A turbine is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a

fluid flow and converts it into useful work, namely electricity.

Turbine Blade

Turbines have been used for centuries to convert freely

available mechanical energy from rivers and wind into useful
work, through a rotating shaft.

Classification of turbines based on working fluid:

When the working fluid is water turbines are called hydraulic
turbines or hydro turbines.
When working fluid is air, and energy is extracted from the
wind, the machine is called wind turbine.
When the working fluid is steam, turbines are called steam
turbines.
A more generic name for turbines that employ a compressible
gas as the working fluid is gas turbines.

Steam Turbine

*Steam turbines are used for the generation of electricity

in thermal power plants, such as plants using coal, fuel
oil or nuclear power.

Gas Turbine
The working fluid in a gas turbine is a permanent gas, in contrast
with a condensable vapour in the steam turbine, produced in a
gas generator at high pressure by continuous combustion in a
combustion chamber.

Gas Turbine used for

electricity generation

Working of a Gas Turbine to generate electricity

* In an Impulse turbine, the whole of the available energy of

the fluid is converted to Kinetic Energy before the water
acts on the moving parts of the turbine.

* Pelton Wheel is an example of such turbine.

Pelton Wheel (Impulse Turbine)

Pelton Wheels in a hydroplant

Components in a Pelton Wheel

Water is blasted at these cups by one or more jets mounted in

the surrounding casing. Momentum is transferred from water
to cups, and a torque is created, causing the wheel to rotate.
This type of turbine is highly efficient.

In Reaction Turbines, the rotation is mainly achieved by the

reaction forces created by the acceleration of the fluid in the
runner (rotating blade). The basic principle is the same as a
rotating lawn sprinkler in which water enters the arms of the
sprinkler at low velocity and leaves through the jets at high
velocity.

Newton's third law describes the transfer of energy for reaction

turbines.

A Simple Reaction Turbine

* Reaction turbines consist of fixed guide vanes called stay vanes,

adjustable guide vanes called wicket gates and rotating blades
called runner blades.

* It also generally consists of a spiral casing or volute, as in hydraulic

turbines. It surrounds the runner completely. The casing should be
strong to withstand high pressure.

Top and Side View of a typical Reaction

Turbine

* Flow enters tangentially at high pressure, is turned toward

the runner by the stay vanes as it moves along the volute,
and then passes through the wicket gates with a large
tangential velocity component.

* Momentum is exchanged between the fluid and the runner,

and the runner rotates.

* Unlike impulse turbine, the water completely fills the casing

of a reaction turbine.

* Reaction turbine generally produces more power than an

impulse turbine.

* Wicket gates control volume flow rate.

* There are two main types of Reaction Turbine Francis and

Kaplan Turbines.

Sectional and Top View of a Francis Reaction Turbine

Francis Turbine

Sectional View of a Kaplan Reaction Turbine

Both types of turbines are inward-flow reaction turbines.

Francis turbines utilize axial and/or radial flow concepts.
Kaplan turbines utilize axial flow of water.
Kaplan turbine is a propeller-type water turbine which has
adjustable blades.

Kaplan Turbines

* Efficiency of turbines is a function of the available head.

* Euler's Head: It is defined as energy transfer per unit weight.
* Hydraulic Efficiency - It is the ratio of power developed by the

runner to the head of water (or energy) actually supplied to the

turbine i.e.

* Mechanical Efficiency - It is the ratio of actual work available at

the turbine shaft to energy imparted to the wheel.

* Overall Efficiency The overall efficiency is based on the useful

work output divided by the water power input.

In impulse turbines, the total head available is first converted

into the kinetic energy.
In the reaction turbines, the fluid passes first through a ring of
stationary guide vanes in which only part of the available total
head is converted into kinetic energy. The guide vanes discharge
directly into the runner along the whole of its periphery, so that
the fluid entering the runner has pressure energy as well as
kinetic energy. The pressure energy is converted into kinetic
energy in the runner.

Change of Pressure and Velocity in a Steam Impulse Turbine and a Steam

Reaction Turbine

Large power achieved by relatively small

size
High efficiency
Simple design
High revolution