Numerical prediction of Pelton turbine efficiency

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical analysis of flow in a 2 jet Pelton turbine with horizontal axis. The analysis was done for the model at several operating points in different operating regimes. The results were compared to the results of a test of the model. Analysis was performed using ANSYS CFX-12.1 computer code. A k-ω SST turbulent model was used. Free surface flow was modelled by two-phase homogeneous model. At first, a steady state analysis of flow in the distributor with two injectors was performed for several needle strokes. This provided us with data on flow energy losses in the distributor and the shape and velocity of jets. The second step was an unsteady analysis of the runner with jets. Torque on the shaft was then calculated from pressure distribution data. Averaged torque values are smaller than measured ones. Consequently, calculated turbine efficiency is also smaller than the measured values, the difference is about 4 %. The shape of the efficiency diagram conforms well to the measurements.