The aim of this work is to provide a detailed experimental and numerical analysis of the flow in a fixed bucket of a Pelton turbine. The head, jet incidence, and flow rate have been varied to cover a wide range of the turbine functioning points. The experimental analysis provides measurements of pressure and torque as well as flow visualization. The numerical analysis is performed with the FLUENT code using the two-phase flow volume of fluid method. The results present a good consistency with experimental data. In particular, the pressure distribution is very well predicted for the whole range of the studied parameters. A detailed analysis of torque and thrust allows evaluating the losses due to the edge and the cutout of the bucket. These results give insight into the benefit we can expect of steady flow calculations through the optimization process of the design of Pelton turbines.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
July 2006
Technical Papers
Flow Analysis Inside a Pelton Turbine Bucket
B. Zoppé,
B. Zoppé
Laboratoire des Ecoulements Géophysiques Industriels
, B.P. 53, 38041 Grenoble Cédex 9, France
Search for other works by this author on:
C. Pellone,
C. Pellone
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
, Grenoble, France
Search for other works by this author on:
T. Maitre,
T. Maitre
Institut National Polytechnique Grenoble
, France
Search for other works by this author on:
P. Leroy
P. Leroy
ALSTOM Power Hydro
, B.P. 75, 38041 Grenoble, France
Search for other works by this author on:
B. Zoppé
Laboratoire des Ecoulements Géophysiques Industriels
, B.P. 53, 38041 Grenoble Cédex 9, France
C. Pellone
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
, Grenoble, France
T. Maitre
Institut National Polytechnique Grenoble
, France
P. Leroy
ALSTOM Power Hydro
, B.P. 75, 38041 Grenoble, FranceJ. Turbomach. Jul 2006, 128(3): 500-511 (12 pages)
Published Online: January 9, 2006
Article history
Received:
November 16, 2004
Revised:
January 9, 2006
Citation
Zoppé, B., Pellone, C., Maitre, T., and Leroy, P. (January 9, 2006). "Flow Analysis Inside a Pelton Turbine Bucket." ASME. J. Turbomach. July 2006; 128(3): 500–511. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2184350
Download citation file:
Get Email Alerts
Evaluating Thin-Film Thermocouple Performance on Additively Manufactured Turbine Airfoils
J. Turbomach (July 2025)
Thermohydraulic Performance and Flow Structures of Diamond Pyramid Arrays
J. Turbomach (July 2025)
Related Articles
Jet Flows Around Microbubbles in Subcooled Boiling
J. Heat Transfer (August,2005)
Heat Transfer Photogallery
J. Heat Transfer (August,2005)
Nucleate Boiling in Microchannels
J. Heat Transfer (August,2005)
Scanning Joule Expansion Microscopy of a Constriction in Thin Metallic Film
J. Heat Transfer (August,2005)
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Chapters
Combined Cycle Power Plant
Energy and Power Generation Handbook: Established and Emerging Technologies
Engineering and Physical Modeling of Power Plant Cooling Systems
Thermal Power Plant Cooling: Context and Engineering
Assessment of Remote Cavitation Detection Methods with Flow Visualization in a Full Scale Francis Turbine
Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Cavitation (CAV2018)