Abstract.

A turbine extracts energy from fluid or air flow to generate power and converts it into
useful work.The blade attached on the shaft will react to the flow so that it will move and
cause rotational energy to the rotor.Francis turbine may be designed for a wide ranged
heads and flows.Francis turbines widely used in the world because their high efficiency
.The ouput power varies from just few kilowatts to one gigawatt covering a head range
from 20 meter to 700 meter.The francis turbine can be used for pumped storage where it
will acting as pump during low power demand and then reversed and used to generate
power during peak demand.
Theory:
This type of hydraulic machine is converting the head energy to mechanical energy.

The input,
Pi
n

.Q.H
V2
.g .Q.

2g
The output,
.T

Pout
.( F r

2N
T
60
The turbine efficiency,
Po
Pin

1 00%

Flow rate,
Q

V
t

Figure 1 Francis Turbine Impel

Apparatus:
Armfield R16 Francis (Reaction) Turbine

Figure 2 Armfield R16 Francis Turbine

No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Part
Name
Sump Tank
Pump assembly
Centrifugal pump
Suction pipe
Valve
Delivery pipe
Electromagnetic flow meter

Procedure:
1. Check that the sump tank is filled.
2. Check that the valve at the pump discharge is closed and set the guide vanes
on the turbine to the closed position.
3. Release any load on the disc brake by unscrewing the handwheel and check that
the dial gauge reads zero. Adjust if necessary.
4. Switch on the pump and slowly open the valve at the pump discharge to the
fully open position. This valve is to be kept opened throughout the test.
5. Gradually open the guide vanes to approximately mid-position, typically
15o on the indicator, then clamp in position.
6. Allow the speed of turbine to stabilize, then take readings of:e. turbine speed (read on Tachometer, RPM)
f.

Inlet head (read on Bourdon gauge, m head)

g. Flow rate (read on flow meter, m3/hr
h. brake force (read on brake spring balance, kg)
7. Slowly apply load to the disc brake by turning the hand wheel in a
clockwise direction until the speed of the turbine reduces by
approximately 100RPM.
8. Keeping the speed steady (by re-adjusting the brake load if necessary),
repeat the readings in step 6.
9. Repeat steps 7-8 until turbine stalls (0 RPM)
10. On completion if the test:i.

Close the guide vanes

j. Release the load on the

brake k. Switch off the
pump
l.

Close the valve at the pump discharge

Result.
Brake arm radius (r) = 0.25m
Turbine
Speed,
N
(RPM)
2000

1800
1600
1400
1100
1000

Inlet
Head, H
(m)

10.8
10
9.8
9.6
9.5
9.4

Flow
meter
Reading

72.05
(m3/hr)
90.50
98.00
100
108
110

Volume

Brake

Brake

Brake

Flowrate,
Q

Reading

Force,
F

Torque, T
(Nm)

0.02
(m3/s)
0.0251
0.02722
0.02777
0.03
0.0305

0 (kg)
2.6
4.3
5.0
6.2
6.6

0 (N)
25.506
42.183
49.05
60.822
64

0
6.3765
10.545
12.26
15.20
16

Mechanical
Power, PM
(W)

0
1269.8
1766.83
1797.40
1750.9
1675.52
..

746

Calculation.

From the data taken,we calculate;

Volume
flow rate,Q(
Brake Force,F(N)
Brake Torque,T(Nm)
Mechanical Power,Pm(W)
Water Power,Pw(W)
Turbine Efficiency,(%)
Example calculation step with turbine speed ,N=1925RPM
1) Volume flow rate,Q(

=72.05

2)Brake Force,F(N)=mg
=Brake reading x9.81
=2.6x9.81
=25.506 N
3)Brake Torque,T(Nm)=Fxr
=25.506x0.25
=6.3765 N/m
4)Mechanical Power=XT
=

=0.02

Water
Power,
PW (W)

2118.9
2462.3
6
2616.9
1
2615.3
2795.9
2812.5

Turbine
Efficiency,%

0
51.54
67.52
68.73
62.62
59.57

=1269.8
5) Water Power,Pw(W)=pgQH
=1000(9.81)(0.02)(10.8)
=5297.4 W
6)Turbine Efficiency
(Pout/Pin)x100
=1410.9/5297.4
=26.63 %
Graph

Torque(Nm) Vs Turbine Speed(N)

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

0
0

3
Figure 1

Mechanical Power(W) Vs Turbine Speed(N)

2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Figure 2

Turbine Efficiency(%) Vs Turbine Speed(N)

80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0

500

1000
Figure 3

1500

2000

2500

Discussion
Based on the graph plotted from our result,Some information had been extract.We can
see that the trend for all of the graphs is the same,as it inversely proportional to each
other.For the first graph which is the torque against turbine speed,we found out that when
the turbine speed increases,the brake torque increase,the brake torque decreases.This is
because we keep increasing the force ,the friction is higher and thus it makes the fluid
velocity decrease.
For the second graph which is the mechanical power against turbine speed,we can see
that when the turbine speed increases,the mechanical power decreases as well.The
Francis turbine is a reaction turbine,which means that the working fluid changes pressure
as it moves through the turbine,giving up the energy .From the pressure formula,we knew
that as we increases the load,the pressure increases.As the turbine speed increase,the load
also increases and pressure increase.As the turbine speed increasemthe load alos
increases and pressure increases.Thus,the mechanical power increases with the pressure
increase
For the third graph,we cannot get 100% efficiency because the machine is now well
calibrated.besides that,this might experience wear since it has been used for a long
time,resulting an error in data recorded.

Conclusion
In Conclusion, we found that the brake torque, mechanical power and turbine efficiency
are all inversely proportional to turbine speed. Hence,in reality we can apply this
knowledge by keeping the turbine speed as low as possible but still economical.There are
some errors in the experiment which causes inaccurate readings however we still get the
correct patterns that suit the predicted results.