Classification of Hydro-Power plants
Hydro-plants are classified according to the head of water
under which they work.
When the operating head of water
exceeds 70 metres, the plant is known as “high head
power plant”. Pelton turbine is used as prime mover in
such power plants.
When the head of water ranges
from 15 to 70 metres then the power plant is known as “medium head
plant”.
It
uses Francis turbine.
When the
head is less than 15 metres the plant is named as “low head
plant”.It uses
Francis or Kaplan turbine as prime mover.
Pelton Wheel
This is a
commonly used impulse type of turbine. It is named after an American engineer
Lester. A. Pelton (1829-1908), who developed this turbine. The Pelton wheel is
suitable for very high heads and it requires a lesser quantity of water.A
pelton wheel is shown in figure.It consists of a runner, buckets, a nozzle, a
guide mechanism, a hydraulic brake and casing.
Runner and Buckets
The
runner is a circular disc. It consists of a number of semi-ellipsoidal buckets
evenlyspaced around its periphery. The buckets are divided into two
hemi-spherical cups by a sharp- edged ridge known as a splitter. This
arrangement avoids the axial thrust and end thrust on bearings.(The axial
thrusts being equal and opposite, neutralize each other).Generally, the buckets
are bolted to the periphery of the runner. In some cases, to the periphery of
the runner. In some cases, the buckets and the wheel are cast integral as one
piece. In the case of the bolted type, broken or damaged buckets can be replaced
conomically. For low heads, the bucket is made of case iron and for high heads,
they are made of bronze or stainless steel to withstand heavy impact.
mechanism:
A nozzle is fitted to the end of the penstock near
the turbine. The nozzle is provided with a conical needle or spears to regulate
the quantity of water coming out of the nozzle, thereby control the speed of
the runner. The spear may be operated manually by a hand wheel (for small
units) or automatically by a governing mechanism (for larger units).
Hydraulic
brake:
When the turbine has to be brought to rest by
closing the inlet valve of the turbine, the runner generally takes a very long
time to come to rest due to its inertia.To bring it to rest quickly, a small
brake nozzle is provided. This nozzle is opened and it directs a jet of water
at the back of the buckets. This acts as a brake to bring revolving runner
quickly to rest.
Working
principle
The water is conveyed to the power house from the
head race through penstocks.The nozzle is fitted to the end of the penstock
(power house end) delivers a high velocity water jet into the bucket. One or
more jets of water are arranged to impinge on the buckets tangentially. The
impact of water jet on the bucket causes the wheel to rotate, thus producing
mechanical work. An electric generator is coupled to the runner shaft and
mechanical energy is converted into electrical power.
After leaving the turbine wheel, water falls into
the tail race. The Pelton wheel is located above the tail race so that, the
buckets do not splash the tail race water.
PELTON
WHEEL
The velocity of jet, velocity of wheel and the jet
ratio (the ratio of pitch circle diameter of runner and jet diameter) are
restricted in the case of a single jet Pelton wheel. Hence, a single jet Pelton
wheel cannot develop high power. However the power can be increased by
arranging more than one jet (usually 2, 3, 4 or 6) spaced evenly around the
same runner.
The
maximum number of jets with a single runner is six.
Sometimes, for increasing the power, a number of
runners mounted on a common shaft may be used. In certain cases, a combination
of the above two systems may be preferred.
FRANCIS TURBINE
Reaction
turbines operate under pressure of water. Only a part of the total head of
water is converted into a kinetic head before it reaches the runner. The water
completely fills all the passages in the runner (turbine runs full). Water
enters the wheel due to the head of water at inlet and flows through the vanes.
When flowing through the vanes, both the pressure and velocity change. The
water leaves the turbine to the tail race at a reduced pressure and velocity.
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