Development of the Turgo turbine

The Turgo impulse turbine is a simple and robust design that generates power from a high velocity jet of water. As a result of its ability to maintain its original efficiency, the Turgo turbine is particularly well suited for run-of-river schemes with large flow variation. Problems that are experienced by other turbines are not typically a concern for a Turgo turbine. For example, the Francis turbine stops generating at lower flows while the Turgo continues to supply power. This characteristic becomes more pronounced as the performance of the susceptible Francis turbine starts to suffer from wear, while the Turgo maintains its original efficiency. This paper presents recent research and development to improve the Turgo turbine.