Multidisciplinary optimization of a Francis turbine runner

A fully automated multi-disciplinary design optimization procedure for a Francis turbine runner has been developed in a previous task of the Horizon2020-HydroFlex project. The design optimization was limited to blade design, with the goal of improving the hydraulic efficiency and torque, and reducing the harmonic structural stresses. This is to ensure that the turbine is less prone to fatigue, but still performs well hydraulically. Results from the numerical optimization are presented in this paper. From the design optimization, two runner designs are highlighted. One that performs significantly better than a reference design, and one that performs significantly worse. It is observed that small, but significant improvements can be obtained in both torque and efficiency, while at the same time reducing the structural stresses drastically. This shows that there might be previously unknown areas in the design space that can be explored, especially on the structural side. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.