Turbogen Engineering

Turbogen Engineering designs and supplies Pelton, Francis and Kaplan turbines in the range from 50kW to 5,000kW. We have applied to our small hydraulic turbines the technologies and design methods normally associated with over 100MW machines. In this way, we can ensure high-quality turbines with high performances.

Turbogen Engineering was founded in Lugano in 1994 by a small group of engineers, specialised in the design and construction of water turbines for hydroelectric power plants. We are specialised in:

• Design and construction of Pelton, Francis and Kaplan turbines
• Design and construction of control systems for hydraulic turbines
• Design of hydroelectric power plants
• Repowering and modernisation of old power plants
• Replacement of old impellers
• Advice on exploitation of water source energy
• Technical specifications for tenders

Hydraulic turbines

Each turbine is calculated and designed to obtain the best performance according to its characteristics of head and flow. Hydraulic profiles of the turbines are verified with CFD software and all components of the machine are designed with a modern CAD system. Our experience makes it possible to utilise water in an effective and environmentally friendly manner, and obtain clean energy from nature.

Pelton turbines

All our Pelton turbines are suitable for small flows and for heads above 60m. All Pelton runners are made of stainless steel usually obtained from a casting of a single piece. This extends the life of the runner because it improves the fatigue and corrosion resistances.

A horizontal 1,200kW Francis turbine on a drink water system.

A 150kW Pelton turbine (one nozzle) on a drink water system.

Two 500kW Pelton turbines in Norway.

A vertical 3,600kW Pelton turbine (four nozzles).

A horizontal 5,000kW Pelton turbine.

These turbines can be designed both with vertical or horizontal shaft and equipped with one to five injectors. All wear parts are made of stainless steel and are easy to replace.

For drinking-water distribution lines applications our turbines can be manufactured completely in stainless steel and all polluting materials are strictly avoided, including lubricating oils and greases.

The efficiency of our Pelton turbines is higher than 90% and they maintain a good efficiency until a flow of 25% of the nominal flow. Normally the maximum efficiency is obtained around 7/10 of the maximum flow.

Francis turbines

Our Francis turbines are designed for heads generally located between Kaplan and Pelton ranges. In some cases Francis turbines are competing with Pelton because Francis turbines are more compact than multi-injector Pelton turbines and they can run at higher speed.

These machines are all equipped with movable distributor blades that are carefully finished. Francis runners, simples or doubles are made of one-piece stainless steel, and all blade surfaces are carefully machined and finished.

All parts of the turbine are made of non-polluting materials. This design choice makes it possible to install the turbines in pipelines for potable use.

The efficiency of our Francis turbines is higher than 90%, keeping performing efficiency at around 9/10 of the maximum flow.

Kaplan turbines

Our Kaplan turbines are designed in horizontal or vertical solutions, depending on the variability of flow and head. Kaplan turbines can be built with double regulation (adjustable impeller blades and distributor blades), simple regulation (adjustable impeller blades and fixed distributor blades) or both fixed impeller and distributor blades.

All runner and distributor blades are made of stainless steel. Vertical machines have a steel inlet-plenum which avoids expensive concrete works; it can be easily disassembled for maintenance operations.