page_title: Kaplan turbine
section_title: Variations
hierarchical_section_title: Kaplan turbine / Variations
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Eine DIVE-Turbine vor dem Einbau
context_page_description: The Kaplan turbine is a propeller-type water turbine which has adjustable blades. It was developed in 1913 by Austrian professor Viktor Kaplan, who combined automatically adjusted propeller blades with automatically adjusted wicket gates to achieve efficiency over a wide range of flow and water level.
  The Kaplan turbine was an evolution of the Francis turbine. Its invention allowed efficient power production in low-head applications which was not possible with Francis turbines. The head ranges from 10–70 metres and the output ranges from 5 to 200 MW. Runner diameters are between 2 and 11 metres. Turbines rotate at a constant rate, which varies from facility to facility. That rate ranges from as low as 54.5 rpm to 450 rpm.
  Kaplan turbines are now widely used throughout the world in high-flow, low-head power production.
context_section_description: The Kaplan turbine is the most widely used of the propeller-type turbines, but several other variations exist:
  Propeller turbines have non-adjustable propeller vanes. They are used where the range of flow / power is not large. Commercial products exist for producing several hundred watts from only a few feet of head. Larger propeller turbines produce more than 100 MW. At the La Grande-1 generating station in northern Quebec, 12 propeller turbines generate 1368 MW.
  Bulb or tubular turbines are designed into the water delivery tube. A large bulb is centered in the water pipe which holds the generator, wicket gate and runner. Tubular turbines are a fully axial design, whereas Kaplan turbines have a radial wicket gate.
  Pit turbines are bulb turbines with a gear box. This allows for a smaller generator and bulb.
  Straflo turbines are axial turbines with the generator outside of the water channel, connected to the periphery of the runner.
  S-turbines eliminate the need for a bulb housing by placing the generator outside of the water channel. This is accomplished with a jog in the water channel and a shaft connecting the runner and generator.
  The VLH turbine is an open flow, very low head "kaplan" turbine slanted at an angle to the water flow. It has a large diameter >3.55 m, is low speed using a directly connected shaft mounted permanent magnet alternator with electronic power regulation and is very fish friendly (<5% mortality).
  The DIVE-Turbine is a vertical propeller turbine with double regulation by wicket gates and speed variation. It covers a range of application up to 4 MW with efficiencies comparable to standard Kaplan-Turbines. Due to the propeller design with fixed blades it is considered a fish friendly turbine.
  Tyson turbines are a fixed propeller turbine designed to be immersed in a fast flowing river, either permanently anchored in the river bed, or attached to a boat or barge.
caption: DIVE-Turbine, a propeller turbine version, during installation on site.
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