Home-made Pelton Turbine - Easy to Make, Easy to Use!

This project deals with a home-made Pelton turbine.I have tried to use day-to-day materials as much as I can so that all the enthusiasts over the world can easily make the whole setup on their own.

Step 1: Making of Wheel

The main part of the turbine is the Wheel and it's made using some plastic boards which serve the purpose of the circular disc of runner.

Some plastic bottles are cut into halves and mounted over the periphery of the plate which can serve the purpose of the buckets.

Step 2: Making the Belt-pulley System

A rod is connected to the runner in the axial direction and it is connected to the shaft of the dynamo with the help of a belt-pulley system.

Step 3: Understanding the Process

The working fluid of the turbine is water as it is easily available. It is supplied using a pipe with a nozzle at the outlet. When a jet of water is made to strike the vanes of the runner, the runner starts rotating. Thus the kinetic energy of the water gets converted into the mechanical energy of the runner. As a result, the shaft connected to it starts rotating and this motion is transmitted to the shaft of the dynamo with the help of a belt and pulley system. The dynamo converts the mechanical energy to electrical energy. The manifestation of this electrical energy is the glowing of the small LED connected to it.

Step 4: Show Off Your Work!

This picture was taken during the model exhibition at my college. I'm standing at the back with the model on my desk. Once you try doing this, please click a picture with your model and post it using "I Made It!" button.

Step 5: Understanding the Limitations

This is a very basic model of the Pelton turbine and has a very low efficiency. Wasn't that already expected? Still wanted to mention.

I've also added a file which contains the complete description of the project along with the calculations.