FRANCIS TURBINE

INTRODUCTION:
 The Francis turbine is water turbine
that was developed by James .B.
Francis. It is an inward flow reaction
turbine that combines radial and axial
flow concepts.
Francis turbine are the most common
water turbine in use today.
The speed range of the turbine is from
75-1000 rpm.
HISTORY:
Developed by James B. Francis.
Further to increase its efficiency it was
again developed by Benoit Fourneyron
and Jean-Victor Poncelet.
Components:
Spiral casing:
The spiral casing around the runner of the
turbine is known as the volute casing or scroll
case. The cross-sectional area of this casing
decreases uniformly along the circumference to
maintain the constant flow rate.
Guide or stay vanes:
To convert the pressure energy of the fluid
into the momentum energy. It also serves to
direct the flow at design angles to the runner
blades.
Parts of A Francis Turbine
The Francis Turbine
Runner blades:
These are at the centers where the fluid
strikes and the tangential force of the impact
causes the shaft of the turbine to rotate,
producing torque. Close attention in design of
blade angles at inlet and outlet is necessary, as
these are major parameters affecting power
production.
Draft tube:
Its primary function is to reduce the
velocity of discharged water to minimize the
loss of kinetic energy at the outlet. This permits
the turbine to be set above the tail water without
appreciable drop of available head.
WORKING:
 The Francis turbine is a type of reaction turbine, a
category of turbine in which the working fluid comes to
the turbine under immense pressure and the energy is
extracted by the turbine blades from the working fluid.
 A part of the energy is given up by the fluid because of
pressure changes occurring in the blades of the turbine,
quantified by the expression of Degree of reaction,
while the remaining part of the energy is extracted by
the volute casing of the turbine.
 At the exit, water acts on the spinning cup-shaped
runner features, leaving at low velocity and low swirl
with very little kinetic or potential energy left. The
turbine's exit tube is shaped to help decelerate the water
flow and recover the pressure.
Degree of reaction:

Degree of reaction can be defined as the ratio

of pressure energy change in the blades to total
energy change of the fluid.
For example, if the degree of reaction is given
to be 50%, that means that half of the total
energy change of the fluid is taking place in
the rotor blades and the other half is occurring
in the stator blades. If the degree of reaction is
zero it means that the energy changes due to
the rotor blades is zero, leading to a different
turbine design called Pelton Turbine.
Application:

Francis turbines may be designed for a

wide range of heads and flows. This, along
with their high efficiency, has made them
the most widely used turbine in the world.
Francis type units cover a head range from
40 to 600 m (130 to 2,000 ft), and their
connected generator output power varies
from just a few kilowatts up to 800 MW.
 Francis Turbine
Sir James B. France
 When the city of Lowell became the first
successful planned industrial city in America,
it not only revolutionized manufacturing but
also created a new way of life:
 A life ruled by time, a life powered by new
opportunities.
 Perhaps one of the most enduring legacies
left to the city of Lowell was that of James
Bicheno Francis.
 Throughout Francis’s life his bold and
innovative ideas made him one of the driving
minds behind America’s Industrial
Revolution.
It is a reaction turbine developed by an English born
American Engineer, Sir J.B. Francis.
The water enters the turbine through the outer periphery of
the runner in the radial direction and leaves the runner in the
axial direction, and it is called ‘mixed flow turbine’.
It is a reaction turbine and therefore only a part of the
available head is converted into the velocity head before
water enters the runner.
The pressure head goes on decreasing as the water flows over
the runner blades.
The static pressure at the runner exit may be less than the
atmospheric pressure and as such, water fills all the passages
of the runner blades.
The change in pressure while water is gliding over the blades
is called ‘reaction pressure’ and is partly responsible for the
rotation of the runner.
A Francis turbine is suitable for medium heads (45 to 400 m)
and requires a relatively large quantity of water.
 Water particle

Water from
spiral casing

R a d i a l v i e w
R guide
runner a d ivanes
a l v i stay
and e wvanes
runner guide vanes and stay vanes
Parts of A Francis Turbine
Characteristic Francis Turbine
Type of Turbine Reaction turbine
Converts both kinetic and potential
Working Principle
energy of water into mechanical energy water into mechanical energy
Consists of both fixed and moving
Runner Design
blades (guide vanes and runner blades) mounted on a rotating wheel
Medium to high head (30 to 600
Operating Head Range
meters)
Speed Regulation Good speed regulation
Typically higher efficiency at partial
Efficiency
load and low flow rates
Suitable for a wide range of head and
Applications flow conditions, commonly used in
hydroelectric power plants
Generally smaller in size compared to
Size
Pelton turbines
Can be installed in both low and high
Installation Location
head conditions
Adaptable to varying water flow
Water Flow Regulation
conditions
Cost Moderately expensive
Maintenance can be more frequent due
Maintenance
to wear and tear on the runner blades
Pelton Turbine
Impulse turbine
Converts only kinetic energy of
Consists of a series of buckets
High head (100 to 1,800 meters)
Excellent speed regulation
Typically higher efficiency at full
load and high flow rates
Ideal for high-head applications,
often used in mountainous regions
with high elevation drops
Larger in size compared to Francis
turbines
Primarily installed in high head
conditions
Requires a relatively constant and
high water flow for optimal
performance
Generally more expensive due to
precision bucket design and high-
quality materials
Maintenance is often less frequent
due to fewer moving parts and
simpler design