Efficiency loss in Pelton buckets due to sediment erosion

The efficiency loss on Pelton turbines due to the change of the geometry of the bucket splitter has been studied at the Waterpower laboratory at the Norwegian University of Technology and Science (ref. 5). The work presented in this paper discusses the effect by changing the splitter geometry in a Pelton runner bucket. It has been carried out by measurements of both a stationary and rotating Pelton buckets. The splitter geometry of the stationary bucket was changed manually and the difference of force acting on the bucket was measured. The same changes were imposed on all buckets in a Pelton runner and efficiency measurements were carried out. The results from both these measurements are presented and discussed in this paper.