Study of Sediment Erosion in Francis Turbine Runner: at Laboratory Conditions

Sediment erosion in hydraulic turbines has been a major challenge in development of hydropower projects in Nepal. The rivers in this region carry large amount of sediments containing hard abrasive minerals, which cause rapid erosion of turbine components and affect the performance of turbines. This in turn decreases the efficiency, reliability and operating life of the projects. Recent studies have shown that it is possible to reduce such effects in Francis turbines through optimization in the hydraulic design of turbine runner. This book explains about comparative study of sediment erosion in the alternative designs of Francis runner blades through lab tests. The effect of sediments in the hydraulically optimized design is compared with that in the traditional design. The result obtained shows that the optimized design is better in handling sediment erosion. The study should help to shed some light in the field of laboratory tests of sediment erosion in hydraulic turbines, and should help in the development of Francis turbines suitable for high sediment conditions. The book is especially useful for researchers working in the field of sediment erosion in hydraulic turbines.