3/5/2011 Draft Tubes

GREEN
AND
CLEAN
POWER
French River Land Company's Website!

French River Land Design of Draft Tubes Page

Company's Home
Page! CONICAL DRAFT TUBE COMPUTATIONS:
The simplest and most efficient, turbine draft tube is the conical shaped draft tube. It
Poetry of Power with a truncated cone similar to an inverted ice cream cone. Originally, turbines were de
to work on the runner, stoplogs were inserted into the tailrace training walls and the di
FRL History

Hydrolec
Disassembly

Hydrolec Rebuild

Key Personnel

Machine Shop

News Page

Previous Pictures

Previous Pictures
Two

Previous Pictures
Three

Projects

Rebuilding 120"
Niles Boring Mill

For Sale

HYDROELECTRIC
SITES:

Alternatives Hydro

Anasagunticook Lake
Dam Replacement-
C.Fay & W.Fay

Appleton HEP-
Jim Lichoulas

Appleton Wisconsin
Anniversary

Badger Pond Dam Figure One Figure Two

Removal A view of the curved, brick, discharge wall that directs the flow into the tailrace. This curved wall dire
channel. The entrance to the tailrace had cast iron slots to install wooden stoplogs. After the logs wer
Senor Bonifettis' was pumped out to work on the runner.
sites in Chile
(see 1852 Fourneyron side <<< click here).
Buttermilk Hydro
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Buttermilk Hydro
Draft Tubes
In order to allow for work on the turbine, being done in the dry, designers elevated
Chittendon Falls turbine. A cylindrical pipe was attached to the discharge end of the turbine to convey th
shear weight, of the cylinder of water, created a vacuum at the discharge end of the runn
Claytor Dam turbine is a direct function of the drop in pressure across it, the lower pressure, creat
increased the total drop.
Collins Bascule Dam

ESAC WORKS
July 1985

Fiske Mill

1852 Fourneyron

Golden Pond Hydro

Hunts Pond

Jaffery Fire
Protection

Konkapot Creek

Lake May Pelton

Wheel Removal

Livermore Falls

Martinsville Hydro

OSV

Shaker Mill Dam

Silk Knitters- Ron

Macleod

South Village Dam

Sparhawk Mills
<<<<<<< Note cylindrical draft tube.
Tannery Pond
Figure Three: Hercules turbine with cylindrical draft tube. The early American builders were not math
Tannery Rebuild Principle.

Turners Falls In the early years, prior to the turn of the last century, effective thrust bearing
Generator Rewind weight of the turbine, turbine shaft, generator rotor and the hydraulic thrust on the run
vitae) thrust bearings, most units were designed with horizontal shafts. This put the dea
Valatie Falls wooden thrust bearing only had to support the hydraulic thrust. In order to turn the wate
runner, into the vertically discharging cylinder, a 90 degree cast iron elbow was inserte
Valley Paper

USEFUL ENGINEERING:

Air Admission to
Hydro Runners

The Banki Water

Turbine Mockmoore
and Merryfield

Barrel Stave
Bearing Repair

Bishops Method-
STABGM Program

Blade Pitting-
Boving LTD 1930

Cavitation-
Accelerated
Research, Allis
Chalmers Research

Cavitation &
Vibration of a
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Vibration of a
Draft Tube

Cavitation-
Prevention &
Reduction, Allis
Chalmers Research

Causes & Effects of

Cavitation in
Hydraulic Turbines

Chain Turbine by:

Nguyen Minh Duy
Figure Four: Two runner on a horizontal shaft. This configuration is theoretically balanced, with
Chain Turbine wooden, lignum vitae, bearings. The hydraulic thrust is also taken up by a wooden, lignum vitae, thru
Mechanics- runner is pushing against each other there is no resultant thrust. In practice, leaves and debris block
Discussions with
Duy As turbine designers in the U.S. became more theoretical, it was noted that a seriou
the high discharge velocities exiting the cylindrical draft tube. By applying Bernouli’s
cylinder, it was noted that one could recover the velocity head by slowing the water down
Characteristics of
exchanging the cylinder for a cone. As the water enters the small end of the cone, it slo
Modern Hydraulic the length of the cone. The velocity head is recovered and converted into vacuum head on
Turbines-Chester
Larner

Comparative Tests
On Experimental
Draft Tubes- C M
Allen & I A Winter
1923

Design of an
Overshot Waterwheel

(by Carl Weidner)

Design of Pelton
Buckets

Design of Small
Water Turbines for
Farm and Small
Communities

Design of the
runner of a Kaplan
turbine for small
hydroelectric power
plants: Timo
Flaspöhler

Draft Tube Design

Draft Tubes of
Hydro-Electric
Stations by M. F.
Gubin

Draft Tube Tests

Ejection into
Tailraces of
Hydropower Plants:
S. M. Slisskii

Evolution of
Hydraulic Prime
Movers-Byron McCoy Figure Five: Example of a conical draft tube coupled to a horizontal shaft turbine with a cast iron
The problem is, if you create a cone with too large a 1/2 angle, the water becomes d
Fall Increaser- tube. At the point of separation, you get a high velocity, cylindrical core, passing thro
Henry Ford laboratories, including WPI’s Alden Hydraulic Research Laboratory, investigated separatio
including the simple conical tube (these are also called diffusers).
Fall Increaser
Herschel Venturi If you were to take a conical draft tube and project its sides to the apex of the co
T b cone) the angle between the sides is the draft angle If you were to measure the same ang
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Tube cone) the angle between the sides is the draft angle. If you were to measure the same ang
vertical axis, the angle is called a ½ angle. For design purposes, the ½ angle should not
Fall Increaser separation of flow.
Moody Ejector As the years went by, engineers developed larger and larger sites. In order to keep
Turbine horizontal shaft, turbine manufacturers started adding more and more runners to the horiz
As Kingsbury developed his tilting wedge bearing, it was possible to install the unit wit
Fall Increaser vertical conical draft tube to slow the water down, required a tremendously deep excavati
Hydraulic Jump vertical distance from the bottom of the conical draft tube to the discharge pit floor is
Apron draft tube.)

Feasibility Studies
for Small Scale
Hydropower
Additions, A Guide
Manual, US Army
CORPS of Engineers

Flashboard Pins

Gatecase Design-
Kovalev

Governor Theory for

the Plant Operator

Graphics of Water
Wheels- William Fox

Hydraulic Motors-
M. Bresse & F. A.
Mahan 1869

Hydraulic Turbines-
Robert Long
Daugherty

Hydraulic Turbines
by Arnold Pfau

Hydraulic Turbines
Gelpke & Van Cleve

Hydrokinetic Energy
in Massachusetts-
William D. B. Fay

Hydrostatic Beam
Analysis

Impulse Turbines
by Ely Hutchinson

Interference
fitting a large Figure Six: Here are four runners on a common shaft. The rpm stays the same because the diam
is increasing with the number of runners. The dead weight is still on the wooden, radial bearings and
runner shaft
runners discharging at the ends of the tee stands. The down side is the length of the turbine pit and d

Kaplan Blade Design In order to save on excavation costs and effectively turn the water back into the t
NACA Air Foil- incorporated. Here, the water is initially slowed down in a conical draft tube. The end o
Report No. 460 horizontal section conveys the water back to the tailrace. It is interesting that the ear
the cross sectional area of the elbow draft tube expanding along the length of the tube.
Kaplan Blade Design the water tries to bend around the sharp, inner bend, of the 90 degree section and separa
high speed, horizontal, jet bashing along the floor of the draft tube.
NACA Air Foil-
Report No. 628

Kaplan Design-
Kovalev

Kaplan Design Marko

Kogovsek.xls

A Laboratory Study
to Improve the
Efficiency of
Crossflow Turbines-
N. Aziz & V. Desai
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N. Aziz & V. Desai
Draft Tubes

Meggering
Generators

Meggering
Earth Resistance

Motors as
Generators for
Microhydro, Nigel
Smith

Operation &
Maintenance of
Hydro-Generators

Out Gassing of
Cross Flow Turbines

Parallel Operation
of Turbines
Analysis

Pelton Design- Figure Seven: Various forms of elbow draft tubes

Daugherty It can be shown that it is impossible to have separation of flow in an accelerating
designers cleverly slowed the water down in the vertical, conical section. They then decr
Powerhouse Design- tube through the elbow! This caused the water to accelerate through the elbow and the wat
Miniwatt Hydro the horizontal section of the tube back to the tailrace. It is important with elbow draft
submergence is created at no flow conditions between the crown of the draft tube exit and
Powerhouse Design-
Natick Dam I inspected a draft tube for a utility in Maine. They complained that the newly ins
turned out that the draft tube had not been designed to the correct vertical length. The
Power Plant of water by 22 inches. This allowed air to extend all the way back to the elbow and most
recovered.
Inspection
It is extremely important that the draft tube for a high specific speed Francis run
Rake-Leonard designed to recover the velocity head exiting from the runner. For these units, 35% of th
tube.
Rake-Newport News
Now, let’s design a simple conical draft tube.
Rack Design-
Chicopee-Olav
Hotvedt

Rack Design- PHI-

Bill Fay

Rack Design-PHI-
Brian French

Rack Design-PHI-Ken
Smith

Rack Design-ASCE

Rack Design-
Hydraulic Institue
of Munich

Rack Design-Flow
Induced Vibrations

Rigging a large
generator

Selecting Hydraulic
Reaction Turbines
BUREC

Shafts- Kovalev

Shaft Couplings

Snows Improved
Water Wheel
G
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Governor

Standard for
Hydraulic Turbine
and Generator Shaft
Couplings and Shaft
Runout Tolerances

Stoplog Design
Calculation

Stoplog Structure
Design Calculation

Stress Analysis of
Hydraulic Turbine
Parts, BUREC- F.O.
Ruud

Some Fluid Flow

Characteristics of
a Cross Flow Type
Hydraulic Turbine-
Durgin & Fay

Tenth Census of the

US, 1880, Water
Power of the US,
Part I- Professor
Trowbridge

Tenth Census of the

US, 1880, Water
Power of the US,
Part II- Professor
Trowbridge

Tests on a Kaplan
Hydraulic Turbine

Theoretical FIGURE ONE: SIMPLE CONICAL DRAFT TUBE

Conditions Related
to an Open Channel
Flow Linear
Turbine- Ishida &
Service
From trigonometry:
Tan theta= rise/run= R0/(X+L)=RI/X
Where:
L= length of the draft tube

Theory of Turbines- RO= outlet radius (big end)

De Volson Wood
RI= inlet radius (small end)
Treatise relative theta= draft tube ½ angle
to the Testing of
Water-Wheels and Solve for x:
Machinery, James
X= RI/Tan theta
Emerson 1879
Or
Turbine Water-Wheel
Tests- Robert (X + L)= R0/Tan theta
Horton
X= (R0/Tan theta)-L
Turgo, A High Speed
Setting X =RI/Tan theta= (R0/Tan theta)-L
Impulse Turbine-
Paul Wilson L= (R0/Tan theta)-(RI/Tan theta)

Vortices at Intakes = (R0-RI)/Tan theta but R=D/2

Water Hammer- = (D0-DI)/2Tan theta

Lorenzo Allievi-
DO= outlet diameter (big end)
Text
DI= inlet diameter (small end)
Water Hammer-
Lorenzo Allievi-
Figures
Previously I said the ½ angle to prevent separation of flow in conical draft tubes
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Previously I said the ½ angle to prevent separation of flow in conical draft tubes
Water Hammer-ASME
Inserting 6 degrees into our equation yields:
Symposium 1933
L= 5*(Dexit-Dinlet)
Water Hammer _
Norman Gibson This is a conservative equation for sizing conical draft tubes for small turbines that do not need

Water Hammer- As an example, Celesty purchased two Leffel, 17A Samson turbines. These are equipped
E.B.Strowger bridge tree with a lignum vitae thrust bearing is cast into the end of the draft tube. Th
draft tube is too short and the bridge tree disturbs the flow in the draft tube. We decid
Waterpower installed a 3/8 inch steel plate, conical draft tube. We used a Timken bearing, located o
thrust and weight.
Engineering-Daniel
Webster Mead From Leffel’s Bulletin 38 at 12 feet of head,

Water Wheel Design- Q17A= 1394 cfm= 23 cfs

Ken Smith
Industry practice is one meter per second velocity from the end of the draft tube o
Weights
For an incompressible fluid, the discharge area is:
WHAMO Q= V * A or

Wooden Penstocks Area= flow/velocity= Q/A

TRADE CATALOUGES: At 23 cfs, the area is:

A= 23 cfs/3 fps= 7.67 feet square

Bradway Turbine
(progressive gate) But:

C.P.Bradway Turbine A= phi* D*D/4 or:

Brook Waterwheel D= (4*A/phi)^0.5

Charmilles Turbines D= (4*7.67)/phi)^0.5

Christiana Machine = 3 feet<<<<<<

(register gate)

Dayton Globe We measured the discharge end of the runner. Remember to measure the inside diameter
outside diameter. The water flows out of the inside diameter.
Electric Machinery
Company (EM) The discharge diameter measured with a large caliper was 21.25 inches= 1.77 feet.

English Pelton From our formula, L= 5*(Dexit-Dinlet):

L= 5*(3.00-1.77)= 6.15 feet or 74 inches.

ESAC

Essex Turbines
And that’s what we made!!!!!!
GE WW Vert Gen

GE Springbed Brg

Gilkes Turbines

GilkesWaterpower

Head Gate Hoists-

S. Morgan Smith

Holyoke Hercules

Hunt Cat 29 A&B

Hunt cylinder

J & W Jolly
(cylinder gate)

Kingsbury Brg

Leffel Bulletin 38

Leffel Bulletin 54

Leffel Hoppes Unit

Leffel Laboratory
Unit
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Leffel
Miscellaneous

Kingsbury Catalog
C-1

Lombard Direct-
Connected Oil
Pressure Governors
Bulletin N0. 113
October 1st, 1912

Lombard Governor

Lombard Governor
Company Type T
Instruction Book

Lombard Governors
for Waterwheels and
Steam Engines-1902
Here is Celesty's draft tube being rolled at the fabrication shop. It is mor
Lombard Water Wheel series of progressively larger cones and butt weld them together. Mike Piesyk of
Governors Catalouge Chicopee, Ma realized he could roll two axial shells and weld the longitudinal se
26 After is was welded, he installed the turbine throat ring and flange to complete
Michell Bearings

Pelton Wheel (1909)

Pelton Wheel (1925)

Ridgway Perfection
Water-Wheel

Rodney Hunt
Samson PamK

Smith Bulletin 110

Smith Power Tables

Smith Kaplan

Smith Power

Smith Pelton

Smith Develop

Smith Turbines:
Bulletin 105

Swain Turbine

Trump Hydraulic
Turbines

Trump Turbines

Tyler Turbine

Vertical Shaft
Water Wheel Driven
Generators- General
Electric

Wellman Seaver
Morgan

Westinghouse Small
Vertical
Waterwheel-Driven
A-C Generators,
July 1944
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y Draft Tubes
Here Mike Piesyk and I are loading the completed draft tube into my trusty F
Westinghouse WW Tannery Pond site. Note the cylindrical throat and flange we designed to match th
Generators the small step at the bottom of the throat. This step matches the size of the Sam
inside diameter of the step matches the inside diameter of the turbine skirt ring
Woodward Governor seamlessly out of the runner and into the draft tube.

Links:
Swiftriverhydro.com

damengineers.com

Smith Alternative
Energy
(www.smithtest.com)

Here is Celesty's little draft tube being lowered into the waterbox. The red draft t
turbine. It is resting in the steel thimble that housed the Leroy Somers tube turbine.

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Here we have leveled the two draft tubes. We set them on I-beams and install
and the draft tube flange. We used a Starrett 12 inch, Master Precision Machinist
ten thousanths of an inch per foot to complete the leveling. We then poured the c
Celesty's little draft tube is setting on the steel leveling I-beams. We have ins
the powerhouse to keep the concrete in.

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Here is the 17 A Samson turbine sitting on top of Celesty's draft tube ready
grouted in between the I-beams. We made a stiff mix of concrete and sloped it up
to slip into the turbine wicket gates.

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