Abstract
Small and micro hydropower systems represent an attractive solution for generating electricity at low cost and with low environmental impact. The pump-as-turbine (PAT) approach has promise in this application due to its low purchase and maintenance costs. In this paper, a new method to predict the inverse characteristic of industrial centrifugal pumps is presented. This method is based on results of simulations performed with commercial three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software. Model results have been first validated in pumping mode using data supplied by pump manufacturers. Then, the results have been compared to experimental data for a pump running in reverse. Experimentation has been performed on a dedicated test bench installed in the Department of Civil Construction and Environmental Engineering of the University of Naples Federico II. Three different pumps, with different specific speeds, have been analyzed. Using the model results, the inverse characteristic and the best efficiency point have been evaluated. Finally, results have been compared to prediction methods available in the literature.
Highlights
Electricity generation presents many issues and is studied with different techniques in order to reduce its production cost and environmental impact
The study reported that Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis was an effective design tool for predicting the performance of centrifugal pumps in turbine mode and for identifying the losses in turbo-machinery components such as the draft tube, impeller and casing, but there was some deviation between the experimental results and the CFD modeling results
In this paper a methodology to predict the inverse characteristic of a centrifugal pump has been
Summary
Electricity generation presents many issues and is studied with different techniques in order to reduce its production cost and environmental impact. The use of a pump running in reverse mode to generate electricity is not new; the first applications started almost 80 or 90 years ago and many theoretical and experimental studies have been done [2,3,4,5,6,9,10]. The study reported that CFD analysis was an effective design tool for predicting the performance of centrifugal pumps in turbine mode and for identifying the losses in turbo-machinery components such as the draft tube, impeller and casing, but there was some deviation between the experimental results and the CFD modeling results. Barrio et al [11] carried out a numerical investigation on the unsteady flow in commercial centrifugal pumps operating in direct and reverse mode with the help of CFD code The results of their simulation were in good correspondence with the experimental results. Using the new prediction method, a reduction of the experimentation will be realized allowing an easy and fast choice of the PAT for each application
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