FRANCIS TURBINE

By: Ajay Vikram Singh

ReNew Jal Urja Pvt. Ltd.
 HYDRO POWER PLANT
Power equation of Hydropower Plant:
CLASSIFICATIONS OF HYDRO TURBINE

Francis

Reaction Kaplan

Hydro Propeller,
Turbine etc.

Impulse Type Pelton

 FRANCIS TURBINE???
➢Turbine extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into power

➢Francis Turbine is a Reaction type turbine

➢Mixed flow type turbine

➢Francis Turbines are the most common
water turbine in use today

➢They operate in a water head from 10 to

650 meters

➢They generate from a few kilowatts to

750MW
PRINCIPAL FRANCIS TURBINE
➢ Francis turbine blades are designed in such a way that the
pressure difference creates between the opposite faces of
the blade during water flow and that phenomenon creates
torque to rotate the

➢ The remaining portion’s blade design uses the impulse

force of water hitting it

➢ Thus there would be a decrease in both kinetic energy and

potential energy of water at the exit.
 BEHIND THE NAME “FRANCIS TURBINE”

➢Studying the Boyden Turbine,

Francis was able to redesign it to
increase efficiency.

➢In 1848, a British–American

engineer developed the first
modern water turbine – the Francis
➢Francis Turbine invented by Sir
turbine. James B. Francis
 MAJOR COMPONENTS
• Spiral Casing / Stay Ring

• Distributor Assembly

• Draft Tube Assembly

• Shaft Seal Assembly

• Guide Bearing Assembly

• Runner Assembly
SPIRAL CASING
➢ Spiral casing is the inlet medium of water to the Runner
➢ Due to the circular movement of the water, it loses its
pressure
➢ To maintain the same pressure the diameter of the casing is
gradually reduced
➢ To maintain the pressure uniform, thus uniform momentum or
velocity striking the runner blades
OUR SPIRAL CASING

➢Number of segments – 24nos.

➢Material - Carbon steel

➢Maximum thickness of plate – 55mm

➢Spiral major diameter – 6273mm

STAY VANES
➢Stay vanes guide the water to the runner blades
➢Stay vanes remain stationary at their position
➢The basic purpose of the stay vanes is to convert a part of the
pressure energy into the kinetic energy
STAY VANES AT SBHEP
➢Deck ring OD – 3248mm
➢Deck ring ID – 2640mm
➢Stay Vanes height – 347mm
➢Stay ring height – 527mm
➢Material - Carbon steel
 DISTRIBUTOR ASSEMBLY

Distributor Assembly – Controls flow

of water from spiral casing to runner

Consist of:

➢Guide Vanes

➢Operating Ring

➢Link-Lever Assembly

➢Servomotor
Guide Vanes
➢Guide vanes are not stationary they can change their
angle
➢Guide Vanes are required to control the flow of water
➢Guide Vanes create the convergent passage to the water
to convert a part of the pressure energy into the kinetic
energy
GUIDE VANES AT SBHEP
➢Number of GV per Unit – 20nos.
➢Max. Opening – 123.9mm
➢Weight per GV – 81kg
➢GV feature height – 341.4mm
➢Material – Stainless Steel (ASTM A743)
➢ Operating Ring: Made of carbon steel and
transfers movement from servomotors to
linkages
➢ Lever and Links: Made of carbon steel/alloy
carbon steels and transfer movement from
the operating ring to guide vanes
➢ Servomotors: Two servomotors are
operated with an oil pressure of 120 bar
➢ For the safety of wicket gates, Shear Pins are
provided with each wicket gate in case
foreign materials are stuck between wicket
gates
 Draft Tube
Upper DT DT converts a part of kinetic energy to pressure energy due
Lower DT
to the increase in size.
DT Steel
Liner Consist of:
DT concrete
Liner ➢Draft tube liner: made of carbon steel, fully embedded &
concrete liner interface between DT and TRC

➢Draft Tube Cone: made in two parts – upper (stainless

steel) and lower (carbon steel)cone
SHAFT SEAL
Shaft Seal Assembly – The hydrostatic-type shaft
seal seals the rotating parts against the stationary
parts during unit operation and standstill.

Consist of:

➢Operating Seal

➢Standstill Seal
GUIDE BEARING ASSEMBLY
➢ The guide bearing which is arranged above the
head cover

➢ Carries the occurring radial loads by means of

the bearing support into the structure

➢ It is designed as an oil-lubricated,
hydrodynamic segment-type bearing
 Runner
Runner is the main part responsible for turbine rotation and is
the rotating part. It is made of completely of 13.4 stainless
steel material.
Consist of:
• Crown which connects the runner to the turbine shaft
• 13 no of Blades
• Band which is the bottom part of the runner and guides
water discharge

• Rotating labyrinth on crown and band are integral

Technical Data

1. Crown 4. Band (Lower) wearing Ring

2. Crown (Upper) wearing Ring 5. Band
3. Blades
 Working of
Francis Turbine
THANK YOU