Speed and Pressure Controls of Pumps-as-Turbines Installed in Branch of Water-Distribution Network Subjected to Highly Variable Flow Rates

Jacopo Carlo Alberizzi, Massimiliano Renzi, Maurizio Righetti, Giuseppe Roberto Pisaturo and Mosè Rossi
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Jacopo Carlo Alberizzi: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy
Massimiliano Renzi: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy
Maurizio Righetti: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy
Giuseppe Roberto Pisaturo: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy
Mosè Rossi: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Piazza Università 5, I-39100 Bolzano, Italy

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 24, 1-18

Abstract: The use of Pumps-as-Turbines (PaTs) to replace hydraulic turbines as energy-recovery units in industrial and civil applications is widening the penetration of hydropower in small-scale plants. PaTs show advantages in terms of installation costs and the availability of solutions. Water Distribution Networks (WDNs) represent a potential application where PaTs can be installed to recover water-pressure energy. In this work, a MATLAB©–Simulink model of a WDN branch located in South-Tyrol (Italy) was developed. The flow rate of the WDN was assessed though a measurement campaign showing high daily variability, which negatively affect PaT performance. To let the machine operate close to the Best Efficiency Point (BEP), four different operating strategies were studied to meet the constraint of a fixed pressure equal to 4 bar downstream the WDN branch, required to supply water to users. A PaT speed control strategy was implemented, granting better exploitation of flow rates even in the presence of high daily fluctuations. Energy recovery was 23% higher than that of the reference thanks to an advanced strategy based on controlling PaT rotational speed when the flow rate is smaller than that of the design, and operating in off-design conditions when flow rate is higher than that of the BEP.

Keywords: small-scale hydropower; pumps-as-turbines; water-distribution networks; energy recovery; MATLAB©–Simulink model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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