Hydraulic Machinery

• Hydraulic machinery refers to a

device either for converting the
energy held by a fluid into
mechanical energy (turbines) or vice
versa (pumps).
1. HYDROPOWER AND PUMPING STATION
 Energy of water in motion cont’d
Total water power from the gross energy head if
expressed in Watt
P = ρgHQ (Watt)
Where
P= total water power by gross energy head (Watt)
H= gross energy head (m)
Q= discharge (m3/s)
ρ =density of water (1000 kg/m3)
 2. Efficiency
Efficiency of a hydraulic machinery device
is measured as the ratio of energy output
to input. The overall efficiency of a hydro
power plant/pumping station is a product
of the efficiencies of its several elements.
Efficiency cont’d
 3.Hydroelectric Power
Water is dammed and then diverted
through a mechanical device to
convert water’s kinetic energy into
rotational energy which can then be
converted into electrical energy in a
generator.
Advantages of Hydro Power
Limitations of Hydro Power
 System Components
a). Hydraulic Works
b). Power House
c). Turbines
d). Generators
e). Power Lines
 Classification
of
Hydropower Plant
Classification of Hydropower Plant
a) Storage Plant has
a reservoir of
sufficient size to
develop a firm flow
substantially more
than the minimum
natural flow
 Classification cont’d
b) Run-of-River Plant
can use water only as
it comes. It is cheaper
than the storage plant
of equal capacity, but
suffers seasonal
variation of output.
 Classification cont’d
c) Pumped Storage
Plant generates energy
at peak load and at off
peak, water is pumped
from the lower pool to
upper pool.
 4. Pumping Station
Pumps play important role in various civil
engineering projects. In water supply,
pumps are necessary if gravitational flow
could be not achieved. They are also used
in urban sewers, drainage of low land,
abstraction of water from borehole, etc.
Pump cont’d
 Classification of Pumping Stations
a) Abstraction from surface sources: water is fed from an
open-surface source such as canal, river, or a reservoir,
often through a sump and intake. The water level may
change over a large range and sediment trapping
structure may be necessary.
b) b) Water supply from treatment plants: treated water
from treatment plants is usually supplied to a
distribution network or a storage tower-reservoir
through a pumping station. The water is clear and free
from sediments, hence no screen and sediment settling
structure is needed
 Classification cont’d
c) Storm water pumping: storm water is full of
suspended sediments and a coarse screen should be
installed before the pump’s intake. The pumping station
is used intermittently.
d) Sewage (untreated) pumping: a sewage pump should
be able to pass all solid matter through its system.
Stagnant areas or corners must be avoided.
e) Abstraction from borehole: the pumps used are
normally less bulky (around 100-400 mm diameter),
which could be fitted into well diameters of 150-600mm.
 2. TURBINES

A turbine is a device that converts the

energy in water into rotating
mechanical energy.
 Classification of Turbines
a) Impulse Turbines: use water velocity to move
the runner, rather than pressure (e.g., Pelton
Wheel).
b) Reaction Turbines: mainly use pressure
rather than velocity (e.g., Francis turbine and
propeller turbine).
 Types of Turbines
• A Pelton Wheel is a disc with buckets attached
to the outside edge. The jet strikes the buckets
one at a time, causing the wheel to spin.
• For a Francis turbine, water is introduced just
above the runner and all around it and then
falls through, causing it to spin.
• A Propeller Turbine
 Pelton Turbine
Anozzle turns hydraulic
head into a high velocity
stream of water which
hits the pelton turbine
and makes it spin. The
water coming out the
bottom has very little
energy left.
Francis Turbine
 Propeller Turbine
It resembles a boat
propeller running in a
tube and operates on a
similar principle.
 Hydraulics of Turbines
• The geometry of turbines is specifically
shaped so that the fluid exerts a torque
on the rotor in the direction of its
rotation.
• The shaft power generated is available to
drive electric generators.
 Hydraulics of Turbines cont’d
• The hydraulics of a Pelton Wheel is used here to
illustrate the application of the momentum principle
in turbine analysis.
• The wheel has a series of split buckets located around
its periphery. When the jet strikes the dividing ridge of
the bucket, it is split into two parts that discharge at
both sides of the bucket.
• The speed of the wheel is kept constant under varying
load through use of a governor that actuates a
mechanism that changes the setting of the nozzle.
Hydraulics of Turbines cont’d
 Hydraulics of Turbines cont’d
There is no power developed when u=0 or when u=V.
For a given turbine and jet, the maximum power occurs
at an intermediate u that can be found by
differentiating the equation above and equating to zero.

from which u=V/2. Thus the greatest hydraulic

efficiency (neglecting fluid friction) occurs when the
peripheral speed of the wheel is half of the jet velocity.
Hydraulics of Turbines cont’d
 Efficiency of Turbines

Where:
• T is the torque delivered to the shaft by the turbine,
• w is the rotative speed in radians per second,
• Q is the discharge, and
• h is the net head on the turbine.
 Efficiency of Turbines cont’d
• The efficiencies of various types of turbines
change with load. The impulse turbine
maintains high efficiency over a wide range of
loads, with significant decrease in efficiency
occurring when the load drops below about
30% of normal load.
 3. Pump and Pipeline
Performance curves

The following curves can be found using a

pump test (or obtainable from the
manufacturers)
Performance curves cont’d
 Performance curves cont’d

• The discharge and head curve is the most important

curve among the pump characteristics.
• It demonstrates that a pump can deliver a wide range
of discharges but there will be the changes in pressure
as the discharge changes.
• The speed of at which the pump runs can also change
the discharge and head. Each curve is produced under
a specified speed and several curves should be
obtained from the manufacturers under different
speeds so that a whole picture can be obtained.
 Performance curves cont’d

• In the curve, the normal operating condition is

represented as 100% and all other values are
relative to this point.
• It can be seen that all pumps have higher
heads at low discharge and lower heads when
discharges go up.
Discharge and Power
 Discharge and Power cont’d
• All pumps need power to rotate their impellers.
• The amount of power needed depends on the speed of
the pump and the head and discharge required.
• For centrifugal pumps the power requirement is low when
starting up but it rises steadily as the discharge increase.
• For axial pumps, the trend is different. There is a very
large power demand when starting up and it will decrease
as discharge increases.
• Mixed flow pumps lie in between other two types and
their power consumption is more uniformly distributed
 Discharge and Efficiency
• It is important to consider the pump efficiency
under its operational conditions, because of
losses occurring in transferring fuel energy to
water energy via the power unit and pump.
• The losses are caused by friction and water
turbulence. The maximum range of efficiency
is usually between 30 and 80% so there is only
limited range of discharges and heads over
which pumps operate at maximum efficiency.
 Initial pump selection
• Many features of a pump are summarised into
one factor, i.e., specific speed, which provides
a common base for comparing pumps.
• It is the speed at which a pump will deliver
1m3/s at 1.0m head when operating at peak
efficiency and is calculated as:
 Initial pump selection cont’d
• Where n is rotational speed of the pump
(rpm), Q is the pump discharge (m3/s), H is
the pump head (m).
• Specific speed is independent of the pump
size so it describes the shape of the pump
rather than how large it is.
Specific speed for different pumps

• A user can calculate the specific speed

required and check the table to find the
suitable pump types.
 Similarity and pump model
• From dimensional analysis, the scaling law can
be derived, so it is possible to experimentally
determine the performance characteristics of
one pump in the laboratory and then use these
data to predict the corresponding characteristics
for other pumps with the geometrically similar
shape under different operating condition.
• The two geometrically similar pumps will have
the same specific speed.
Similarity and pump model cont’d
 Pump selection and pipeline
Duty Point
• A duty point refers to the point in terms of head
and discharge at which a pump normally operates.
• There are many pumps on the market and there
may be several that can meet the duty point or
near it.
• The next is to examine the efficiency of each pump
at the duty point and select the one that will
operate near the maximum efficiency.
Matching a pump to a pipeline
Pump selection and pipeline cont’d
• The pipeline could have a few diameter options and
several pipeline curves could be generated by the
hydraulic loss equation.
• Select the diameter which could make the duty
point within the maximum efficiency range.
• Several pumps and various diameters should be
compared and economic analysis considering the
initial capital cost and running cost of the whole
system should be used as the final decision criterion
Example
Solution
 Solution cont’d
For different discharge, we can derive

The duty point can be found at Q= 1400 l/s, H= 65 m

Cavitation and safe installation height
Cavitation and safe installation height cont’d

• When a pump is operating, it draws water from the sump

and the water is pushed by the atmospheric pressure.
• At the sea level, the atmospheric pressure is about 10m of
water head and would be considerably less in high
mountains.
• Considering the hydraulic loss along the pipeline, the
practical limit is below 7 meters.
• In addition, low pressure will increase the possibility of
cavitation within the pump, which occurs when the liquid
pressure at a given location is reduced to vapour pressure
of the liquid.
Cavitation and safe installation height cont’d

• When this occurs, vapour bubbles form (the liquid

starts to ‘boil’).
• Cavitation can cause a loss in efficiency as well as
structural damage to the pump.
• To decide the maximum elevation for a pump
installation, an important parameter is introduced:
NPSHR (Net Positive Suction Head), which is a value
provided by pump manufacturers as a reference for
limiting suction lift under each discharge to ensure
that a pump operates satisfactorily.
Actual Net Positive Suction Head
Surges in pumping stations
 Surges in pumping stations
• When a pump stops, the flow in the pipe does not stop
immediately but continues to move along the pipe. Since the
driving force is gone, the water will gradually slow down due to
friction.
• As the flow moves away from the pump and no water enters the
pipe, the empty space forms near the pump. This is called water
column separation and pressure in the empty space drops
rapidly to the vapour pressure.
• Then the water begins to flow back towards the pump gathering
speed as it goes, and comes to a sudden stop as it hits the
pump-water hammer (similar to a sudden closure of a valve on a
pipeline). This could burst the pipe and the pump
 Solutions to Water Hammers
• Stop pumps slowly: This will avoid the water
column separation and minimise the surge.
Diesel pumps are more suitable for this solution
since they stop gradually after the fuel is cut off,
while electric pumps usually have sudden stop
when the electricity is switched off.
• Use a non-return valve: it will allow water to
pass in one direction only and protect the pump
(not the pipeline) when water flows back.
Solutions to Water Hammers
 Solutions to Water Hammers
• Use an air vessel: This is similar to a surge tank. When a
pump stops and pressure starts to drop, water flows from
a pressured tank into the pipeline to fill the void and stop
the water column from separating, and water is allowed
to flow back into the tank when the flow is reversed.
• The water will oscillate back and forth until it eventually
stops through friction (much like a car shock absorbers).
This device is expensive and should be used only for large
scale pump stations where serious water hammers are
expected.