Using a Statistical-Numerical Procedure for the Selection of Pumps running as Turbines to be applied in Water Pipelines: Study Cases

Abstract

Cite as: Barbarelli, S., Amelio, M., Florio, G., Using a Statistical-Numerical Procedure for the Selection of Pumps running as Turbines to be applied in Water Pipelines: Study Cases, J. sustain. dev. energy water environ. syst., 6(2), pp 323-340, 2018, DOI: https://doi.org/10.13044/j.sdewes.d5.0181 ABSTRACTA combined method using statistical and numerical models has been developed by the authors for selecting a pump running as turbine to be applied in micro-hydro plants.The data of the hydrological site chosen for the installation (head and capacity) allow the calculation of two conversion factors which identify the pump to use successfully as turbine in that place. Then, a one-dimensional model, starting from data available on the pumps manufacturers catalogues, reconstructs a virtual geometry of the pump running as turbine, and calculates the performances curves, head vs. capacity, efficiency vs. capacity, useful for identifying the operating point. Two study cases are presented to apply the proposed methodology, concerning the feasibility of the installation of a pump running as turbine in the purifier water plants of Casali and Sersale, located at 1,000 m above sea level (Calabria, South Italy).The assessment of the annual energy yield gives a confirmation of the effectiveness and convenience of using pumps running as turbines.

Characteristic Curve Prediction of a Commercial Centrifugal Pump Operating as a Turbine Through Numerical Simulations

“…Eq. ( 10)-( 12) presents the specific speed in turbine mode and coefficients of flow and head ℎ, obtained through experimental correlations [51]. Eq.…”

“…(13) and Eq. ( 14) relate the flow and head coefficients with their analogues, where are obtained the site conditions and , respectively [51]. Finally, using Eq.…”

Review of Methods Used for Selecting Pumps as Turbines (PATs) and Predicting Their Characteristic Curves

“…PATs can be found in different plants with the aim of producing electrical energy, for example reverse-running pumps can substitute Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs) in Water Distribution Networks (WDNs), as reported by various authors [2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

“…For exploiting small hydraulic resources using a PAT, two main problems arise: The selection of the PAT to be used and the prediction of the PAT characteristic curves. Concerning the first problem, basic models can be effectively used, starting from the hydraulic resource information [7,8]. The calculation of PAT characteristic curves requires more complex models and allows the identification of the operating point, necessary to estimate the producibility of the hydropower plant [7,8].…”

“…Concerning the first problem, basic models can be effectively used, starting from the hydraulic resource information [7,8]. The calculation of PAT characteristic curves requires more complex models and allows the identification of the operating point, necessary to estimate the producibility of the hydropower plant [7,8].…”