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Analytical investigation of Pelton turbine for mini hydro power: For the case
of selected site in Ethiopia

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DOI: 10.1016/j.matpr.2020.12.1038

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 Materials Today: Proceedings 46 (2021) 7364–7368

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

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journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matpr

Analytical investigation of Pelton turbine for mini hydro power:

For the case of selected site in Ethiopia
Samuel Tilahun a,⇑, Velmurugan Paramasivam a, Mebratu Tufa b, Alelign kerebih a,
Senthil Kumaran Selvaraj c
a
School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, College of Engineering and Technology, Dilla University, Dilla 419, Ethiopia
b
Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering,Hawassa University, Hawassa 05, Ethiopia
c
Department of Manufacturing Engineering, School of Mechanical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Vellore-632014, Tamil Nadu, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The present work shows the design of a Pelton turbine for micro hydropower. This present work aims to
Received 14 December 2020 design a Pelton turbine for micro hydropower that can produce a maximum power output of 32kw using
Received in revised form 22 December 2020 water resources available in Ethiopia’s rural areas with a maximum head of 15 m. This present work also
Accepted 25 December 2020
includes designing each component of the Pelton turbine and selecting material for each component. In
Available online 12 February 2021
this work, design calculations and detailed drawings are also shown. The design results are tabulated
based on variable head and flow rate. Material selection and the reason behind the selection are shown
Keywords:
based on criteria predetermined. Finally, the conclusion is derived from the result analysis. If the distri-
Pelton turbine
Mini hydropower
bution of the annual flow rate of water varies, the designed turbine will work up to a minimum flow rate
Flow rate of 0.15 m3/s delivering a minimum of 19.04 kW output power. This turbine will also work under the vari-
Turbine efficiency able head of 10 m to 15 m range, delivering appropriate power. This turbine will give 31.74 kW power
under a full head of 15 m and 19.04 kW power under a minimum head of 10 m. The designed turbine
can be used effectively for improving power shortage around rural areas of Ethiopia. It will give
31.74 kW output power if it works under full head and flow rate. It will serve 317 households living in
a rural area, assuming each household consumes 100 W.
Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 3rd International Con-
ference on Materials, Manufacturing and Modelling.

1. Introduction [3]. Moreover, more than 99.9% of the country’s rural energy con-
sumption is a mate by traditional fuels. The table below shows
The present work is concerned about the Pelton turbine design some examples of traditional fuel types and how they contribute
and its component that is used for micro hydropower to address to rural people [4]. Because of the many rivers flowing in the coun-
electricity for a rural area of the Ethiopian population. Besides, Pel- try, Ethiopia is often described as eastern Africa’s water tower [5].
ton turbine power transmissions are also carried out in this present Of the above exploitable potential in the country, about 1500 MW
work since it is necessary for determining the power output of the to 3000 MW would be suitable for small scale power generation,
turbine and efficiency [1]. The turbine consists of the following including Pico and Micro hydropower. The table below shows the
parts: nozzle, bucket, runner, and housing. Depending on the dis- regional distribution of the micro-hydro power potential of Ethio-
charge, head, and quality of the water, Pelton turbines are installed pia [6]. To design this, the actual parameters of a micro-
with a horizontal or vertical shaft, with 1 or 2 jets per runner [2]. hydroelectric plant, such as the water flows and head, are taken
Generally, the electrical generator is coupled directly to the shaft. into assumption, and the measuring methods of these parameters
The speed of turbines may be adjusted by belt drives or gearboxes are described in the present work literature review under the
Hydropower basics section for practical action [7]. Types of turbine
and type of generator are also selected, and solid work software is
⇑ Corresponding author.
applied during the design process. Micro-hydro schemes are smal-
E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (S. Tilahun),
ler in size, and they refer to systems with a capacity ranging from
[email protected] (V. Paramasivam), [email protected]
(S.K. Selvaraj). 1 kW [8]. Except for their power rating, micro-hydro power

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.12.1038
2214-7853/Ó 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 3rd International Conference on Materials, Manufacturing and Modelling.
S. Tilahun, V. Paramasivam, M. Tufa et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 46 (2021) 7364–7368

systems are not different from large or small hydro systems. For Assuming that the flow rate of water is Q = 0.25 m3/s
example, the operation principles, types of material units and the
mathematical equations used in selecting and designing system 3.2. Measuring potential power and energy
components are essentially the same as conventional/large hydro
systems [9]. This present work aims to design a Pelton turbine According to the Bernoulli energy equation, energy in water is
for micro hydropower that can produce 32 KW power using water stored in pressure, energy, and elevation energy. It can be further
resources available in a rural area of Ethiopia where 10 m – 15 m stated as [3]
head exists.
Presure v 2
P¼ þ þz ð2Þ
q  g 2g
2. Materials and method
The actual power that can be generated from the given source of
A Pelton turbine’s housing consists of the upper turbine housing water is thus,
and four side plates assembled with a bolt. All parts of the housing P ¼ qgHQ g ð3Þ
are made of steel plates bolted together, and it contains a hole at
the bottom side that used to bolt it into the ground during assem-
bling at the power station shown in Fig. 1. The material used to fab- 3.3. Calculation of the net head (Hn)
ricate a turbine affects its efficiency and power output.
Appropriate materials ensure that the turbines will function at
their best efficiency for the expected life span of the micro hydro- Hn ¼ Hg  Htl ð4Þ
power plant. Materials that are used in this present work for tur-
bine design are listed. Runner material of the runner and buckets Htl = 6% of gross head = 0.06  15 m = 0.9 m
are chosen according to the head, stresses, sand content in the Therefore, Hn = 15 – 0.9 = 14.1 m
water, and other strain factors, and maybe cast iron, cast steel, or
a cast of high-quality alloy steel are used. Cast iron is used in this 3.4. Calculation of the turbine input power (Pti)
present work. Penstock material was made of PVC, chosen for its
availability and low friction loss characteristics. The nozzle is made The electrical input power to the turbine is:
of cast iron, cast steel, bronze, or stainless steel, depending upon
Pti ¼ q  g  Cn2  Hn  Q t ðwattÞ ð5Þ
the head at the turbine’s inlet. In this present work, cast iron is
selected depending upon the head. The turbine shaft Pelton tur-
Pti ¼ 100  9:81  ð0:98Þ2  14:1  0:25 ¼ 33210:8watt
bines are made of forged steel with a hub at the center and ends
for assembly of turbine and pulley. The surface of the shaft is ¼ 33:21kW
machined in a lathe to a final appropriate tolerance and even sur-
face. The turbine housing is made up of steel sheet metal and
3.5. Calculation of the turbine speed (N)
selected based on resistance to corrosion. The seal ring must be
provided with a spring of stainless material. Leakage in this seal
The specific speed (Ns) and the net head (Hn) is given for the
requires immediate replacement of the seal ring, but the replace-
Pelton turbine as:
ment should be done as soon as possible to avoid bearing
pffiffiffiffi
corrosion. 85:49  nj
Ns ¼ ð6Þ
H0:245
n
3. Results and discussion
Where nj = number of turbine nozzles (jets), we selected one
number of turbine nozzle for our Pelton turbine design.
3.1. Measuring water flow rate
pffiffiffiffi pffiffiffi
85:49  nj 85:49  1
The water flow rate of water is calculated by measuring the Ns ¼ ¼ ¼ 44:942
H0:245
n 14:10:245
river or stream flow velocity (Vr) in (m/s) and its cross-sectional
area (Ar) in (m2), then: Then the turbine speed can be calculated as:
5
Q ¼ V r  Ar ðm3 =sÞ ð1Þ H4n
N ¼ NS  pffiffiffiffiffiffi ð7Þ
Pti

14:15=4
N ¼ 44:942  pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi ¼ 213:08 rpm
33:21

3.6. Design of Pelton wheel or runner

The Pelton wheel runner is shown in Fig. 2. The velocity dia-

grams for the Pelton wheel are shown in Fig. 3, and the inlet veloc-
ity triangle is a straight line relative fluid velocity, V1, is given by
V 1 ¼ Jet v elocity  Bucket Speed ¼ V j  U ð8Þ
The water jet through nozzle has a velocity (Vj) in (m/s) can be
calculated as:
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
V j ¼ cn  2g  Hn ðm=sÞ ð9Þ
Fig. 1. Assembly of Pelton wheel turbine.

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S. Tilahun, V. Paramasivam, M. Tufa et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 46 (2021) 7364–7368

Where, np = Manning factor of penstock (0.009)

Lpt = Length of penstock (22 m assumption)
 
22
Dpt ¼ 2:6  0:0092  0:252   0:1875 ¼ 0:283 m
15
So, the thickness of penstock is
  
Dpt þ 508
tp ¼ þ 1:2  103
400
  
0:283 þ 508
¼ þ 1:2  103 ¼ 2:5mm
400
The surge head (Hs) in (m) can be calculated as:
Dv
Hs ¼ V w  z  ð mÞ ð17Þ
Fig. 2. Pelton runner. 980
Where, Vw = Pressure wave velocity (m/s), Z = % of flow stopped
(50%) and DV ¼Change in velocity of penstock (m/s)
Where Cn = Nozzle (jet) discharge coefficient (0.98)
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
V j ¼ 0:98  2  9:81  14:1 ¼ 16:3 m=s kwm  t p
Vw ¼ ðm=sÞ ð18Þ
ð100  t P Þ þ Dpt
The absolute velocity of the bucket U should be half of the jet
speed Vj. In practice, losses in the turbine cause the peak efficiency Where, Kwm = Bulk water modulus (2.1  108 N/m2)
to occur as slightly less than a half, typically 0.46 shown in Fig. 3. sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
2:1  108  2:5  108
U ¼ 0:46  16:3 ¼ 7:5 m=s ð10Þ Vw ¼ ¼ 992:46 m=s
ð100  2:5  108 Þ þ 0:283
The runner diameter at maximum efficiency can be calculated
as: Q
Dv ¼ ð m=sÞ ð19Þ
60U 60  7:5 n j  Ap
Dr ¼ ¼ ¼ 0:67 m ð11Þ
p  N p  213:08 Where, Ap = penstock cross-sectional area (m2)
The runner tangential speed can be calculated as:
D2pt 0:2832
Dr pDr N p  213:08  0:67 Ap ¼ p¼  p ¼ 0:063 m2
V tr ¼ w  ¼ ¼ ¼ 7:47 m=s ð12Þ 4 4
2 60 60
So, Change in velocity of penstock is
The runner tangential speed should be equal to the jet speed as:
0:25
Dr pDr N Dv ¼ ¼ 3:974 m=s
V tr ¼ w  ¼ ¼ Vj ð13Þ 1  0:063
2 60
So, the surge head (Hs) is
vj 16:3 Dv 3:974
Nr ¼ 60  ¼ 60  ¼ 464:6 rpm ð14Þ Hs ¼ V w  z  ¼ 992:46  0:5  ¼ 2m
p  Dr p  0:67 980 981
The run-away speed (Nr) is independent on the water flow rate. Total head (m) can be calculated as:
Ht ¼ Hg þ Hs ¼ 15 þ 2 ¼ 17m ð20Þ
3.7. Design of penstock pipes
The safety factor of micro-hydroelectric power plant was given
The thickness of penstock (tp) is calculated by relations; [5] as:
  
Dpt þ 508 t pe  T sp
tp ¼ þ 1:2  103 ðmÞ ð15Þ S:F ¼ ð> 2:5Þ ð21Þ
400 5000  DPt  Ht
Where, Dpt = Diameter of penstock connected to the turbine (m) Where, tpe = Effective thickness of penstock (m), Tsp = Tensile
  strength of penstock material (52  106 N/m2)
Lpt
Dpt ¼ 2:6  np2  Q t2   0:1875 ð16Þ
Hg 2:5  108  52  106
S:F ¼ ¼ 5:4
5000  0:283  17

Fig. 3. Velocity triangle diagram.

7366
S. Tilahun, V. Paramasivam, M. Tufa et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 46 (2021) 7364–7368

The penstock efficiency gpt can be calculated as: Rbr ¼ 0:47  Dr ¼ 0:47  0:67 ¼ 0:315 m ð34Þ
Hn 14:1 The bucket volume was given as:
gpt ¼  100 ¼  100 ¼ 94% ð22Þ
Hg 15
V b ¼ 0:0063  Dr3 ¼ 0:0063  0:673 ¼ 0:00189 m3 ð35Þ

3.8. Design of nozzle

3.10. Calculation of maximum turbine efficiency

The water flow rate of water through each nozzle (Qn) is:
The input power to the turbine can be calculated as:
Q n ¼ V j  Aj ðm3 =sÞ ð23Þ
qW  Q t  V 2j 1000  0:25t  16:32
Pti ¼ ¼ ¼ 33211W
The nozzle area (Aj) can be calculated as: 2 2
D2j ¼ 33:2kW ð36Þ
Aj ¼ p ðm2 Þ ð24Þ
4 The power output developed by the turbine was given as:
 

Then from equations (13) and (14) the nozzle diameter (Dj) can Pto ¼ qw  Q t  V tr  V j  V tr ð1 þ w  cosuÞ ðwÞ ð37Þ
be calculated as:
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi Where, w = Bucket roughness coefficient (0.98)
Q U = 180°-h [h is Deflection angle between bucket and jet
Dj ¼ 4    ðmÞ ð25Þ
p  nj  v j (160°?170°)]
h  
i
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi Pto ¼ 1000  0:25  7:47  ð16:3  7:47Þ 1 þ 0:98  cos10
0:25
Dj ¼ 4  ¼ 139 mm ¼ 32404:4 W ¼ 32:404 kW
ðp  1  16:3Þ

So, the nozzle area can be calculated as Then the turbine hydraulic efficiency can be calculated as:
 
D2j 0:1392 Pto 2  V tr  V j  V tr ð1 þ wcosuÞ 32:4
Aj ¼ p ¼  p ¼ 0:015 m2 gth ¼ ¼ ¼ ¼ 97:6% ð38Þ
4 4 Pti V 2j 33:2
The nozzle length can be calculated as: For maximum hydraulic turbine efficiency:
Dpt  Dj dðgth Þ
Ln ¼ ðmÞ ð26Þ ¼ 0 V tr ¼ 0:5  V j
tan ðbÞ dðV tr Þ
Where, b = the nozzle tip angle (60°). Then the maximum hydraulic efficiency was given as:
0:283  0:139 ½1 þ w  cosu
Ln ¼  ¼ 83:14 mm gmax ¼ ð39Þ
tan 60 2
The nozzle deflectors are: h 
i
1 þ 0:98  cos10
X nr ¼ 0:05  Dr þ 3 ðmÞ ð27Þ gmax ¼ ¼ 98:2%
2
X nr ¼ 0:05  0:63 þ 3 ¼ 3:335 m The turbine windage efficiency was given as:

X 3  K d  q a  Ab
3.9. Design of buckets gtw ¼ 1  ð40Þ
qw  Aj
The axial bucket width can be calculated as: Where, x = Ratio of runner tangential velocity to jet velocity
(0.45), Kd = Drag coefficient (0 to 1) take 0.8,
Bw ¼ 3:4  Dj ¼ 3:4  0:139 ¼ 0:4726 m ð28Þ
qa = Air density (1.23 Kg/m3) and Ab = Peripheral area of pen-
The bucket radial length can be calculated as: stock (m2)

Bl ¼ 3  Dj ¼ 3  0:139 ¼ 0:417 m ð29Þ p  D2pt p  0:2833

Ab ¼ ¼ ¼ 0:0629 m2
The bucket depth can be calculated as: 4 4
So, the turbine windage efficiency calculated as:
Bd ¼ 1:2  Dj ¼ 1:2  0:139 ¼ 0:1668 m ð30Þ
X 3  K d  q a  Ab 0:453  0:8  1:23  0:629
Bucket top edge gap can be calculated as: gtw ¼ 1  ¼1
qw  Aj 1000  0:015
a ¼ 1:1  Dj ¼ 1:1  0:139 ¼ 0:1529 m ð31Þ
¼ 99:9%
The number of buckets is calculated as:
Turbine mechanical efficiency is calculated as:
Dr 0:67
nb ¼ 15 þ   ¼ 15 þ ¼ 17 ð32Þ Tx
2  Dj ð2  0:139Þ gtm ¼ ð41Þ
qgHQ
The length of the moment arm of a bucket can be calculated as:
Tt = torque developed by the turbine
Lab ¼ 0:195  Dr ¼ 0:195  0:67 ¼ 0:130 m ð33Þ
2  V tr 2  7:47
x¼ ¼ ¼ 22:3 rad=sec
The radius of bucket center of mass to the center of the runner Dr 0:67
was given as:

7367
S. Tilahun, V. Paramasivam, M. Tufa et al. Materials Today: Proceedings 46 (2021) 7364–7368

Table 1
Design parameters at variable head and constant flow rate (Qt = 0.25 m3/s).

Hg (m) Pto g t (%) Tt N Ns Dr(m) Dj Vtr Vj Ln nb

(kW) (N.m) (r.p.m) (m) (m/s) (m/s) (m)
10 21.6 93.2 1204 173.48 49.6 0.673 0.15 6.11 13.3 0.07 17
12 25.9 93.2 1320 190.29 47.4 0.673 0.15 6.7 14.6 0.08 17
14 30.2 93.2 1423 205.76 45.7 0.672 0.14 7.24 15.7 0.08 17
15 32.4 93.2 1479 213.08 44.9 0.672 0.14 7.47 16.3 0.08 17

Table 2
Design parameters at a variable flow rate and constant gross head.

Hg (m) Qt (m3/s) Pto g t (%) Tt N Ns Dr (m) Dj Vtr Vj Ln nb

(kW) (N.m) (rpm) (m) (m) (m) (m)
15 0.15 19.4 93.2 673.6 213.1 34.8 0.672 0.11 7.5 16 0.1 17
0.2 25.9 93.2 1036 213.1 40.2 0.672 0.13 7.5 16 0.1 17
0.25 32.4 93.2 1450 213.1 44.9 0.672 0.14 7.5 16 0.1 17

The torque developed by the turbine can be calculated as: head of 10 m. The designed turbine can be used effectively to
  improve power shortage around rural areas of Ethiopia. It will give
T t ¼ Q t  q  Dr  V j  V tr
31.74 kW output Power if it works under maximum head and flow
¼ 0:25  1000  0:67  ð16:3  7:47Þ ¼ 1479 Nm ð42Þ rate. It will serve 317 populations living in a rural area, assuming
100-watt consumption per house.
So the mechanical efficiency will be,
Tx 1479  22:3 Declaration of Competing Interest
gtm ¼ ¼ ¼ 96%
q  g  H  Q 1000  9:81  14  0:25
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
Then the total turbine efficiency was given as:
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
gt ¼ gth  gtw  gtm ¼ 0:98  0:99  0:96 ¼ 93:1% ð43Þ to influence the work reported in this paper.

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