IEC 63230 ED1

Fatigue assessment of hydraulic turbine runners: from design to quality assurance

Scope

IEC 63230:2026 applies to runners of reaction turbines, regardless of their size and capacity. These can include radial turbines such as Francis turbines, axial turbines such as Kaplan and propeller turbines, as well as diagonal turbines, in all possible configurations. In the case of turbine runners with adjustable blades, the internal mechanical components of the blades' adjustment mechanism are excluded from this document. Pelton turbines, storage pumps and pump-turbines are not covered in this first edition, even though several topics are applicable to these types of hydraulic machines. Specificities and applicability to Pelton turbine and pump-turbines will be discussed in a later revision of the standard
This document outlines the methodologies for conducting a fatigue assessment of turbine runners. It encompasses several key aspects, such as defining the load events to be considered during the assessment, determining stresses for each of these load events, as well as the detailed approaches for assessing fatigue of new and existing runners. Additionally, it includes manufacturing and quality assurance requirements to be complied with to achieve the desired material fatigue properties and effectively apply the proposed fatigue assessment methodologies. This document also contains best practices for performing and analysing on-site strain gauge measurements performed on existing runners to evaluate their fatigue life.
The purpose of this document is to provide guidelines to assess fatigue in new and existing turbine runners. It does not specify if a fatigue assessment should be performed or not for a given runner. However, Annex B provides guidance to evaluate the necessity of realizing a fatigue assessment or not for a given new runner. The methods described in this document can also be used for remaining life assessments of in-service runners