Abstract
This paper presents the development of a low specific speed Francis turbine runner. In order to achieve the improvements of cavitation performance and turbine efficiency throughout a wide operating range, a new runner design method that combines the latest Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and a multi objective optimization design with an existing design system, was applied in this study. The validity of the new design system was evaluated by model performance tests. As the results, it was confirmed that the optimized runner presented better anti-cavitation performance and higher turbine efficiency compared with a conventional design runner.
