ABSTRACT

The Francis turbine is a response turbine where water changes weight as it travels through the
turbine, exchanging its energy. A watertight casement is expected to contain the water stream.
Generally, such turbines are appropriate for locations like dams where they are situated between
the high pressured water source and the low pressured water exit. The inlet of a Francis turbine is
spiral shaped. Guide vanes direct the water tangentially to the turbine runner. Francis turbines can
be intended for a wide scope of heads and streams and alongside their high effectiveness makes
them amongst the most broadly utilized turbines on the planet. The objective of the examination is
to have analysis on the performance of a Francis Turbine.

INTRODUCTION

Humans have used the power of flowing water for thousands of years. Early civilizations used
wooden paddle wheels to grind corn and wheat to flour. The word Hydro comes from the Greek
word for water. Hydropower traditionally represents the energy generated by damming a river and
using turbine systems to generate electrical power. However, there are several other ways we can
generate energy using the power of water. Ocean waves, tidal currents and ocean water
temperature differences can all be harnessed to generate energy.

More than 70 percent of the earth is covered by water. Malaysia has been using the energy of
hydropower for a very long time. As much as 11 percent of the electrical energy generated in
Malaysia is currently derived from hydropower systems. Hydroelectric power is currently the least
expensive source of electrical power and is much cleaner than power generated using fossil fuels.

Generating energy from the power of water represents large amounts of clean, renewable energy.
71 percent of the earth’s surface is covered by water. The world’s hydro power potential amounts to
20 billion Mega Watt hours per year and only 30 percent of this has been developed so far.

The main requirement for hydro-electric power plant is the availability of water in huge quantity at
sufficient head and this requirement can be met by constructing a dam across a river. A storage
reservoir is formed by constructing a dam across Krishna River. Near the bottom of the dam, there is
a water intake. Trash Racks of meters long are provided at the water intake to prevent the ingress of
floating and other materials to the turbine.

The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in Lowell, MA.
It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines
are the most common water turbine in use today. They operate in a head range of ten meters to
several hundred meters and are primarily used for electrical power production. The Francis turbine
is a reaction turbine, which means that the working fluid changes pressure as it moves through the
turbine, giving up its energy. A casement is needed to contain the water flow. The turbine is located
between the high-pressure water source and the low-pressure water exit, usually at the base of a
dam.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the characteristics of the Francis turbine at different operating conditions.