Hydroturbine Runner Crown with Balancing Slots

A hydraulic turbine, comprising:

• a runner having a shaft, a runner crown, and a runner tip;
• blades fixed to the runner crown and rotatable around an axis of rotation in operation of the hydraulic turbine, each blade comprising a leading edge and a trailing edge;
• a stationary head cover;
• a first chamber located between the runner crown and the head cover or within head cover;
• a second chamber located in the runner tip;
• at least one passage for water defined between the first chamber and the second chamber;
• the runner crown comprising an upper portion and a lower portion, the upper portion having a larger diameter than the lower portion such that a channel is defined between the upper and lower portions;
• and
• wherein the channel comprises a circular shape and a circular symmetry around the axis of rotation and leads to a discharge region below the runner.