Perspectives of Water Distribution Networks with the GreenValve System

Giacomo Ferrarese,Stefano Malavasi

doi:10.3390/w12061579

Abstract

In recent years, water utilities have made worldwide investments targeted to the implementation of an effective monitoring system and the installation of pressure-reducing valves in strategic nodes of water distribution networks. In fact, these interventions are considered fast and effective solutions to address at least two main concerns of modern water utilities: leakage reduction and energy efficiency. The present paper, on the basis of a database of working conditions of installed pressure-reducing valves, discusses the range of applicability of the GreenValve system (GVS) as an alternative solution to improving standard pressure-reducing valve capabilities. The device is able to recover energy, and it can be used to create a stand-alone monitoring node with remote control ability, optimizing the network from an energetic, functional, and hydraulic point of view.

Highlights

Water distribution network (WDN) optimization has attracted the attention of researchers in the last few decades
Based on the first classification of the pressure-reducing valves (PRVs), focused on the energy dissipated by each valve, the possible installation of energy recovery devices is examined through a preliminary economic analysis
The evaluation of the applicability of the GreenValve system (GVS) based on a wide dataset of PRV working conditions is provided

Summary

Introduction

Water distribution network (WDN) optimization has attracted the attention of researchers in the last few decades. One of the most common solutions to reduce leakages is the installation of pressure-reducing valves (PRVs) to apply pressure management strategies [1]. This solution is often favored by managers because it gives effective results and avoids structural interventions such as pipeline revamping, which is often difficult to realize in urban areas. Some researchers have been looking for procedures to find the best placement of PRVs in a network [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10] to obtain maximum effectiveness from the operation; others have incorporated leakage terms and effects of valve control in the same network model [11,12,13,14] to find the best solution

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion