US 11,719,214 B2
Hydroturbine runner crown with balancing slots
Laurent Bornard, St-Ours (CA); David Allan Scott, Brossard (CA); and Guillaume Boutet-Blais, Lévis (CA)
Assigned to GE Renewable Technologies, Grenoble (FR)
Appl. No. 17/295,471
Filed by GE Renewable Technologies, Grenoble (FR)
PCT Filed Nov. 20, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/081954
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date May 20, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/104536, PCT Pub. Date May 28, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 18306542 (EP), filed on Nov. 21, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0388808 A1, Dec. 16, 2021
Int. Cl. F03B 11/04 (2006.01); F03B 3/02 (2006.01)
CPC F03B 11/04 (2013.01) [F03B 3/02 (2013.01); F05B 2260/603 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A hydraulic turbine, comprising:
a runner having a shaft, a runner crown, and a runner tip;
blades fixed to the runner crown and rotatable around an axis of rotation in operation of the hydraulic turbine, each blade comprising a leading edge and a trailing edge;
a stationary head cover;
a first chamber located between the runner crown and the head cover or within head cover;
a second chamber located in the runner tip;
at least one passage for water defined between the first chamber and the second chamber;
the runner crown comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion having a larger diameter than the lower portion such that a channel is defined between the upper and lower portions;
wherein the channel comprises a circular shape and a circular symmetry around the axis of rotation and leads to a discharge region below the runner; and
support structures joining the upper and lower portions of the runner crown.