Turgo turbine
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Turgo turbine and generator |
The
Turgo turbine is an
impulse water turbine designed for medium
head applications.
Developed in 1919 by
Gilkes as a modification of the
Pelton wheel, the Turgo has some advantages over
Francis and Pelton designs for certain applications.
First, the runner is less expensive to make than a Pelton wheel. Second, it doesn't need an airtight housing like the Francis. Third, it has higher specific speed and can handle a greater flow than the same diameter Pelton wheel, leading to reduced generator and installation cost.
Turgos operate in a
head range where the Francis and Pelton overlap. While many large Turgo installations exist, they are also popular for
small hydro where low cost is very important.
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Turgo blades and nozzle. Image credit; European Communities, Layman's Guidbook (on how to develop a small hydro site) |
The Turgo turbine is an
impulse type turbine; water does not change pressure as it moves through the turbine blades. The water's
potential energy is converted to
kinetic energy with a nozzle. The high speed water jet is then directed on the turbine blades which deflect and reverse the flow. The resulting impulse spins the turbine runner, imparting energy to the turbine shaft. Water exits with very little energy. Turgo runners may have an efficiency of over 90%.
A Turgo runner looks like a Pelton runner split in half. For the same power, the Turgo runner is one half the diameter of the Pelton runner, and so twice the specific speed. The Turgo can handle a greater water flow than the Pelton because exiting water doesn't interfere with adjacent buckets.
The specific speed of Turgo runners is between the Francis and Pelton. Single or multiple nozzles can be used. Increasing the number of jets increases the specific speed of the runner by the square root of the number of jets (four jets yield twice the specific speed of one jet on the same turbine ).
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Water turbine*
Hydroelectric powerDuring and after commissioning and under general operational conditions Turgo Turbine achieve efficiencies of 86% to 88%. In factory and lab performance tests Turgo Turbines can have perform with efficiency of up to 90%.
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Turgo turbine math, Czechoslovakian*
Gilkes turgo turbines*
Commercial small turgo products*
WKV Turgo turbines
