Crossflow Turbine

The crossflow turbine — the Banki-Michell design — is the workhorse for varied, seasonal flows: a simple, locally fabricable and repairable machine that keeps a decent efficiency when river flow drops well below the design flow, as it does for much of the year in village schemes.

Water from the penstock passes through a rectangular nozzle with an adjustable guide vane and crosses a drum-shaped runner — two discs joined by curved blades on a horizontal shaft — twice: from outside to inside, transferring most of the energy, then from inside to outside, which also helps flush small debris through. The runner and guide vane are commonly divided in a 1:2 ratio, giving efficient operation at roughly one third, two thirds or full flow. Typical published ranges span from a few metres to around a hundred metres of head and a few hundredths to several cubic metres per second of flow, with peak efficiency commonly around 70–85% — a lower peak than a Pelton, but a notably flat efficiency curve at part flow. Supply means sizing the runner diameter and width to the site's net head and design flow, and matching the turbine to its generator and controller as one package.

• Sizing to net head, design flow and flow variability
• Drum runner with curved blades on a horizontal shaft
• Adjustable, often divided guide vane for part-flow efficiency
• Housing, bearings, belt or direct drive to the generator
• Factory test, delivery, installation and commissioning support

What you receive: a turbine set — nozzle, guide vane, runner, shaft and bearings, housing — sized to the site's head and flow, with its performance curve, installation and maintenance instructions and a spares list.

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