Overview
Francis turbines are reaction machines covering the widest range of heads and outputs. Water enters through a spiral case, passes adjustable guide vanes and exits through the draft tube, recovering energy below the runner.
TC HYDRO supplies vertical and horizontal Francis units — including replacement runners and full electromechanical scope. Two horizontal Francis units of this line were manufactured for a 1.2 MW plant in Madagascar.
Typical Applications
- Rivers with 20–300 m net head
- Plants from 100 kW to 100 MW
- Retrofit & re-runnering of existing Francis plants
- Turnkey EPC projects with full electromechanical scope
Technical Specifications
| Net head | 20–300 m |
|---|---|
| Unit output | 100 kW–100 MW |
| Configuration | Vertical or horizontal |
| Flow regulation | Adjustable guide vanes |
Ranges are design envelopes — each unit is engineered to your measured net head and flow.
Scope of Supply — Complete Unit
- Runner
- Main shaft
- Bearings
- Speed governor
- Excitation system
- Inlet valves
- Control system (SCADA)
In-House Machining & Quality Control
Every runner, shaft and part is machined and inspected in our Zhangjiajie factory — 30,000 m² of land with 14,000 m² of production floor — critical tolerances are never outsourced.
- CQ5263 vertical lathe — max turning Ø 6,300 mm, workpiece up to 50 t
- C5235 vertical lathe — Ø 4,000 mm, 30 t
- CW61125 horizontal lathe — 8,000 mm (shafts & rotors)
- Z3080 radial drill — Ø 80 mm
- 315T hydraulic press
- Runner dynamic balancing on our horizontal balancing machine — imbalance measured and corrected
Engineering ranges
| Net head | 10–400 m |
|---|---|
| Runner diameter | 500–3,000 mm |
| Unit output (new sets) | up to 20 MW (typical 1–10 MW) |
| Refurbishment | no capacity limit |
| Configuration | vertical or horizontal |
Selected track record
| Station | Turbine – generator model | Sets |
|---|---|---|
| Enshi Tangkou, Hubei — HPP modernisation | 4 × 11 MW units · oil-free blade pitch + governor retrofit | 4 |
| Laos (export) — Kaplan refurbishment | 15 MW Kaplan unit refurbishment | 1 |
| Guangxi, China — six-station renovation programme | refurbishment across six plants | 6 |
| Gaohua & Jiefangshan, Fujian & Hubei | fixed-blade runners converted to adjustable pitch | 2 |
Full reference list available on request.
CREDENTIALS
Dual-flow (BSF) runner technology
Run-of-river plants face seasonal flow swings. TC's dual-flow runner range is designed so the same unit stays efficient at both high and low water levels — replacing runners seasonally instead of losing output in the dry season. The technology is protected by multiple national patents and was appraised by a provincial science-and-technology appraisal committee.