15 kW RLHM-104 Francis Turbine Test Rig

In the present set-up water enters the turbine through the outer periphery of the runner in the radial direction and leaves the runner in axial direction and hence it is called a mixed flow turbine. The runner is completely enclosed in a air tight casing and the casing & runner is always full of water. The water is fed to the turbine by means of Centrifugal Pump, radially to the runner which is directly mounted on one end of a central SS shaft and other end is connected to a brake arrangement. The circular window of the turbine casing is provided with a transparent acrylic sheet for observation of flow on to the runner. Load is applied to the turbine with the help of brake drum arrangement so that the efficiency of the turbine can be calculated. A draught tube is fitted on the outlet of the turbine. The present set-up is harmonious to interface the system with computer which enables to log the experimental data using computer. The educational software and data-logging package has been developed. The software environment base is of Labview of NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS, USA. This software is compatible to interfacing unit designed by Reliant Lab. This software is capable to tabulate the sample readings according to the requirement of experiment under study and results obtained can be compared. The real time data acquisition can be done by interfacing the set-up with computer using software. Software allows the user to have control on data logging, printing the stored data, preparing spread sheets in Excel etc.EXPERIMENTATION To study the operation of a Francis Turbine To determine the Output Power of Francis Turbine To determine the Turbine Efficiency