Turbine

Turbines have been used for centuries to convert freely available mechanical energy from rivers and wind into useful
mechanical work, usually through a rotating shaft. Whereas the rotating part of a pump is called the impeller, the rotating
part of a hydroturbine is called the runner. When the working fluid is water, the turbomachines are called hydraulic turbines
or hydroturbines.

Positive-Displacement Turbines

(a) (b)

The nutating disc fluid flowmeter is a type of positive-displacement turbine used

to measure volume flow rate:
(a) cutaway view and (b) diagram showing motion of the nutating disc.

This type of flowmeter is commonly used as a water meter in homes.

A positive-displacement turbine may be thought of as a positive-displacement pump running backward—as
fluid pushes into a closed volume, it turns a shaft or displaces a reciprocating rod. The closed volume of fluid
is then pushed out as more fluid enters the device.

However, positive-displacement turbines are generally not used for power production, but rather for flow
rate or flow volume measurement.

The most common example is the water meter in your house . Many commercial water meters use a
nutating disc that wobbles and spins as water flows through the meter. The disc has a sphere in its center
with appropriate linkages that transfer the eccentric spinning motion of the nutating disc into rotation of a
shaft. The volume of fluid that passes through the device per360 degree rotation of the shaft is known
precisely, and thus the total volume of water used is recorded by the device.
Dynamic Turbines
Dynamic turbines are used both as flow measuring devices and as power generators. For example,
meteorologists use a three-cup anemometer to measure wind speed.Experimental fluid mechanics
researchers use small turbines of various shapes (most of which look like small propellers) to measure air
speed or water speed.

we emphasize large dynamic turbines that are designed to produce electricity. Most of our discussion
concerns hydroturbines that utilize the large elevation change across a dam to generate electricity. There
are two basic types of dynamic turbine—impulse and reaction.

1. Impulse Turbines
In an impulse turbine, the fluid is sent through a nozzle so that most of its available mechanical energy is
converted into kinetic energy. The highspeed jet then impinges on bucket-shaped vanes that transfer
energy to the turbine shaft.
The buckets of a Pelton wheel are designed so as to split the flow in half, and turn the flow nearly 180°
around (with respect to a frame of reference moving with the bucket)

According to legend, Pelton modeled the splitter ridge shape after the nostrils of a cow’s nose. A
portion of the outermost part of each bucket is cut out so that the majority of the jet can pass through
the bucket that is not aligned with the jet (bucket n +1 ) to reach the most aligned bucket (bucket n) In
this way, the maximum amount of momentum from the jet is utilized.

the efficiency of a well-designed Pelton wheel turbine can approach 90 percent. In other words, up to 90 percent
of the available mechanical energy of the water is converted to rotating shaft energy.
Obviously, the maximum power is achieved theoretically if .  180
o
However, if that were the case, the
water exiting one bucket would strike the back side of its neighbor coming along behind it, reducing the
generated torque and power. It turns out that in practice, the maximum power is achieved by reducing b to
around 160° to 165°.

Finally, we see that the shaft power output W shaft is zero r  0 if (wheel not turning at all). W shaft is also zero
if r  V j (bucket moving at the jet speed). Somewhere in between these two extremes lies the optimum wheel
speed. By setting the derivative with respect to r to zero, we find that this occurs when r  V j / 2 (bucket
moving a half the jet speed)
Reaction Turbine
• The other main type of energy-producing hydroturbine is the reaction turbine, which consists of fixed guide
vanes called stay vanes, adjustable guide vanes called wicket gates, and rotating blades called runner
blades. Flow enters tangentially at high pressure, is turned toward the runner by the stay vanes as it moves
along the spiral casing or volute, and then passes through the wicket gates with a large tangential velocity
component.
• Momentum is exchanged between the fluid and the runner as the runner rotates, and there is a large pressure
drop. Unlike the impulse turbine, the water completely fills the casing of a reaction turbine. For this reason, a
reaction turbine generally produces more power than an impulse turbine of the same diameter, net head, and
volume flow rate.
1. Francis Turbine:-
• It is a reaction turbine developed by an English born American Engineer, Sir J.B. Francis.
• The water enters the turbine through the outer periphery of the runner in the radial direction and leaves the runner in the
axial direction, and hence it is called ‘mixed flow turbine’.
• It is a reaction turbine and therefore only a part of the available head is converted into the velocity head before water
enters the runner.
• The pressure head goes on decreasing as the water flows over the runner blades.
• The static pressure at the runner exit may be less than the atmospheric pressure and as such, water fills all the passages of
the runner blades.
• The change in pressure while water is gliding over the blades is called ‘reaction pressure’ and is partly responsible for the
rotation of the runner.
• A Francis turbine is suitable for medium heads (45 to 400 m) and requires a relatively large quantity of water.
2. Propeller Turbine:-

The propeller turbines have the following favorable characteristics:

• relatively small dimensions combined with high rotational speed
• a favourable efficiency curve
• large overloading capacity
• The runner has only a few blades radially oriented on the hub and without an outer rim.
• The water flows axially through the runner.
• The runner blades have a slight curvature and cause relatively low flow The runner blades have
a slight curvature and cause relatively low flow losses. This allows for higher flow velocities
without great loss of efficiency.
• Accordingly, the runner diameter becomes relatively smaller and the rotational speed more
than twice than rotational speed more than twice than that for a Francis turbine of the for a
Francis turbine of the corresponding head and discharge.
• The comparatively high efficiencies at partial loads and the ability of overloading is obtained by
a coordinated regulation of the guide vanes and the overloading is obtained by a coordinated
regulation of the guide vanes and the runner blades to obtain optimal efficiency for all
operations.
3. Kaplan Turbine:-
• The Kaplan turbine is a propeller-type water turbine that has adjustable blades. It was developed in 1913 by
the Austrian professor, Viktor Kaplan.
• The Kaplan turbine was an evolution of the Francis turbine Its invention The Kaplan turbine was an
evolution of the Francis turbine. Its invention allowed efficient power production in low head applications
that was not possible with Francis turbines.
• Kaplan turbines are now widely used throughout the world in high-flow, low-head power production.
• Power plants with net heads ranging from 10 to 70 m.
• Kaplan turbines have adjustable runner blades, that offers significant advantage to give high efficiency even
in the range of partial load, and there is little drop in efficiency due to head variation or load efficiency due
to head variation or load.
• The runner blade operating mechanism consists of a pressure oil head, a runner servomotor and the blade
operating rod servomotor and the blade operating rod inside the shaft, etc.
• The runner blades are operated to smoothly adjust their blade angles by a smoothly adjust their blade
angles by a link mechanism installed inside the runner hub.
 Differences between Impulse and Reaction Turbines:
S.No Impulse Turbine Reaction Turbine
In impulse turbine all hydraulic energy is converted into kinetic energy by a nozzle In reaction turbine only some amount of the available energy is converted into kinetic energy
1
and it is is the jet so produced which strikes the runner blades. before the fluid enters the runner.
The velocity of jet which changes, the pressure throughout remaining Both pressure and velocity changes as fluid passes through a runner. Pressure at inlet is much
2
atmosphere. higher than at outlet.
Water-tight casing is not necessary. Casing has no hydraulic function to perform.
3 The runner must be enclosed within a watertight casing.
It only serves to prevent splashing and guide water to the tail race.
Water is admitted only in the form of jets. There may be one or more jets striking
4 Water is admitted over the entire circumference of the runner.
equal number of buckets simultaneously.
Water completely fills at the passages between the blades and while flowing between inlet and
5 The turbine doesn’t run full and air has a free access to the bucket.
outlet sections does work on the blades.
Reaction turbine are generally connected to the tail race through a draft tube which is a gradually
6 The turbine is always installed above the tail race and there is no draft tube used.
expanding passage. It may be installed below or above the tail race.
The flow regulation in reaction turbine is carried out by means of a guide-vane assembly. Other
7 Flow regulation is done by means of a needle valve fitted into the nozzle.
component parts are scroll casing, stay ring runner and the draft tub.
Examples of reaction turbine are Francis turbine, Kaplan and Propeller Turbine, Deriaz Turbine,
8 Example of impulse turbine is Pelton wheel.
Tubuler Turbine, etc.

9 Impulse turbine have more hydraulic efficiency. Reaction turbine have relatively less efficiency.

10 Impulse turbine operates at high water heads. Reaction turbine operate at low and medium heads.

11 Water flow is tangential direction to the turbine wheel. Water flows in radial and axial direction to turbine wheel.

12 Needs low discharge of water. Needs medium and high discharge of water.

13 Degree of reaction is zero. Degree of reaction is more than zero and less than or equal to one.

14 Impulse turbine involves less maintenance work. Reaction turbine involves more maintenance work.
Specific Speed:-
The term specific speed used in classifying types of turbines and characteristics of turbines within types is generally the
basis of selection procedure. This term is specified as the speed in revolutions per minute at which the given turbine
would rotate, if reduced homologically in size, so that it would develop one metric horse power at full gate opening
under one meter head. Low specific speeds are associated with high heads and high specific speeds are associated with
low heads. Moreover, there is a wide range of specific speeds which may be suitable for a given head.

Power Based Specific Speed Nsp Flow Based Specific Speed Nq

• Low head high Discharge- Kaplan Turbine
• Medium Head Medium Disharge:- Francis Turbine
• High Head Low Discharge:- Pelton Wheel Turbine
Indian Project Data for Francis Indian Project Data for Kaplan
Turbine Turbine