In: Mechanical Engineering
A Pelton wheel is a turbine that is the main component of a
hydroelectric power plant. A Pelton wheel is made of a series of
buckets arranged in a circular disk as shown in the figure below. A
water jet is shot at the buckets and after striking those buckets
emerges out at an angle with respect to the initial jet.
A hydroelectric power plant is to be constructed in which water
drops from a lake located at an elevation of 100 meters above the
Pelton wheel location. You are consulted as an engineer to advise
about what size of Pelton wheel (what size of outer diameter) to
buy to produce a power output of 500,000 Watts.
The customer that asked for your consultation wants you to design
an experiment with a model Pelton wheel that has a diameter of 50
cm.
Design the required experiment (pick values when you need,
introduce variables as needed). Suggest to the customer (according
to the output of your experiment) what Pelton wheel diameter is
needed to produce the power of 500,000 Watts