Francis turbines are probably used most extensively because of their wider range of suitable heads, characteristically from three to 600 metres. At the high-head range, the flow rate and the output must be large; otherwise the runner becomes too small for reasonable fabrication. At the low-head end, propeller turbines are usually more efficient unless the power output is also small. Francis turbines reign supreme in the medium-head range of 120 to 300 metres and come in a wide range of designs and sizes. They can have either horizontal or vertical shafts, the latter being used for machines with diameters of about two metres or more. Vertical-shaft machines usually occupy less space than horizontal units, permit greater submergence of the runner with a minimum of deep excavation, and make the tip-mounted generator more easily accessible for maintenance. Horizontal-shaft units are more compact for smaller sizes and allow easier access to the turbine, although removal of the generator for repair becomes more difficult as size increases.

The most common form of Francis turbine has a welded, or cast-steel, spiral casing. The casing distributes water evenly to all inlet gates; up to 24 pivoted gates or guide vanes have been used. The gates operate from fully closed to wide open, depending on the power output desired. Most are driven by a common regulating speed ring and are pin-connected in such a fashion that no damage will occur if debris blocks one of the gate passages. The regulating ring is rotated by one or two oil-pressure servomotors that are controlled by the speed governor.

Slow, high-power units have a nearly radial set of blades, while in fast and lower-powered units the curved blades reach from the radial inlet to almost the axial outlet. Once the overall blade dimensions (inlet and exit diameters and blade height) have been defined, the blades are designed for a smooth entry of the water flow at the inlet and minimum water swirl at the exit. The number of blades can vary from seven to 19. Runners for low-head units are usually made of cast mild steel, sometimes with stainless-steel protection added at locations subject to cavitation (see below). All stainless-steel construction is more commonly used for high heads. Large units can be welded together on-site, using an appropriate combination of various preformed steel sections to provide carefully shaped, finished water passages. Francis turbines allow for very large, high-output units. The Grand Coulee hydroelectric power plant on the Columbia River in Washington state has the largest single runner in the United States, a device capable of producing 716,000 kilowatts at a head of 93 metres. The Itaipú plant on the Paraná River between Brazil and Paraguay has 18 Francis turbines capable of producing 740,000 kilowatts each at heads between 118.4 and 126.7 metres while rotating at slightly above 90 revolutions per minute (rpm).

A mixed-flow turbine of the Deriaz type uses swiveled, variable-pitch runner blades that allow for improved efficiency at part loads in medium-sized machines. The Deriaz design has proved useful for higher heads and also for some pumped storage applications (see below). It has the advantage of a lower runaway (sudden loss of load) speed than a Kaplan turbine, which results in significant savings in generator costs. Very few Deriaz turbines, however, have actually been built. The first non-reversible Deriaz turbine, capable of producing 22,750 kilowatts with a head of 55 metres, was installed in an underground station at Culligran, Scot., in 1958.

Output and speed control

If the load on the generator is decreased, a turbine will tend to speed up unless the flow rate can be reduced accordingly. Similarly, an increase of load will cause the turbine to slow down unless more water can be admitted. Since electric-generator speeds must be kept constant to a high degree of precision, this leads to complex controls. These must take into account the large masses and inertias of the metal and the flowing water, including the water in the inflow pipes (or penstocks), that will be affected by any change in the wicket gate setting. If the inlet pipeline is long, the closing time of the wicket gate must be slow enough to keep the pressure increase caused by a reduction in flow velocity within acceptable limits. If the closing or opening rate is too slow, control instabilities may result. To assist regulation with long pipelines, a surge chamber is often connected to the pipeline as close to the turbine as possible. This enables part of the water in the line to pass into the surge chamber when the wicket gates are rapidly closed or opened. Medium-sized reaction turbines may also be provided with pressure-relief valves through which some water can be bypassed automatically as the governor starts to close the turbine. In some applications, both relief valves and surge chambers have been used.

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Cavitation

According to Bernoulli’s principle (derived by the Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli), as the flow velocity of the water increases at any given elevation, the pressure will drop. There is a danger that in high-velocity sections of a reaction turbine, especially near the exit, the pressure can become so low that the water flashes over into small vapour bubbles, which then collapse suddenly. This so-called cavitation leads to erosion pitting as well as to vibrations and must be avoided by the careful shaping of all blade passages and of the exit passage or draft tube.