Silt erosion study on the performance of an impulse turbine in small hydropower

Silt particle laden flow through hydro turbine components causes erosion to the surface which comes in contact with it. Silt size, silt concentration, velocity of flow, properties of silt materials and operating hours of turbine play a vital role in damaging the turbine components. Efficiency of the turbine decreases with increase in erosive wear. The present study has been carried out to experimentally investigate the effect of silt size, silt concentration, jet velocity and operating time on performance of Turgo impulse turbine under actual flow conditions. It has been found that turbine efficiency loss strongly depends upon silt parameters. Existing test bed has shown erosion wear up to 1.8%, therefore resulting in the loss of power generation. Based on experimental data obtained for different parameters, correlations have been developed for the prediction of percentage efficiency loss of Turgo impulse turbine.