Patent ID: 6247893
Filing Date: 2001-06-19
Classification: F03B,Y02E,Y02P,Y10T

Abstract:
A hydraulic turbine installation, comprising:a water passageway for containing turbine components and extending from an upper elevation source of water to a lower elevation discharge region;a turbine shaft including at least one passage extending therethrough;a turbine runner secured to a lower end of the shaft and disposed in the water passageway so that water flowing therethrough impinges on the runner, the runner including a hollow hub having spaced apart inner and outer surfaces, and a plurality of blades extending generally radially outwardly at spaced intervals along the outer surface of the hub, each blade being defined by a pressure surface, an oppositely facing suction surface, a leading edge and a spaced apart trailing edge, the at least one passage in the shaft opening into an upper interior region of the hollow hub,wherein the runner includes at least one gas passage extending therethrough, the gas passage extending from a gas admission aperture formed in the inner surface of the hub and through a respective one of the plurality of blades to a gas discharge aperture formed in an edge region of the respective blade, and wherein a fluid barrier is provided between the upper interior region of the hub and a lower interior region of the hub to define an upper chamber within the hollow hub that fluidly couples the at least one opening in the shaft with the at least one passage in the runner; andmeans for supplying an oxygen containing gas to the at least one passage in the shaft.