A Report On EXPERIMENTAL FLUID MECHANICS

Under Guidance Of

Prof. S.M.GUNADAL

BY :-

GANESH V VIDHILESHKUMAR MISHRA SAIYAM SANGHVI

(081020014) (081020036) (081020051)

What is Experimental Fluid Mechanics? Use of experimental methodology and procedures for solving fluids engineering systems, including full and model scales, large and table top facilities, measurement systems (instrumentation, data acquisition and data reduction) and dimensional analysis and similarity.

EFD philosophy: Decisions on conducting experiments are governed by the ability of the expected test outcome, to achieve the test objectives within allowable uncertainties. test design determination of error sources estimation of uncertainty documentation of the results

Purpose: Science & Technology: understand and investigate a phenomenon/process, substantiate and validate a theory(hypothesis) Research & Development: document a process/system, provide benchmark data (standard procedures, validations), calibrate instruments, equipment, and facilities Industry: design optimization and analysis, provide data for direct use, product liability, and acceptance Teaching: instruction/demonstration

Introduction: Small hydro power stations became attractive after the oil price crisis of the 70s and again in recent years. However, the cost-per-

KW of energy produced by these stations is higher than the large hydroelectric power plants. In recent years numerous publications emphasized the importance of using simple turbines to reduce the cost of generated energy. For medium head pico hydro sites (6 - 35 m) the best choice of turbine is not obvious. The usual alternatives would be either a crossflow turbine or a multi-jet Pelton turbine. Both of these options run at relatively low speed and would require either a 6-pole generator or a belt drive to produce electric power. Another option is to use a standard pump unit instead of a conventional turbine. Disadvantages of large scale hydroelectric projects: 1.Dams are extremely expensive to build and must be built to a very high standard. 2.The high cost of dam construction means that they must operate for many decades to become profitable. 3.The flooding of large areas of land means that the natural environment is destroyed. 4.People living in villages and towns that are in the valley to be flooded, must move out. This means that they lose their farms and businesses. In some countries, people are forcibly removed so that hydro-power schemes can go ahead. 5.The building of large dams can cause serious geological damage. For example, the building of the Hoover Dam in the USA triggered a number of earth quakes and has depressed the earth's surface at its location. 6.Although modern planning and design of dams is good, in the past old dams have been known to be breached (the dam gives under the weight of water in the lake). This has led to deaths and flooding. 7.Dams built blocking the progress of a river in one country usually means that the water supply from the same river in the following country is out of their control. This can lead to serious problems between neighboring countries.

8.Building a large dam alters the natural water table level. 9.Hydro power dams can damage the surrounding environment and alter the quality of the water by creating low dissolved oxygen levels, which impacts fish and the surrounding ecosystems. They also take up a great deal of space and can impose on animal, plant, and even human environments. 10.Fish populations can be impacted if fish cannot migrate upstream past impoundment dams to spawning grounds or if they cannot migrate downstream to the ocean. Upstream fish passage can be aided using fish ladders or elevators, or by trapping and hauling the fish upstream by truck. Downstream fish passage is aided by diverting fish from turbine intakes using screens or racks or even underwater lights and sounds, and by maintaining a minimum spill flow past the turbine. 11.Hydro power can impact water quality and flow. Hydro power plants can cause low dissolved oxygen levels in the water, a problem that is harmful to habitats and is addressed using various aeration techniques, which oxygenate the water. Maintaining minimum flows of water downstream of a hydro power installation is also critical for the survival of riparian habitats. 12.Hydro power plants can be impacted by drought. When water is not available, the hydro power plants can't produce electricity. 13.New hydro power facilities impact the local environment and may compete with other uses for the land. Those alternative uses may be more highly valued than electricity generation. Humans, flora, and fauna may lose their natural habitat. Local cultures and historical sites may be flooded. Some older hydro power facilities may have historic value, so renovations of these facilities must also be sensitive to such preservation concerns and to impacts on plant and animal life. Hence in many developing countries, the small hydro-power stations are in demand. Using Pump as Turbine(PAT) is an attractive and significant alternative. Pumps are relatively simple machines with

no special designing and are easily available in most developing countries.

Applications of PAT: 1. Village schemes, mainly for household lighting 2. Electricity for remote farms 3. Battery charging and other intermittent load applications 4. Water pumping

Why use pump as a turbine? Standard pump units when operated in reverse have number of advantages over conventional turbines for micro- hydro power generation. Pumps are mass-produced, and as a result, have advantages for micro- hydro power generation compared with purpose-made turbines. The main advantages are as follows:1. Integral pump and motor can be purchased for use as a turbine and generator set 2. Available for wide range of flows and heads. 3. Available in large number of standard sizes 4. Easy installation 5. Low cost of setup

6. Spare parts such as sealings and bearings are easily available.

Turbines are generally fitted with a variable guide vane (or vanes) or a spear valve which allows it to run efficiently with a wide range of flow rates. When a standard centrifugal pump is used as a turbine, no such adjustments are possible. If the flow rate falls below the required value for maximum power generation, power still can be generated but lesser power will be available.

In micro-hydropower plant constructed at Huai Kra Thing village the project uses a completely new technology off-the-shelf centrifugal pump running backwards as a turbine, and running the pumps induction motor backwards as a generator.In that village they are getting a steady, regulated 228 volts output at 54 Hz. While they have found out that they could generate up to 3 kW (7.5 amps at 400 volts at the generator), they have throttled it back to about 1.6 kW to keep more water in the stream.

Pump as Turbine: Pumps as turbines have no variable guide vanes, so they are suitable for sites where it is reasonable to use a fixed flow rate. Pico hydro is a term for very small schemes (less than 5 kW power output) where standardised equipment is used in order to produce a low-cost power supply, primarily for rural communities in developing countries, but applicable elsewhere as explained below. For medium head hydro sites (6 - 35 m) the best choice of turbine is not obvious. The usual alternatives would be either a crossflow turbine or a multi-jet Pelton turbine. Both of these options run at relatively low speed and would require either a 6-pole generator or a belt drive to produce electric power. Another option is to use a standard pump unit instead of a conventional turbine. Pumps are mass-produced, and have the following advantages for pico-hydro compared with purpose-made turbines:

 Integral pump and motor can be used as a turbine and generator set Available for a range of heads and flows Available in a number of standard sizes Short delivery time Spare parts such as seals and bearings are easily available Easy installation - uses standard pipe fittings Unless batch produced, multi-jet Pelton and crossflow (Banki) turbines tend to be expensive for pico hydro (5 kW or less). Very small crossflow turbines are not normally made due to the difficulty of fabricating the runner, so a crossflow installation would require a larger turbine running at slower speed than an equivalent pump as turbine (PAT). Multi-jet Pelton turbines have the disadvantage of additional complexity due to the branched manifold and extra valves. The main disadvantage of using a pump as turbine is the difficulty of finding the turbine head and flow, which are much greater than the rated pump head and flow, and are needed to select the correct pump for a particular site. Using a pump as turbine (PAT) with an induction generator makes it possible to avoid a belt drive, with further advantages: Less losses in drive (saving up to 5% of output power). Easier installation - PAT and generator come as one unit. Lower cost - no pulleys, smaller baseplate. Lower cost - in the case of a monoblock design, because of simpler construction, fewer bearings, etc. Longer bearing life - no sideways forces on bearings. Most pump units, even for powers of less than 1 kW, are supplied with three-phase induction motors. Fortunately, it is possible to use a three-phase induction motor as a single-phase generator and this is the preferred approach to providing a single-phase supply

EXPERIMENTAL SETUP A complete schematic of the experimental set up is shown in Fig 2. The discharge can be measured using venturimeter. Apart from this

manometer, pressure gauge, valves, tank and pipes can also be installed in the experimentation set up. To measure the output power a synchronous generator can be coupled to the PAT. The pump/turbine generator set is shown in Fig 3. An auxiliary pump can be used to supply the water at desired head and flow rate. This auxiliary pump supply water from the tank to the inlet of the pump testing in reverse mode. To regulate the excessive flow a by pass pipe was connected between the upper pipe and tank. Components Required 1. Metallic open tank 2. Constant speed motor pump 3. Flow meter :Venturimeter 4. Flow regulation/ Controls Gate valve 5. Auxiliary pump 6. Generator Turbine

Conclusions: Standard centrifugal pumps are manufactured in a large number of sizes, to cover a wide range of heads and flows. Given the right conditions, pumps as turbines can be used over the range normally

covered by multi-jet Pelton turbines or crossflow turbines. The greatest advantage of using a pump as turbine is for medium head sites, where a pump is easier and cheaper to install than other types of turbine, especially if there is no local manufacture of picoturbines or if a belt drive is required to drive the generator. On the Isle of Eigg, schemes with single-jet Pelton turbines have had PATs added in parallel, resulting in good efficiencies and simpler pipework than would be required for multi-jet Peltons. The main problem of using a pump as turbine is still the difficulty of predicting accurately the turbine performance. This problem has been side-stepped on the Isle of Eigg by finding one successfully matched unit, and then using it on sites with the same head and power, which also happen to suit the penstock material and electronic controller. In developing countries, it is important to select a pump from a quality manufacturer, since cheap units are often available that have low efficiency and poor reliability. Additional care may be needed to keep silt from entering the turbine, otherwise seal life will be reduced.