1/2 GATE
LU
iD OPENING 1/2 GATE **
cr
<
x
o
CO
-1/4 GATE
-^ OPENING
Q OPENING 1/4 GATE" ‘' '3? V

OPENING \
|j
—
(FOR KAPLAN TURBINE) (FOR FRANCIS TURBINE )
UNIT SPEED Nu
i

atMWaBOTW .
l JITUBP E

UNIT SPEED Nu
@

I
®„|t
>•
o
2
o: LU
u
cc PULL LL
IL
ill (JJ FULL
o 3/4
a X <
cr V2
2
Z3
1/4 Ul ?/4 '
>
o 1/4
UNIT SPEED
Nu
UNIT SPEED
(b) FOR Nu
REACTION iwewie
Fig . 22 - 4.
Constant head character
wheel and reaction *
ristics
turbines
for. Pelton
 PERFORMANCE OF TURBINES
1027
measured and the corresponding values of
knowing the total
„are computed.
load capacity of the turbine the
0

Further load niay be computed from the

<Te oh foil measured power
percent
, and a
-
2
of percentage of full load v / s is prepared . The
plot
f r ^
I 0 UJ different types of turbines working
curves thus
obtain °
spe ed
^
under constant head at varying gate openings
at constant
are shown in
Fig 22 ’ 5. From Fig . 22 5 , *
it will be seen that as the % full load

too

80
z
1
UJ
0- 60
w (1) KAPLAN TURBINE - Ns»700
4
(2) FELTON WHEEL - Ns «= 15
LU
(3) FRANCIS TURBINE- W£ =350 _
14) PROPELLER TURBINE - 1 = 600
^

100
PERCENTAGE OF FULL LOAD

-
Fig . 22 5. Percentage of full load v / s v) „ curves for different
types of turbines

increases vj0 also increases. In other words at reduced loads 7}0 is

also less, At 100 % full load ]0
v is near about the maximum efficiency
in all cases. It will be observed that the Kaplan turbine and the
Felton wheel maintain a high efficiency over a longer range of the
part load as compared with either the Francis or the fixed blade
propeller turbine , Therefore this is an important factor in the
selection of turbines .

noted graph , discharge ( Q ) v / s BHP

In addition to the above
aRd discharge v/ s rj0 graphs are also plotted which are shown in
Fl? 22 - 6. It will be seen from Fig . 22 ‘6 that BHP is directly
proportional to the discharge if the head is constant , and hence Q,

. However a minimum discharge Q

vls BBP graph is a straight line ,
0

Will be required to run the turbine at no load . The overall efficency

% creases with discharge and remains more or less constant beyond
^
a Particular
value of Q.
 AND FLurO MECHANICS
1023 HYDRAULICS

Ii A

a
X

! /
w

-.
9 -*
DISCHARGE Q

Fig. 22 ’ 6 Discharge v /s BHP and YJ 0 curves

( H i ) Constant Efficiency ( or Iso efficiency ) - Curves.
Fig. 22 7 shows the constant efficiency or iso efficiency curves.
'
-
These curves show the efficiencies of the turbine for ail conditions
of running and hence these are also known as universal characteris
tic curves of the turbine. In order to draw these curves the follow
--
mg procedure is adopted . By operating the turbine at about 8 to
10 gate openings, the corresponding number of v / a rJo and N „v / s
Qu ( or Pu ) curves are plotted as shown in Fig.
Nu
, 22 4. On the Nu »/«
a Set horizontal ,
)
( LCUrVeS lines
efficency) are drawn which will cut the
( each line representing the same
each gate opening at different points.
curves corresponding to
on the corresponding N , v/ s Qu ( or P„)
These points are projected
and the points of the same efficiency are
which are the iso- efficiency curves
graph titof
that the • •
urves
innermost iso
‘ u
Tf
curves
it
ls. >
i

- efficiencv
,
for each gate ening
joined by smooth curves
however
rnr
, clear r
from ^
the^
efficiency of the turbine and the
efficiencies. It will be seen from Fig. '
Z rePre^nts the
i
highest

22 7 that for a given unit

discharge (or unit power ) if a vertical
line is drawn it will cut some
-
iso efficiency curve at two points and it
will touch some other inner
-
iso efficiency curve of higher efficiency ,
which may not have been
drawn, just at one point only. Thus for a given discharge the
unit
 - -.
A V A\ i;i 1SI il
1 UZTf

touch the curve max

line es
vertical. It, therefore, mean'? ^ ° if. the
-
urri •
Ciency at only on
point

points of
for
curve
- the best perfor
isoefficie ncy

some
s are

^^
f
value
j0

obtain each iso-efficiency7 cu7 ^

of
;

are
peak

the
the
the
CUrve
unit
°
tUri ine be
becau'-
discha
« the

rge
n
lhen we
peat
(
> ’
points of maximum
or unit power )
various

.
efficiency
Vith the help of these charac teristi c curves it is possib le to predic t
\
the best perfo rmanc e of the turbin e . Thus if the gate openin g is
known then the point of inters ection of the Nu v / s Qu (or PM ) curve
for this gate openin g and the best perfor mance curve will represent
the condi tions for the best perfor mance for that particular gate

ISO - EFFICIENCY CURVES

BEST PERFORMANCE CUtVE

60

70

j 60

Nu 50
<J 0

30
mm
IGO 140 180 220 260 ' 300

Fig . 22' 7 Constant efficiency curve or Universal

characteristics ul a Francis turbine
opening. From this point unit discharge ( or unit power ) can be
known by drawing a vertical line and unit speed by drawing a
horizontal line. Now if the head on the turbine is known the
discharge Q , the power output P and the speed N for maximum
efficiency at this gate opening can be computed. On the other
hand if the head H and the speed N are known, then unit speed Na
can be computed. Then by drawing a horizontal line for this value
f Nu , to cut the best performance line, the point of maximum
°
efficiency is known corresponding to which unit discharge or unit
power can be obtained , and as before the discharge Q and power
^ Can be calculated at which the turbine efficiency will be maximum
for the given head E and the speed N .
 n1 n
J U -iU
MODEL TESTING OF TURBINES
22 '

a
^tUal
geometrically similar to the actual turbine is first prepared rhich
. k
various linear dimensions of the model turbme bear the s a t n *
corresponding dimensions ot the actual
portion to their turhj
turbine is then tested under a known head , speed
The model and
flow and its output as well as the efficiency are dete
rate
be possible to predict the rmined ,
From these test results it will perforrnanCe
of the actual turbine . Moreover on the basis of the test results
so done in the if
the design is to be modified it may be model turbine
without incurring much expenditure . Thus model testing of turbines
assists in obtaining a perfect design for the actual turbines, as Well
as in the development of the new types oi turbines with higher specific
speed and better efficiency.
The various variables involved in this case are discharge Q
head H , speed of rotation of runner N , runner diameter D , output
power Pt mass density p and viscosity /A of the flowing fluid. It
may
however be stated that in the problems of turbomachines generally
shaft work glJ is used as one of the variables instead of head
H
These variables may thus be grouped into fallowing
dimensionless
parameters :
Q gE P A
ND ’ N *D* J ' * pgHND / \9 ND*
3 3 ’

The parameter
GVT ) * )3
S known as discharge number or flow
number, is known as head number , and P
is known
pgHND
! Their
"
®y Combini g these parameters '
expressions may be “ alternative
obtained. i. bus the discharge number may
also be expressed as Q
Z %/ gJJ
) 2 and the power number as
( pgH 3/ 2
D 2 ) Furtker
by dividing the square
'
root of the power
number by the head
number raised to power ( 3 4 ) the following
dimension!6SS Parameter n, is /
obtained

The parameter » is
. p!/ 2

-
known
number of the turbine as dimensionless shap
. specific speed or
ma how 1 , be
1
out PUtt ’ P
'
Power has been ^
noted that i
ln the above expressions the
considered in terms of ( kg- m/sec) But ^
 PERFORMANCE OF TURBINES 1031

ou tpu t po we r P is co nsi de red in ter ms of ho rse po we r the n in the

th e
ex pre ssi on s P wi ll ha ve to be replaced b y ( 7 5 x P ) . Further
above
for water sin ce p = 10 2 ms l / m 3, the dim en sio nle ss spe cif ic spe ed na
becomes
W, “
iW 75 xP
,
N, _
( 102 ) ( 9 8 i ) # / 4 20 24
1 2 5
'
'4 5

or iVa 2 —
Q ‘24 ns

which gives the rel ati on sh ip be tw ee n the spe cif ic sp ee d ( eq ua tio n

22 11'
) an d the dim en sio nle ss sp ec ifi c spe ed .
For complete sim ila rit y to ex ist be tw een the mo de l an d the
(
actual or protot yp e ) tur bin es the ab ov e no ted pa ram ete rs mu st
- have the same values for the mo de l an d the pro tot yp e tur bin es .
The parameter f rePresents Re yn old s nu mb er wh ich sh ou ld
also be equal in the mo de l an d the pro tot yp e tur bin es for co mp let e
similitude. Bu in t act ua l pra cti ce , it is not po ssi ble to ha ve the
same va lue of the Re yn old s nu mb er in the mo de l an d the pro tot yp e
turbines, on account of co ns ide rab le dif fer en ce in the ir siz es .
However, since the flo w in the pro tot yp e tur bin e is tur bu len t , it ha s
been ob ser ve d tha t if the flo w in the mo de l tur bin e is als o tur bu len t
then even if the Reynolds numb ers are no t eq ua l for the mo de l
and the prototype turbines the sim ila rity be tw een the m can be
^ ensured .
Thus for the complete sim ila rity to ex ist be tw een the mo de l
and the prototype turbines , the fol low ing co nd itio ns ma y be req uir ed
to be satisfied :
Q rQ 1
3 ND »
ND m
y •• ( 20
®
'16)

Q Q
or j
D W gH m D W gH /v

( \ J & _\ ee o ( 20 - 17)
2)
\N D / m \N D
2 2 2
V

1
P
pgHND 3 ) ( pj H N & X
m
=
# •* (20 18)*

or

(
f
N* P ) -( p NV P
( gU ) 5 4
). r •c -
( 20 19)
1/ 2
'
 HYDR AULIC AND FLUID MECH ANICS
1032 S
and also pm Px the abov©-
Since in most of the cases gm= (h> >

simpli fied as follows.

conditions may be
Q
N D Jm
3 =
f Q
!
\ N D 3 ). 1
I •• • ( 20 16 a )
t
*

Q Q \
or
DWB mDWH ). J
9
•• ( 20 17 a )
\N D% %
Jm ' K
P 1
(- VJ) - f
V END ' p
3
) I
KHN DVm •••( 20 18 a }>
*

f P
or

f N 4 P ( N4 P \ *** ( 20 19 a )
'

\ 51
H * V /75 / 4 /
m

where the subscri pts m and p refer to model and prototy pe turbine s ,

respectively. By determ ining the values of P , H , N and D from the

model tests the values of the above noted parame ters are determ ined *
which will be same for both the model and the prototy pe turbine s .
For the prototype turbine since its diamete r D and head H are
) known, its speed N , power P and discharge Q can thus be calculated
with the help of the known values of these parameters .
A little consideration will show
, that the above noted conditions;

may be achieved if <f> , and Ns have the same values for the model
^
and the prototype turbines. Further it may be seen that the various
terms in the above expressions represent the unit quantities and
hence for similarity between the model and the prototype turbines
the values of the various unit quantities must be equal for the both .
Ihe above noted conditions for establishing the similarity
between the modej. and the prototype turbines are based on the
assumption that tne efficiencv of the model is equal to that of the
prototype. However, tne efficiencies of the model
and the prototype
turbines are not equal. This is so because
the: energy losses are
proportionately more in the model turbine than
that in the prototype
turbine. As such the efficiency of the
model turbine is lower than
* . . of the Prot<> type turbine. On account of difference in the
efficiencies of the mode! and the prototype
would be developed and it would
turbin es the scale effect
therefore be a possible source of
error m predicting the performance of
the prototype turbine on the
basis of the mode! test results. However
by modifying the above -
 vtKrUKMANCE OF TURBINES
1033
d co nd it io ns fo r th e si m ila ri ty th e er ro r du e to su ch
note el im in at ed . Th e m od ifi ed
a scale effect
may be ex pr es sio ns for the similarity
may be obtained as indicated below.
conditions
If an d n ar „
e th e overall efficiencies of the model and the
orototype tu rb in es re sp ec tiv el y, then
* TT 1

‘Oom
‘ (r w* )m ’ and v) 0 i>
\ H )9
where H an d T IL ar e re sp ec tiv el y th e head acting on the turbine and
the lo ss of he ad in ch e tu rb in e and the subscripts m and p refer to
model an d pr ot ot yp e re sp ec tiv el y . From the above expressions the
ne t ef fe ct iv e he ad s av ai la bl e fo r th e model and the prototype turbines
may be obtained as
\ I1 T iL ) m vj om [ H ) m
and { II T IL ) p ,
j>

By considering these values of the head in place of II in equations

22 16
* ( a ) to 22 "
19 ( a ) th e fo llo w in g ex pr es sio ns ar e ob ta in ed :

(D V r, ji )m (
Q
• •(1216 6)
W -%n / „
~ *
2
0

( yisM.\ 'i • « «* -
(22 17 b )

Pi
) m •• (22- 18 b )

N
7)o5(
\/
4#
P
5 4
' ' ).
7- N
(
) 05'
\
4 £
/ P
6 /4
/ *
• ( 22 19
91 b

rit
)

y
*

th e co nd iti on s fo r sim ila

These equations th us re pr es en t
w ith du e all ow an ce fo r
be tw ee n th e m od el an d th e pr ot ot yp e tu rb in es
the difference in their ef fic ie nc ie s.
of th e sp ec ifi c sp ee ds fo r th e
From equation 22 19 { b'
) th e ra tio
m ay be ex pr es se d as
model and prototype turbines
( N s )m f TFL.\ / 5 4

\ r] j>
' fro m th e
ef fic ien cy of a pr ot ot yp e tu rb in e
For determining the ng ge ne ra l ex pr es sio n ha s
m od el , th e fo llo wi
efficiency obtained fo r its
been given : - )
••• ( 22 20
\ I ]O P
1
where
’ lom and r)ov are
a e
th e ov er al l rf
* “ £££
• •
of
Prototype respectively, Dm arK*
1 ar e
®‘p
th e ea c
,
s \ -
h n (T on
er ic al
runners, IIm and Ev num
the Prototype turbines respectively and ^ ^^
 1034 HYDRAULICS AND FLUID MECHANI CS

exponents - Different values have been suggested for the exponents

a and {3 b\ different
» investigato rs , but the most commonly adopts
values are those recommended by L - f . Moody winch are a 0* 20 =
.
add p = 0 Thus equation 22 20 becomes
0 20
-
1
1
"Cop

f ] om

is
< WP )
however applicabl e
* * »

for head
( 22 20 a )

# < 150 m. For head H > 150 m the following relationsh ip has been
recommended : o io
25
0* / 77
1 — T) oj> Dm ) * • ( 22 20 h
«
)
DP HP
It may however be stated that
the
different
exponent
investigat
ot
ors have recom
varying from
-
mended different values for
0 04 to 010 in equation 22 ‘20 ( b ) .
*

-
22 7 CAVITATION IN TURBINES
When the pressure in any part of the turbine reaches the
vapour pressure of the flowing water , it boils and small
bubbles of vapour form in large numbers . These bubbles (or
vapour - filled pockets or cavities ) are earned along by the flow,
and on reaching the high pressure zones these bubbles suddenly
collapse as the vapour condenses to liquid again . Due to sudden
collapsing of the bubbles or cavities the surrounding liquid rushes
in to fill them . The liquid moving from all directions collides at
the centre of the cavity, thus giving rise to very high local pressures,

> which may be as high as 7000 kg / cm . Any solid surface in the

2

vicinity is also subjected to these intense pressures. The alternate

formation and collapse of vapour bubbles may cause severe damage
to the surface which ultimately fails by fatigue and the surface
becomes badly scored and pitted . This phenomenon is known as
camtcdion .
In reaction turbines the cavitation may occur at the runner j
exit or the inlet to the draft tube where the pressure is considerably
reduced. Due to cavitation the metal of the runner vanes and the
draft tube is gradually eaten away in these in
zones which results
,
lowering the efficiency of the turbine. As such the
nents should be so designed that as far
turbine compo - I
as possible cavitation is
eliminated. In order to determine in
whether cavitation will occur
any portion o the tuibine, D . I bom a of
German y has develop ed j
a dimensionless parameter called Thom, is
a’* cavitation Jfactor a which
expressed as
a =
•

E * •»
-
( 22 21 )
 -
1035
here
hea d ;
Ba
#
"
» *
b atm osp heri
pre
c pres
are
sure
hea d (
hea d ; .
H is vapour pressure
or height of runner
outl et abo ve
rac e ) ; and H is wor lou g hea d of turb ine .
Wi > of cavi tatio n can be
Complete similarity
j« resp ect ensu red if the value of a is same in
the mo del and the prototype Moreover it has
both on Ns of the
bee n f oun d that
a dep end s turb ine , and for a turbine of particular
fact or cr can be red uce d upto a certain value upto which
Ns
the its
efficiency v) 0 rema ins constant. A iurther decrease in
the value of
a res ults in a
.. .
shar p
.
fall
.
in .
rj 0 The valu e of at this turning point
is cal led crit ical cavi tatio n fact or ae . The value of ac for different
turbines may be det erm ined with the help of the following empirical
relationships .
For Francis turbines
ac = 0 625 *

v 444 ) •• « ( 22 - 22 )
For Propeller turbines

crc = 0 28 +
'

L 7 5V 444 J •• -
( 22 23)

For Kaplan turbines, values of a0 obtained by equation 22 " 23

should be increased by 10 percent.
( a ) Soeiion Specific Speed . In addition to Thoma’s criterion
the consideration of suction specific speed provides another very
useful criterion for establishing similarity in respect of cavitation in
the turbines. The suction specific speed 8 may be defined as the
speed of a geometrically similar turbine such that when it is develop
ing a power of 1 hp the total suction head H 8 V is equal to 1 m ( in
-
absolute units). According to this definition the expression for
suction specific speed may be obtained by replacing the total head
H in equation 22 11 for the specific speed by the total suction head
*

H SV • Thus

.° N±l
~~~
TJ
IJ - SV
5/ 4
*«a ( 22 - 24)

By having the same value of the suction specific speed for the model
and the prototype turbines the similarity in respect of cavitation can
Be established.
The total suction head Hsv can be exp res sed as
H 8V = H a - H v - Hs
and hence from equation 22 21 *

( 22 25)
Htv oH — * ••
*
 HYDRAULICS AN D FL UI D ME CH AN IC S
1036
sub stit uting the val ue oi Hsv in eq ua tio n 22 24 we get
By

4 /5
Ns -
or
° ~
\ s •* • < 26)
22

Equation 22 26
' rep res ents the rel ati on bet we en the tw o par a,.
meters a and S , both of which are useful for est abl ish ing a similarity
in respect of cavitation in the mo de l and pro tot yp e tur bin es . How.
ever, the concept of suction specific spe ed is mo re com mo nly used in
the case of pumps.
22 8 SELECTION OF TURBINES
*

The selection of a suitable type of turbine is usually governed

by the following factors :
(i ) Head and Specific Speed . It has been found that there
is a range of head and specific speed for which each type of turbine
is most suitable which is given in Table 22' 1 .

TABLE 221

8. N . Head in metres Types of turbine Specific speed

1 300 or more Felton wheel 10 to 55

Single or Multi
ple jet
-
v 2 150 to 300 Pelton or 35 to 100
Francis
3 60 to 150 Francis or 100 to 220
Deriaz ( or Dia -
gonal )
4 Less than 60 Kaplan or 220 to 1000
Propeller or
Deriaz or
Tubular
However
chosen , which will
turhfrl
possible a turbine with , , re
ral rU e k may be
3 §
’ '
highest permissible specific
sta ted tha t as
speed should be
far as

°
^
6 c )
small size and hioh f . ea ^
Pe st in its*elf bu t its rel ati ve ly
” ^
. 7'l
'
^ *
generator as well as power the siz e of ®
I wei honouse Bu B t the specific speed cannot
 PERFORMANCE OF TURBINES
1037
indefinitely because higher specific speed
increased turbi ne i
is
^ -
^
^
erally ° m re liable to cavit ation How ever , the cavitation may
ge by installing the turbine at a lower level with respect
avoidedrace.
to
1 the tail
^ ^
oa Oper ation r
(ii ) Part 4 . The turbines may be required
with consi derab le load variations. As the load deviates
vvork
the norm al work ing load r the effic iency would also vary. In
from
Fig 22 5
* a P ^
ot betw een * ] o ar * d % of full load has been show n ,

part load the perfo rman ce of Kapl an and Pelto n turbi nes is
in comp ariso n to that of Franc is and Prope ller turbin es ,
better
varia bility of load will influence the choice of type of turbine
The
if the head lies betw een 150 m to 300 m or lies below 30 m . For
higher range of head s Peko n whee l is prefe rable for part load
operation in comp ariso n to Franc is turbin e, thoug h the form er
involves highe r initia l cost . For head s below 30 m , Kaplan turbine
for part load opera tion in comp ariso n to Prope ller
is preferable
turbine.
In addi tion to abov e ment ioned facto rs there are certa in other
to be cons idere d for the selec tion of the suita ble type of a
factors
whic h inclu des the initia l cost and the
turbine. The over all cost
running cost shou ld also be consi dered . The cavit ation chara cteris -
turbi ne shou ld also be cons idere d since it affec ts the
tics of the
installation of a react ion turbi ne .
Exam ple 22 1 A *
Fran cis turbi ne work ing unde r
Illustrative
a head of 5 m at a speed of 210 r . p .m devel ops .
100 h . p. when the rate
of flow of wate r is T 8 mP / sec . The runn er diam eter is 1 m If the .
to 16 m , deter mine its new speed y
head on this turbi ne is incre ased
discharge and power .
Solution : ~
rN «fff , i r 210 Vl 6 ]
Nl L VF J i vs
= 375 7 r . p.*m.
,I - ^16 1
Qi=
r
L 4H J
ri
L
8
V5
_
= 3 22 m /sec
'
3

rPH, n rioox 6
( i )/
3 n
1
L //
3
' ~
3 /a
J L < 5p J
= 572 4 h . p.
-
*

an out
lUustra
in .tive Example 22
„ , -7 7 - 72 hvdranlic
4 tij
A turb ine
m
, has
at 100
pvt of 9000 h unde r a hmd f *>
p . when it works
 PERFORMANCE OF TURBINES
1037
indefinitely because higher specific speed
increased turb ine iis
I be
ene
ge rall y
ded
mo
by
re liab
inst
le
allin g
to cav
tbe
itat
turb
ion
ine
. Ho
at a
we ver , the cav itat ion
lower level with respect
may

-
*

beav rac e .
I t0 the tail
Par t Loa d Op era tion . Th e
t0 wo
(**
rk
)
wit h con side rab le load var iati ons
° As the load
re
dev
d
iate s ^ ^
nor ma l wo rkin g load , the effi S Vary- In
from the
a Plo bet w » > and % of u rj a
° 7
?' '
? '
Fig • 22'5
, ‘ * 1» d has bee n sho w*> -
At par t loa
com
d the
pari
per
son
form
to
anc
tha
e
t
of
of
Ka
Fra
n
n
]3 3
?d Pel
“'ton
.- ”
' bin es is

^
in Pro peli er bin es
“
,
better , •
vari abil ity of load will influence h6 Ch ice of VP15 of turbine
The
m nn ° '
150
prS 'T “
^
hea d lies betw een to 3 For
if the
ran ge of hea ds Pel ton whe el is for load
higher „ ° “ P £
Fra ncis
„, , 'il'L"? 7
in com par ison to t h
operation
« For h d bow
7
"»"pre f
. “.
"
' ferable to, par,
“ „per„ta
turbine
In add itio n to abo ve men tion ed fact ors ther e are cert ain othe r
factors to be con sid ere d .c or the sele ctio n of the suit able type of a
whi ch incl ude s the init ial cost and the
turbine. The ove rall cost
running cost sho uld also be con side red . The cav itat ion , cha ract eris -
sho uld also be con side red sinc e it affe cts the
tics of the turbine
installation of a reac tion turb ine .
Exa mp le 22 1
*
A Fra nci s turb ine wor king und er
Illustrative
a head of 5 m at a speed of 210 r .p .m dev .
elop s 100 h . p. whe n the rate
of flow of wat er is T 8 m ^ / sec . The run ner diam eter is 1 m . If the
to 16 m , dete rmi ne its new spe edy
head on this turb ine is inc rea sed
discharge and power .
Solution :
#1
-=
[3?H
375 7 r .
*
p. m .
210 \/ 16
V5 i
p 8'/16
'

C 4H -H VS
= 3 22 m
*
/ sec 3

_ rw n rio ox ( i 6)
J
3 /2 i
p
1
L572 4' h .p.
H J L 3 25 ) ( 8 /2

Illustrative Exa mp le 22 2 .
4
=
hijd ian lc
Uc
*

tur*
bin e has an
at
out
100
-
m and run s i
m of 9000 h p. when it works und er a hm d ° j