MSI was tasked with evaluating a 1920s Francis style hydro-turbine runner in order to replace the aging original ones at a plant near the Hudson River in Upstate NY. A new blade design improved runner efficiency as well as decreased the blade count from 16 to 15, reducing the runner weight. The runner was later cast from CF3 Stainless Steel and required geometric evaluation of the agreement between the CAD and the final product. Using 3D laser scanning, a 3D point cloud was generated to overlay with the CAD model to determine any deviations. The casting was well within the tolerance of the design.
MSI's Hydroturbine Design Process
Analytical Comparison Curves Between Original Runner and New Runner with Improved Blade Geometry (Evaluated using ANSYS CFX)
