Pelton wheel
Noun
Meaning
Pelton wheel (plural Pelton wheels)
(hydroelectricity) A form of impulse turbine or water wheel, extracting energy from the impulse of moving water
Examples
From left to right: Pelton wheel, two types of Francis turbine and Kaplan turbine.
Applications Pelton wheels are the preferred turbine for hydro-power, when the available water source has relatively high hydraulic head at low flow rates, where the Pelton wheel geometry is most suitable.
As the equations indicate, when a real Pelton wheel is working close to maximum efficiency, the fluid flows off the wheel with very little residual velocity.
Compared to other turbine designs, the relatively low specific speed of the Pelton wheel, implies that the geometry is inherently a "low gear" design.