Experiment # 5:

Objective:
To find efficiency torque and power of impulse turbine using three stage reciprocatory compressor.

Apparatus:
1. External compressor setup for providing high pressure at the inlet.
2. Tachometer to measure the speed (rpm) of the turbine.
3. Strain gauge to measure the resistance given to the turbine.
4. Thermocouples to measure the temperatures at inlet and exit conditions.
5. Rotameter to measure the air mass flow rate
6. Impulse Turbine

Fig: 5.1 (Impulse turbine)

Theory:
Impulse Turbine:
An impulse turbine is a turbine that is driven by high velocity jets of water or steam from a nozzle
directed on to vanes or buckets attached to a wheel. The resulting impulse (as described by
Newton's second law of motion) spins the turbine and removes kinetic energy from the fluid flow.
Tachometer:
A tachometer is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or
other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrated
analogue dial, but digital displays are increasingly common.

Degree of reaction:
Is the ratio of static pressure drop in the rotor to the static pressure drop in the stage or as the ratio
of static enthalpy drop in the rotor to the static enthalpy drop in the stage.
In this setup, the flow is initiated by creating a large pressure difference between the inlet and the
exit of the turbine. We can change the mass flow rate by changing the inlet pressure. The four
nozzles are used to convert most of the flow energy to kinetic energy. With this kinetic energy, the
flow impinges on the turbine blades which initiates and maintains the rotation of the turbine.
Strain Gauge:
A strain gauge is attached to the belt the turbine to measure the force to the resistance created
during various operating conditions. This setup measures the strain which is converted to force in
Newton by the setup.
The nozzles are positioned such that they produce couple to rotate the turbine. In his setup, four
nozzles are positioned as shown in the figure. They provide two couples to drive he turbine. The
nozzle is also provided with valves so that they can be closed or opened to change the inlet flow
which facilitates the study of the turbine at different conditions.
Torque:
Torque is a twisting or turning force that tends to cause rotation around an axis, which might be a
center of mass or a fixed point.

Power:
Power is the rate at which work is done or the rate at which energy is transferred from one place
to another or transformed from one type to another.

P = Fv cos θ P=F·v
Procedure:
1. There are two steps followed in this experiment
2. In the first step, the inlet is provided with different pressures and hence different mass
flows. As we vary the pressure, the mass flow will vary and the rpm of the turbine will
vary accordingly. The rpm will be controlled by varying the resistance and it will be set
at particular constant value for different pressures. The resistance to the load will be
measured using a strain gauge while the mass flow rate will be taken from a tachometer.
 3. In the second step, the inlet pressure is kept constant and the rpm is varied by varying the
resistance load. This gives the value of resistance force at different rpm. The mass flow
rate remains constant as the pressure different is maintained constant.
4. Both of the above steps are repeated with two adjacent nozzles shut off and the readings
are recorded for calculation of performance parameters.
Formulae used:
1. Pideal = mCp ΔT = mCp(T1-Tideal)
2. Pactual = (2.Phi.NT)/60

Here T is torque.

3. Efficiency η =Pactual/Pideal
4. Specific Air consumption SAC = m/Pactual

Observation Tables:
For case 1: 4 nozzle open:

P1 P2 Actual RPM Load Mass flow rate T1 T2

Kpa Kpa N Kg/sec K K

131.325 101.325 21480 0.66 0.0029 298.7 295.2

141.325 101.325 21490 0.96 0.0033 298.7 293.9

151.325 101.325 21450 1.16 0.0037 298.8 293

Ref. Pres. = 50KPa

RPM Actual RPM Load Mass flow rate T1 T2

N Kg/sec K K

18500 18400 1.41 0.0037 298.9 294.4

20500 20590 1.23 0.0037 298.9 293

22500 22410 1.14 0.0037 298.9 293.1

Case 2: 2 nozzle open:

Reference RPM=19500

P1 P2 Actual RPM Load Mass flow rate T1 T2

Kpa Kpa N Kg/sec K K

131.325 101.325 19400 0.38 0.0008 299.7 296.5

141.325 101.325 19500 0.56 0.001 299.6 296

Ref. Pres. = 50KPa

RPM Actual RPM Load Mass flow rate T1 T2

N Kg/sec K K

16500 16580 0.77 0.0015 299.6 294.4

17500 17490 0.6 0.0015 299.6 294.4

2 nozzles open Inlet Pressure Constant:

Reference RPM=19500

Rp T T2 Ideal SAC

N-m W W K % Kg/KW-Hr

0.66958533 0.011165 19.37544 48.90271 267.1604 39.62039 278.7033

0.66958533 0.0087 15.92639 48.90271 267.1604 32.56751 339.0598

2 nozzles open RPM Constant:

Reference
RPM=19500

Rp T T2 Ideal SAC

N-m W W K % Kg/KW-Hr

0.771559109 0.00551 11.18824 17.20905 278.2957 65.0137 257.4131716

0.716964444 0.00812 16.57292 27.30554 272.4303 60.69434 217.2218293

Graph:
For each case: 2 nozzle open and 4 nozzle open (𝟐 × 𝟖 = 𝟏𝟔)
Efficiency – RPM (Inlet pressure constant):
Torque-Pressure Ratio (Rpm Constant):

Precautions:
1. All the nozzles should not be set to close at the same time.
2. We need to decrease the resistance before reducing the pressure difference.
3. The pressure supply should not be more than 50KPa so that the chances of instabilities
due to vibration at high speeds (rpm) are reduced.

Conclusion:
The efficiency drops for both 4 nozzle open (Case 1) and 2 nozzle open (Case 2) with increase in
RPM. This is because of the higher rate of increase of ideal power than the actual power with
increase in RPM. So more the RPM, less efficient is the turbine as the thermal losses become more
pronounced at higher speeds. In the case with pressure ratio, efficiency increases directly with it
as turbine efficiency depends much on its pressure ratio. We get more efficiency for 2 nozzle case
as for the same pressure ratio as the RPM of this case is lesser for the same pressure ratio. It is
obvious that torque vs. RPM curve shows a negative trend because torque always decreases with
RPM. The main reason for this trend is that the performance of the engine in terms of power,
torque, efficiency etc. decreases as the turbine is unable to convert the energy efficiently as the
losses such as thermal, vibrational and stress related losses begins to increase. The actual power
first decreases and then changes the trend with RPM. For both cases (Case 1 and case2) the actual
power decreases with pressure ratio because of the losses discussed above. SAC shows a variation
which first decreases with power and then mildly increases as at the optimum value of power, the
SAC becomes the least and beyond that, SAC increases.