Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 28 (11) (2014) 4539~4546

www.springerlink.com/content/1738-494x
DOI 10.1007/s12206-014-1021-6

Effect of jet diameter on erosion of turgo impulse turbine runner†

Sourabh Khurana1,* and Varun Goel2
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Gurukul Vidyapeeth Banur- 140601 (Pb), India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur – 177005 (HP), India

(Manuscript Received January 21, 2014; Revised July 21, 2014; Accepted July 31, 2014)

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Abstract

Erosion of hydro turbine components is a complex phenomenon which depends upon different parameters such as silt size, silt concen-
tration, jet velocity, hardness of silt particles, properties of base materials, jet diameter and operating hours of turbine. Several investiga-
tions have studied the effect of these parameters on erosive wear. In the present study an experimental investigation has been carried out
on a small scale Turgo Impulse turbine to study the effect of jet diameter, silt size, silt concentration and operating hours of turbine. Sam-
ples of silt were collected from Dehar power house, India. Based on experimental investigation, a correlation has been developed for the
estimation of normalized wear of a Turgo impulse turbine runner.
Keywords: Jet diameter, Silt size; Silt concentration; Normalized wear; Turgo impulse turbine
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in hydro turbines due to silt [8-14].

1. Introduction
Naidu [15] reported that about 22 large hydropower stations
Global warming and energy issues, such as depletion of fos- in India are facing a silt problem. These power stations have
sils fuels, have made it important to use renewable energy been classified into three categories based on degree of dam-
sources like hydroelectric energy effectively [1]. In India the age: intensive damage which needs renovation every year;
Ministry of power has been entrusted to develop large hydro- substantially high damage, which needs renovation in every
power resources and the Ministry on Non-conventional Ener- three years; and considerable damage, which needs special
gy Resources has been promoting small and mini hydro pro- efforts and resources after 15-20 years.
jects [2, 3]. Therefore, hydro turbines must have high efficien- Thapa and Brekke [16] concluded that due to fine silt, signif-
cy, but due to silt erosion turbines show declining perfor- icant erosion is on the needle but much less erosion on the
mance. Silt erosion is a mechanical wear of components due buckets occurs. But due to coarse particles, erosion of buckets
to silt flowing with water. Erosive wear of hydro turbine com- is more as compared to needles. While with medium size par-
ponents is a complex phenomenon and a large number of fac- ticles both needle and bucket will be significantly eroded in
tors influence silt erosion in hydro turbines. Silt erosion de- case of Pelton turbines.
pends upon several factors like silt size, silt concentration, Truscott [13] did a literature survey on abrasive wear of hy-
shape, hardness, impingement angle, velocity of flow, proper- draulic machinery and observed that the most often quoted
ties of materials, and diameter of jets [4, 5]. The gradual re- expression for erosion was:
moval of material from hydro turbine components not only
reduces the turbine efficiency but also changes the flow pat- Erosion  (velocity)n . (1)
tern, produces vibrations, increases maintenance, and finally
breakdown of hydro turbines takes place [6]. High concentra- Krause and Grein [17] developed a correlation for estimating
tion of silt combined with a higher percentage of quartz con- abrasion rate by conducting model tests on conventional steel
tent in water causes erosion in hydro turbine components. Pelton runner normally used in hydro power plants made of
The hydro turbine components which are mainly affected by X5CrNi 13/4 as given below:
silt erosion are buckets, nozzle, guide vanes, top and bottom
ring liners, labyrinths seals, facing plates, stay vanes and seal   PQCV 3.4 f ( D50 ), (2)
rings [4, 7]. Extensive research has tried to predict the erosion
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +91 172 2712312, Fax.: +91 172 2780052 where δ is erosive wear rate (mm/h), P is a constant , Q is the
E-mail address: sourabhkhurana2@gmail.com
†
Recommended by Associate Editor Simon Song
quartz content, C is the mean sand concentration, V is relative
© KSME & Springer 2014
4540 S. Khurana and Varun / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 28 (11) (2014) 4539~4546

jet velocity and f(D50) is a function that defines particle size.

Padhy and Saini [12] developed a correlation for normalized
erosive wear rate as a function of silt parameters and operating
parameters for Pelton runner as follows:

W  4.02 1012 (S )0.0567 (C)1.2267 (V )3.79 (t ). (3)

Khurana et al. [14] developed a correlation for normalized

wear rate as a function of silt parameters and operating param-
eters for Turgo runner as follows:

W 1.976 1010 (S )0.118 (C)0.967 (V )1.368 (t )1.117 . (4)

Bajracharya et al. [10] conducted a field survey of Chilmi

Hydro Electric Plant (CHEP) in Nepal having Pelton turbine
runner and developed correlations for erosion rate of spear of
Pelton turbine nozzle and efficiency loss of Pelton runner.
Our aim was to analyze the effect of silt size, silt concentra-
tion, jet velocity, jet diameter and operating hours of turbine
on erosion of a Turgo impulse turbine runner. Using experi-
mental results we developed a correlation for normalized wear
of the Turgo turbine runner.

2. Experimental details
(a)
2.1. Experimental setup

An experimental setup of the Turgo impulse turbine (closed

type) was designed and fabricated to carry out the present
investigation. The components of the experimental setup were
the Turgo turbine runner, penstock pipe, pump-motor set,
generator set, stirrer, water tanks, control valve, rectangular
notch, spear valve and nozzle, control panel with resistive load,
digital pressure transducer as shown in Fig. 1(a). A photo-
graph of experimental setup is shown in Fig. 1(b). The model
of the Turgo turbine runner consists of 19 blades and having
pitch circle diameter of 216 mm. Initial weight of runner was
approximately 2.8 kg. The material of each specimen blade (b)
used was brass, in order to get a considerable amount of ero- Fig. 1. (a) Schematic of experimental setup; (b) photograph of experi-
sion in a short span of time. The models of blades and runner mental setup.
were made on Solid Works software version 2009 as shown in
Fig. 2(a). A photograph of the Turgo runner is shown in Fig.
2(b). end of penstock pipe were used to convert the potential head
Two tanks (680 mm×530 mm×810 mm) were fabricated for of circulating water into velocity head. The water jet entered
the experimentation. The first tank was used to store water and the runner at 25 from the runner rotation plane [18]. A con-
to prepare a silt water mixture of different concentrations. The trol valve was used at the delivery side of pump to maintain
other tank was used to measure discharge with the help of required head of water. A digital pressure transducer was used
rectangular notch. A stirrer was used continuously to supply a to measure head of water and it was mounted on the penstock
uniform mixture of silt and water to the turbine. A penstock pipe at the inlet of the turbine. A generator was directly cou-
pipe of 71 mm outer diameter and 3 mm thickness was used pled with the turbine runner shaft. The generator with resistive
for supplying water under pressure to the turbine. A 7.5 HP load was connected through a control panel. The control panel
mono-block centrifugal pump of Kirloskar having 45 m rated consisted of a wattmeter, a voltmeter and ballast load in the
head and discharge capacity of 5.5 l/s was used to create hydro form of electric bulbs. The electric load was measured to de-
potential. Nozzles of three different diameters 12.5 mm (1 no.), termine the output. The turbine output was determined by
8.8 mm (2 nos.) and 7.2 mm (3 nos.) with spear valve at the considering generator efficiency. While developing a correla-
 S. Khurana and Varun / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 28 (11) (2014) 4539~4546 4541

Table 1. Range of parameters.

S. No. Parameters Range of parameters

1 Silt size 370, 300, 200,100 µm
2 Silt concentration 1000, 3000, 5000,8000 ppm
3 Jet velocity 28.805 m/s
4 Operating time 6 h run for each set
5 Jet diameters 12.5, 8.8 and 7.2 mm

Table 2. Range and uncertainty analysis of measurement devices.

(a)
Measurement
S. No. Range Uncertainty
devices
Digital pressure
1 0.5 kPa to 14 MPa ± 0.065 %
transducer
2 Silt concentration 1000, 3000, 5000, 8000 ppm 0.10 %
3 Silt size 100, 200, 300, 370 μm 1.41 %
4 Operating time 2–6h 1.18 %
(b) 5 Blade (mass loss) 202 g 0.71 %
Fig. 2. (a) Turgo impulse turbine blade and runner used for experimen- 6 Discharge H = 50 – 100 mm 1.70%
tation; (b) photograph of Turgo Runner.

tion for wear rate, the values of turbine output were not con-
sidered. Weight loss of runner was measured by taking the
weight of runner before and after experimentation using an
electronic weight balance having a least count of 0.5 g. An-
other digital balance having a least count of 0.5 mg was used
to measure the weight of silt. Grading of different sizes of silt
was done with the help of sieves of different size ranges of
100, 200, 300 and 370 µm.
2.2 Experimental procedure
34,000 ppm [19]. The range of parameters used for the present
study is given in Table 1. Silt was sun dried and then a sieve
was used to classify different sizes before mixing with water.
4. Uncertainty analysis
The uncertainty analysis of experimental measurements was
carried out on the basis of method proposed by Kline and
McClintock [21]. Based on the observations of the scatter in
the measured values used in calculating the result, if a parame-
ter is calculated using certain measured quantities as

Before starting the experimentation, all the components of

R  R  x1 , x2 , .......... xn  , (5)
the setup and instruments (digital pressure transducer, voltme-
ter, wattmeter) were checked for their proper operation. The
experimental study was carried out in two steps;, at the start a then uncertainty in measurement of R is given as follows:
monoblock was used to draw clean water at different heads
from the storage tank and supply to the turbine. Water from  R 2  R 2  R  
2

the turbine was allowed to flow through the tank fitted with a WR   W1    W2   .............   Wn   , (6)
 x1   x2   xn  
rectangular notch for discharge measurement. The height of 
water over the notch was recorded by a pointer gauge and
discharge of the pump was computed. In the second step, the where W1, W2, Wn are the uncertainties in measurement of
effect of silt parameters and different jet diameters on erosive x1,x2…xn .
wear was investigated; for this, silt laden water was supplied The range and uncertainty of measurement devices for the
to the turbine operated under a given head. A single jet was present study is given in Table 2.
used for 12.5 mm jet diameter. To maintain a constant flow at
small jet diameters, the number of jets used were 2 and 3 jets 5. Results and discussion
for 8.8 and 7.2 mm diameters, respectively.
As all the blades on runner were of identical shape and size,
it was observed that the pattern of erosion in all the blades was
3. Range of parameters
similar. Therefore, the wear was measured for the runner and
In the present study the silt sample was collected from the not for the individual blade.
Beas River near Dehar Power house (India) in which silt con- The effects of silt concentration, silt size, nozzle diameters
centration during monsoon season was found to be around on normalized wear are discussed in this section. Based on
4542 S. Khurana and Varun / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 28 (11) (2014) 4539~4546

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 3. Effect of silt concentration on normalized wear for jet diameter 12.5 mm, jet velocity 28.805 m/s and (a) silt size = 100 µm; (b) silt size =
200 µm; (c) silt size = 300 µm; (d) silt size = 370 µm.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 4. Effect of silt concentration on normalized wear for jet diameter 8.8 mm, jet velocity 28.805 m/s and (a) silt size = 100 µm; (b) silt size = 200
µm; (c) silt size = 300 µm; (d) silt size = 370 µm.

experimental investigation, graphs have been plotted to dis- 28.805 m/s. Figs. 3(a)-(d) shows the variation of normalized
cuss the effect of operating time on normalized wear. The wear (loss of weight / original weight) of runner with operat-
graphs were plotted for various silt concentrations under a ing time for different silt sizes. It can be observed from these
fixed value of jet diameter of 12.5, mm and jet velocity of figures that normalized wear increases with operating time of
 S. Khurana and Varun / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 28 (11) (2014) 4539~4546 4543

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 5. Effect of operating time on normalized wear for various silt concentrations under fixed value of jet diameter 7.2 mm, jet velocity 28.805 m/s
and (a) silt size = 100 µm; (b) silt size = 200 µm; (c) silt size = 300 µm; (d) silt size = 370 µm.

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 6. Effect of silt concentration on normalized wear for various jet diameters under fixed jet velocity 28.805 m/s and operating time = 6 h and (a)
silt size = 100 μm; (b) silt size = 200 μm; (c) silt size = 300 μm; (d) silt size = 370 μm.

turbine. Also from these figures, when silt size is 100 µm the ppm. These figures show that normalized wear increases as
maximum erosion is 0.00063 for silt concentration 8,000 ppm, silt concentration and particle size increase. A similar trend
but as silt size increases from 100 to 200 µm the maximum can be observed from the Figs. 4(a)-(d) and 5(a)-(d).
erosion is 0.00077 for the same silt concentration of 8,000 Figs. 6(a)-(d) shows the effect of silt concentration on nor-
4544 S. Khurana and Varun / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 28 (11) (2014) 4539~4546

(a) (b)

(c) (d)

Fig. 7. Effect of jet diameter on normalized wear for various silt concentrations under fixed jet velocity 28.805 m/s and operating time = 6 h and (a)
silt size = 100 µm; (b) silt size = 200 µm; (c) silt size = 300 µm; (d) silt size = 370 µm.

malized wear for different jet diameters and a fixed value of where A0 is constant and its value depends upon the other
jet velocity and operating time. For 12.5 mm jet diameter factors, silt size, silt concentration and operating time.
normalized wear was found to be in the range 0.00063- 0.0012 To observe the effect of other parameters W/D0.187 was plot-
with silt concentration variation of 1,000 ppm to 8,000 ppm. ted against S (silt size) on natural log scale (Fig. 9), and the
Figs. 7(a)-(d) shows normalized wear of turbine with jet di- relationship obtained by fitting a quadratic equation of 2nd
ameter for silt concentration 1,000 ppm to 8,000 ppm and for order can be represented as:
fixed values of jet velocity and operating time. Also, for all
values of silt size and silt concentration the wear rate is more ln W / D0.187   0.346 S 2  3.1375 S  B0 . (9)
for larger jet diameter than the lower jet diameter, i.e., the
wear rate is directly proportional to the jet diameter.
In the above relation B0is constant whose value depends up-
on the remaining factors, C and t.
6. Correlation development for wear rate
Therefore, again a graph was plotted between W/(D0.187
-3.137 0.346{(ln(S))2}
Experimental data indicate that silt size, silt concentration, S e ) against C (silt concentration) on natural log
operating hours of turbine and jet diameters play critical roles scale (Fig. 10), and the relationship obtained by fitting a quad-
in erosion of the Turgo impulse turbine runner. A correlation ratic equation of 2nd order can be represented as:
for the wear rate as a function of above said parameters has
been developed from the experimental data.
The simplest equation for normalized wear can be written as 
W / D0.187 S 3.137e
 
0.346{ ln S  2}
  0.277C  3.961C  C .
2
0 (10)
follows:
In this relation C0 is constant whose value depends upon t.
W  f ( D, S , C, t ). (7) Therefore, again a graph was plotted between W/(D0.187 S-
3.137 0.326{(ln(S))2} -3.961 0.277{(ln(C)}2
e C e ) versus t (operating time) (Fig.
To determine the effect of jet diameter on normalized wear, 11). By fitting power law line the following relation is ob-
a plot for wear versus jet diameter was plotted as shown in Fig. tained as:
8 and a power law line fitted to obtain the relation as:
 
0.326{ ln S  2}  
0.277{ lnC  2}
W / ( D0.187 S 3.137e C 3.961e  9.41104 t 0.540 .
W  A0 D 0.187
, (8)
(11)
 S. Khurana and Varun / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 28 (11) (2014) 4539~4546 4545

Fig. 8. Plot of normalized wear with jet diameter. Fig. 11. Plot of W/(D0.189 S-2.926e0.326{(ln(S))2} C-3.961e0.277{(Ln(C))2}) versus
operating time.

Fig. 9. Plot of Ln(W/D0.187) versus Ln (S).

Fig. 12. Comparison of experimental values with predicted values of
wear of Turgo turbine blades.

Fig. 10. Plot of Ln {W/(D0.187 S-3.137e0.346{(ln(S))2})}versus Ln (C).

Fig. 13. Percentage efficiency loss versus operating time.

On rearranging the above equation it can be written as:
percentage efficiency loss is less as compared to (8.8 and 12.5
 
0.326{ ln S  2}
W  9.41  104 D0.187 S 3.137 e mm) jet diameter.
(12)
 
0.277{ ln C  2} 0.540
C 3.961e t
7. Conclusion
Eq. (12) can be used to predict the normalized wear in the Based on experimental investigation, normalized wear in-
Turgo impulse turbine. creases with increase in jet diameters, so small jet diameters
Fig. 12 represents the comparison of experimental data for can be used by increasing the number of jets without affecting
normalized wear and obtained from above correlation. A good the turbine output at higher silt concentration to reduce the
agreement was observed and deviation between the experi- normalized wear as the output of the turbine increases slightly.
mental and calculated values for normalized wear was found A correlation was developed for erosive wear rate as a func-
to be within ± 8%. tion of jet diameters, silt size, silt concentration, operating
Fig. 13 shows the variation of percentage efficiency loss ver- hours of turbine which can be used to predict the normalized
sus operating time. For smaller jet diameter (7.2 mm), the wear with ± 8% error.
4546 S. Khurana and Varun / Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology 28 (11) (2014) 4539~4546
Acknowledgment
This work is supported by Gurukul Vidyapeeth Banur, India.
Nomenclature------------------------------------------------------------------------
W : Normalized wear (g/g)
C : Silt concentration (ppm)
D50 : Mean silt size (μm)
H : Head (m)
Q : Quartz content
S : Silt particle size (μm)
t : Operating time (h)
V : Velocity of flow (m/s)
v : Relative velocity of water
D : Jet diameter (D)
δ : Erosive wear rate (mm/h)
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Sourabh Khurana is an Associate
Professor in Mechanical Engineering at
Gurukul Vidyapeeth Institute of Engi-
neering and Technology Banur, India.
His field of specialization is fluid me-
chanics, heat transfer, hydro power.