A review of the experimental techniques research progress of the Pelton turbine

Abstract The Pelton turbine internal flow is by far the most complex of all hydraulic turbo-machinery, which consists of confined flow, free jet flow, free-surface water sheet flow and dispersed flow. The efficiency of Pelton turbine is closely related to these flow phenomena, thus knowing the dynamic behaviour of these flow patterns is of high interest to the optimization of Pelton turbine hydraulic flow parts. The experimental techniques were used to analyse the relationship between the connect of the turbine performance and flow patterns for the earlier researches. The present paper reviewed the development of experimental techniques of Pelton turbines, summarized the emerging test means and discussed the internal flow mechanism.