VALVOLA DI REGOLAZIONE DELLA PRESSIONE DI VALLE A PRODUZIONE DI ENERGIA

Within water distribution networks dissipation valves are widely used in order to reduce the pressure in the pipes to an optimum. Such valves create a local increase of water velocity by a reduction of the net section and a sudden expansion. Thus, a strong energy dissipation is determined by turbulent mixing. In many case the amount of energy to be dissipated is variable on time. Therefore, automatic valves are used which can vary automatically the opening gate to obtain the downstream pressure optimum value. Hydro power is a very valuable energy source because of the absence of toxic products in the connected power plants. Unfortunately, almost the whole number of water courses are already used for power production. The construction of new dams is not considered sustainable for environmental reasons. In water distribution network a part of the hydraulic energy has to be dissipated, in order to grant a correct supply for all users. For the increasing economic and social cost of the other energy sources, the recovery of this hydraulic energy could be traied if appropriate hydraulic machines would be available. The new pressure regulation valve is designed to obtain two different tools: Reduce water pressure to the optimum value; Transform the exceeding water energy in mechanical or electric energy. The proposed machine differs from the already known system for energy production and hydraulic regulation in its unique configuration, allowing a low cost and easy solution for energy production along pressure pipelines.