The influence of different runner widths on the performance of micro Pelton turbine

Pelton turbine can not only utilize the high head hydraulic resources but also recover the flow kinetic energy in the pipeline. It is more and more widely used. Thus, the research on improving the efficiency and performance of Pelton turbine is important. In this paper, Boltzmann method is used to study the influence of different runner widths on the performance of a micro Pelton turbine. And two micro Pelton turbines with runner widths of 25mm and 20mm are taken as the research object. Then turbine efficiency is calculated and the internal flow characteristics of micro Pelton turbine are analyzed. The results show that the runner width has obvious influence on the efficiency. When the runner width decreases from 25mm to 20mm, the turbine efficiency decreases by 1.16%. Besides, the turbulence area in the runner decreases, and the velocity decreases. But the turbulence intensity and vorticity in the runner is enhanced, which causes more serious hydraulic loss.