Francis turbine

The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in Lowell, Massachusetts. 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 water head from 40 to 600 m (130 to 2,000 ft) and are primarily used for electrical power production. The electric generators that most often use this type of turbine have a power output that generally ranges just a few kilowatts up to 800 MW, though mini-hydro installations may be lower. (input pipes) diameters are between 3 and 33 feet (0.91 and 10.06 metres). The speed range of the turbine is from 75 to 1000 rpm. Wicket gates around the outside of the turbine's rotating runner control the rate of water flow through the turbine for different power production rates. Francis turbines are almost always mounted with the shaft vertical to isolate water from the generator. This also facilitates installation and maintenance.

Water wheels of different types have been used historically for more than 1,000 years to power mills of all types, but they were relatively inefficient. Nineteenth-century efficiency improvements of water turbines allowed them to replace nearly all water wheel applications and compete with steam engines wherever water power was available. After electric generators were developed in the late 1800s turbines were a natural source of generator power where potential hydro-power sources existed.

In 1826 Benoit Fourneyron developed a high efficiency (80%) outward-flow water turbine. Water was directed tangentially through the turbine runner, causing it to spin. Jean-Victor Poncelet designed an inward-flow turbine in about 1820 that used the same principles. S. B. Howd obtained a US patent in 1838 for a similar design.

In 1848 James B. Francis, while working as head engineer of the Locks and Canals company in the water wheel-powered textile factory city of Lowell, Massachusetts, improved on these designs to create more efficient turbines. He applied scientific principles and testing methods to produce a very efficient turbine design. More importantly, his mathematical and graphical calculation methods improved turbine design and engineering. His analytical methods allowed confident design of high efficiency turbines to precisely match a site's water flow and pressure (water head).

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