Hydraulics and Hydrology (CIVL2004/2104)

Hydraulic Machinery

Introduction

Hydraulic machines can be broadly classified into two types; namely, Pumps and
Turbines. Pumps convert mechanical energy into fluid energy thereby increasing the
energy of the fluid (increase of pressure or increase in velocity). Turbines convert the
fluid energy into mechanical energy thereby decreasing the energy of the fluid.

A compressor is a pump with a primary function to increase the pressure of a gas.

Fans and blower are machines used only for producing movement of gases.

Types of Hydraulic Machines

Depending on the principle of action, hydraulic machines can be classified into:

(1) mechanical action of displacing fluids Positive displacement machines; and
(2) momentum principle of flowing fluids Turbo-machines.

The operation of a positive displacement type machine depends only on mechanical

and hydrostatic principles. Only a few principles of fluid dynamics are involved.
Some examples of positive displacement pumps are shown below:

Gear pump Double-screw pump Sliding vane pump

Turbomachines

Turbo-machines are also known as the rotodynamic type. In this type of machines,
the conversion of energy occurs in a rotating part of the machine (known as the
rotor). Inside the rotor, there is a transformation between pressure and velocity
heads. A significant change of velocity occurs across the rotor. The casing and other
parts of the machine are called the stator. If the valves in a rotodynamic machine
were closed, there will only be an increase in temperature. The casing will not burst.

Depending on the direction of fluid flow through the rotor in relation to the rotation
axis of the rotor, turbo-machines are classified as:
(1) axial flow type;
(2) radial flow type; and
(3) mixed flow type.

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Another type of classification is based on the location of momentum change:
(1) reaction type, where the fluid action occurs all over the rotor; and
(2) impulse type, where the fluid action occurs on one part of the rotor.

Pumps

Centrifugal pumps

They are so called because of the fact that the centrifugal force or the variation of
pressure due to rotation is an important factor in their operation. The pump consists
of an impeller or rotor rotating within a casing. Flow enters the inside of the
impeller from the top but inside the impeller, the flow is mainly in the radial direction
through the spaces between the impeller blades. Centrifugal pumps are radial-flow
pumps and the flow is radially outwards. The thickness of the impeller may vary
from the inner inlet side to the outer outlet side.

The casing of the pump is also known as the volute. It has a spiral form so
proportioned as to produce an equal velocity of flow all around the circumference and
also to gradually reduce the velocity of the water as it flows from the impeller to the
discharge pipe.

Velocity triangle analysis

The flow through the impeller can be analysed with the (angular-) momentum
equation. For a blade in the impeller, velocity triangles can be drawn at the inlet and
the outlet tips. The three velocities in each velocity triangles are:
s, the velocity of the blade at the tip due to rotation of the impeller;
U, absolute velocity of the fluid at the tip; and
UR, fluid velocity relative to the moving blade tip.

At design conditions, the fluid approaches and leaves the blade smoothly. This means
that UR1 and UR2 will have directions the same as the geometric angles of the blade at

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the entry and exit tips. The entry direction of the flow can always be guided by a set
of stationary guide vanes. Thus,
UR: have directions set by the blade angles;
s: in the direction of blade movement, s=r;
U: can be resolved into two components:
(i) along the direction of blade movement, i.e. tangential to the impeller
rotation.
This component is called the whirl component or the velocity of
whirl, Uw;
(ii) along the direction of the main flow pass the blade, i.e. radial in radial-
flow machines or axial in axial-flow machines.
This component is denoted by Uf.

Optimum design conditions:

Entry
1

For a pump, the rotating blades exert a torque on the flow. The torque leads to a
change of angular momentum of the fluid in the whirl direction. Power is delivered to
the flow by the pump:
Torque = Q (r2Uw2 r1Uw1)
Power = Torque
Power = Q (s2Uw2 s1Uw1) = Q (sUw)

The flowrate through the impeller is given by the product of Uf with the flow area.
In radial-flow machine, Uf is uniform along the circumference of the impeller, so that
Q = Uf circumference of impeller thickness of impeller

For optimum design, the blade angles are set so that Uw1 = 0 and the power is
maximised.

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Axial-flow (Propeller pump) pumps

The rotor or impeller of an axial-flow pump is in the form of a propeller. The

flow though the rotor is largely parallel to the axis of rotation. There are a number of
blades attached on the hub. The effective flow area is from the hub to the tips of the
blades.

Flow Exit

Entry

As in a centrifugal pump, the torque and power delivered to the flow are:
Torque = Q (r2Uw2 r1Uw1)
Power = Q (s2Uw2 s1Uw1) = Q (sUw)

The flowrate through the axial-flow pump is obtained by integration because Uf varies
along the blade:
blade _ end
Q= U f 2rdr
hub
The optimum design condition is Uw1 = 0 and U1 = Uf1.

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Turbines
Turbines extract energy from a flow and change it into mechanical form. Most
turbines work on fluid principles. Fluid passes through a runner having a number of
blades. The momentum of the fluid in the tangential direction is changed and so a
tangential force on the runner is produced. There is a torque developed on the runner.
The runner rotates and does mechanical work against a load (e.g., for driving a
generator to produce electricity). The energy in the fluid, in head or velocity, is
reduced on passing through the turbine.

The Pelton wheel is a common example of an impulse turbine whereas Francis and
Kaplan turbines are reaction type of turbines. In an impulse turbine, there is no
change in static pressure across the runner which is open and at atmospheric pressure.
The energy change is from kinetic to mechanical. In reaction turbines, static pressure
decreases as the fluid passes through the runner which is enclosed.

For any turbine, the fluid energy is in the form of pressure. In water turbines, it is the
difference between the upper and lower levels that gives this pressure. In steam
turbines, it is the steam pressure produced by heat. In gas turbine it is the gas pressure
produced by chemical energy.

Francis Turbine

It is a radial-flow turbine developed by a U.S. engineer J.B. Francis in 1800s. The

flow is driven by a head difference between the upstream reservoir, head race and
the downstream water level, tail race. Water passes through a spiral passage and
there are guide vanes which turn the water flow radially inwards into the runner. The
cross sectional area of the spiral decreases along the fluid path in such a way as to
keep the fluid velocity constant in magnitude. The setting of the stationary guide
vanes deflects the flow by the desired angle according to design.

The flow through the runner is mostly horizontal and is in the radial inward direction
and this is why Francis turbine is also called an inward-flow turbine. After leaving
the runner blades, usually with no whirl component, the radially inward flow is turned
into axial flow at the centre of the runner. Afterwards, water flows out of the turbine.
The flow path and the principle of the Francis turbine is exactly the opposite of a
centrifugal pump.

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Inside the runner, the flow exits a torque on the blades. At the same time, the angular
momentum of the fluid is changed. Velocity triangle analysis of the flow is shown in
the diagram. Under the optimum design condition, the flow has no whirl velocity at
the exit of the blade. The power developed by the runner is equal to the power lost by
the flow, which is related to the loss of angular momentum in passing the blade:

Torque = Q (r1Uw1 r2Uw2)

Power = Torque
Power = Q (s1Uw1 s2Uw2) = Q (sUw)

It becomes obvious now why in radial-flow machines, the flow is always outward for
a pump and always inward for a turbine. For a turbine, the power is related to the
difference of (sUw) in subtracting the outlet value (2) from the inlet value (1). A
larger power results when the inlet has a larger radius.

The flowrate through the runner impeller is given by the product of Uf and the flow
area.

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Kaplan Turbine

The Kaplan turbine is developed by an Austrian engineer, V. Kaplan in the late

1800s. It is equivalent to an axial flow pump in reverse. Water first flows into a
spiral passing where stationary guide vanes turn the flow towards the center of the
turbine. Then the flow is turned into axial flow through a vertical tube where the
runner is located. The runner is in the form of a propeller and mechanical power is
developed when the flow turns the runner.

Velocity triangle analysis is shown in the diagram below for the optimum design
condition, Uw2 =0:

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Mixed-flow Turbine

There are also mixed-flow turbines where the flow enters the turbine runner radially
but leaves with a substantial axial flow component of velocity.

All reaction turbines run full of fluid. Usually they are mounted on vertical shafts
(runner rotating on a horizontal plane) and operate on low-head, high-flow situations
(e.g., 15 to 30m). Efficiencies are around 90% for large machines.

Pelton Wheel Turbine

The Pelton wheel is a turbine used in high-head systems, particularly in hydroelectric

schemes in mountain areas. The rotor consists of a number of buckets attached to its
periphery. One or more nozzles are mounted so that they discharge a jet along a
tangent to the circle through the centre line of the buckets.

The buckets are split in half at the centre and the incoming jet divides into two equal
halves upon impinging. The notch in the outer rim of each bucket prevents the jet to
the preceding bucket being intercepted too soon.

The maximum change of momentum, and hence the maximum force, would be
obtained if the fluid is deflected through 180 degrees. But in practice, this deflection
is around 165 degrees to prevent the fluid leaving one bucket striking the back of the
next.

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The pressure of the fluid after it has left the nozzle is constant at atmospheric.
Normally, the Pelton wheel rotates in a vertical plane, i.e. in a horizontal shaft.

Analysis of the flow principle is made with the help of velocity triangles. It is
possible to consider some non-ideal effects such as frictions in flow past the nozzle
and the buckets. The velocity of the water jet is related to the net available head H
(i.e. after allowing for frictional losses inside the transporting pipe) by U1 = Cv 2 gH ,
where Cv is the coefficient of velocity. The effect in the buckets can be represented
by a coefficient k in relating the magnitudes of the relative velocities in the inlet and
outlet points of the bucket: UR2 = kUR1 (k<1).

Energy and Efficiency

Turbines and pumps convert energy between the fluid form (pressure, head or
velocity) and the mechanical form. The are energy losses in the processes and it is
important to analysis the energy conversion. Various efficiencies are defined for
these processes.

Turbines

In a turbine installation, there are the head race and the tail race. The elevation
difference is the gross head which represents the largest head available for use. As
water flows through a pipe or tunnel to the turbine, there is friction loss in this
penstock. Eventually, water flows out of the turbine or out of the draft tube with
some velocity (k.e.). There is some unused or waste energy in this water. The net
energy or head available to the runner is called the net or effective head, Heff.

Heff = Gross head

penstock loss
k.e. loss at exit

Power available to runner

= QgHeff

The mechanical power developed by the runner is Q (sUw). The effectiveness of

the turbine runner in converting the head available to it into this mechanical power is
measured by the Hydraulic efficiency, h:

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 Q( sU w ) ( sU w )
h = =
gQH eff gH eff

The final output of the turbine is the mechanical power input available at the output
shaft, P, which is less than that developed at the runner. The overall efficiency of the
pump is thus the ratio of this mechanical power output to the available power of the
flow:

P
=
gQH m

Pumps

In the typical installation of a pump, water is pumped from a sump (s) through a
suction pipe into the pump inlet (0). The pump raises the (piezometric) head of the
fluid. From the pump outlet (3), water goes to the delivery point (d) through a
delivery pipe. The head difference from the sump to the pump is called the suction
head and the head difference between the delivery and the pump is called the
delivery head. The sum of these two is called the static lift. It represents the
height through which the flow needs to be raised. Of course, the water is being lifted
with flow/velocity and there is friction loss in the suction pipe and the delivery pipe,
as well as other device losses like valves and bends. The total losses can be taken to
be proportional to the square of the discharge Q. The overall pump head across the
pump which the pump needs to add to the flow is:

pump head = static lift + friction loss

= suction head + delivery head + kQ2

Points 1, 2
across impeller

3
0

The increase in pump head is usually measured by the increase in piezometric head
across the pump (i.e. from 0 to 3). This head, Hm, is easily measurable by connecting
a piezometer to the entry or exit point of the pump. The corresponding power added
to the flow is gQHm. The power that the impeller delivers is Q (sUw) which is
larger because some energy is lost in flow inside the pump casing and the impeller.

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The effectiveness of energy/head conversion connected with the pump itself is
measured by the Manometric efficiency , mano.:

gQH m gH m
mano. = =
Q( sU w ) ( sU w )

The power delivered to the impeller comes, of course, from the mechanical power
input to the pump Pinput. The overall efficiency of the pump is defined as:

gQH m
=
Pinput

Performance of Pumps

Characteristic Curve

A pump will operate in a different manner under different sets of head and discharge.
The efficiency will be different, too. For example, when a medium-size centrifugal
pump is used to pump water up a large height, the discharge will be small and the
efficiency will be lower (point A). When the same pump is used to pump water
through a small height, the discharge will be high but the efficiency will not be high
(point B).

For a particular pump, there is a relationship between its pump head and the
corresponding discharge that it can deliver. This relationship is usually represented
by plotting H against Q. The curve is called the characteristic curve of the pump or
simply the pump curve. The curve usually shows a decrease in head with an
increase in discharge. The efficiency curve of vs. Q can also be plotted alongside
the pump curve.

A

H, m H
B gH/N2D2

Q/ND3
Q, m3/s
Of course, the performance of a pump is affected by its size (measured by the
diameter of the impeller D) and the speed of rotation N of the impeller. By
dimensional analysis, the head and discharge can be made non-dimensional by these
parameters. The resulting groups for head, discharge and power are:

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 Q gH P
1 = 2 = 2 2 3 = 3 5
ND 3
N D N D
There are also the efficiency which is already non-dimensional, and the viscosity
(Reynolds number):

4 = 5 =
ND 2

The groups are useful when comparing pumps of different designs, such as shapes
and angles of blades. When plotted in the non-dimensional forms, pumps of the same
family, i.e. the same design, will have the same pump curve.

The same dimensional analysis can be carried out for a turbine.

Operating Point

When a pump is installed in an application, the load to the pump is discussed before.
The pump head is:
pump head = static lift + friction loss
Hload = Hlift + kQ2

The operating point of the pump refers to the particular values of discharge and head
that the pump delivers in the installation. The operating point is determined by the
intersection of the load curve and the pump curve.

H=Hlift +kQ2
H

Hlift

For the best performance, the pump should operate at a discharge which gives the
maximum efficiency.

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Cavitation

Cavitation is caused by
Vapourisation of the liquid and/or release of dissolved air at low pressure When
the velocities and elevations are high, pressures can reach low values according to
Bernoullis equation. This occurs when the pressure is lowered to the vapour
pressure at the temperature considered.
Movement of the vapour into a high-pressure region The bubbles are carried
along by the flow.
Collapse of the bubbles (vapour cavities) due to high pressure Vapour is
condensed to liquid again. When the cavity collapses, liquid from all directions
rush to the centre of gravity of the cavity giving rise to very high local pressure.

Release of energy and pressure wave of high intensity resulting in

(a) Pitting and erosion of metal surfaces
(b) Noise and vibration of machine
(c) Loss of energy and efficiency

Although cavitation may not be formed on solid surfaces, pressure waves from nearby
cavities can affect them. These pressures, intense in magnitude act only for a short
time. But they act repeatedly at high frequencies, causing the metal to fail by fatigue.

In reaction turbines, the point of minimum pressure is at the outlet end of a runner
blade. This is the point most likely for cavitation to occur. In order to prevent
cavitation, it is required to maintain some value of pressure there. From this point,
water flows through the draft tube to the tail race. The purpose of the draft tube is to
slow down the flow so that the k.e. reaches almost zero. Applying the energy
equation between the turbine outlet and the tail race (where the pressure is
atmospheric), we have:
pmin V 2
+ + z = hL ( frictional losses in draft tube) 0
g 2 g

To keep pmin as large as possible, it is required to make z (elevation of turbine above

the tail race) as small as possible. Therefore, a turbine is always installed near the tail
race.

For a pump, the point with minimum pressure is at the inlet to the pump impeller.
Applying the energy equation between there and the sump, we have:
pmin V 2
+ + z = hsump ( sump head )
g 2 g
Again, z should be small to prevent cavitation. This is why a pump is preferably
located near the sump rather than near the delivery.

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