Hydropower valve : a new application for an old device

A hydropower valve¿a combination of a hydraulic ram and a pressure-reducing valve, may be used to redistribute water between pressure zones in a water distribution system. Energy that is recovered as water is released to the lower pressure zone would then be used to pump water to the upper pressure zone. Because of the nature of the application, this use of the hydropower valve would be limited to water distribution systems in which water is released to a lower pressure zone and pumped to a higher pressure zone. The hydropower valve may offer several advantages for pumping water .Simple in design, it has only two moving parts and is inexpensive to operate and maintain. The valve is energy-efficient over a range of flows and heads and requires no additional power source, eliminating environmental concerns about power generation and transmission. A properly designed and operated hydropower valve would be nearly twice as efficient as a conventional system of power generation, transmission, and motor-driven pump. For utilities looking for new ways to save on pumping costs, a numerical tool is provided for incorporating a hydropower valve into a water system. Design engineers can use this numerical model to size hydropower valve components and to evaluate their performance at specific sites. (author's abstract)