Fluid-structure interactions in Francis turbines: A perspective review

The main objective of this article is to review the studies conducted on fluid-structure interactions within hydraulic turbines. Several aspects are reviewed, such as flow-induced excitation, added mass effect, hydrodynamic damping, and blade flutter. Both experimental and numerical studies are discussed in this article. This review also discusses the consequences of an increased number of transient cycles, such as load variation, start-stop and total load rejection, on the turbines and the fatigue loading. Finally, an attempt is made to highlight the important requirements for prospective fluid-structure analysis to fill current gaps in the literature.