Extensible Wind Towers

The diffusion of wind energy generators is restricted by their strong landscape impact. The PERIMA project is about the development of an extensible wind tower able to support a wind machine for several hundred kW at its optimal working height, up to more than 50 m. The wind tower has a telescopic structure, made by several tubes located inside each other with their axis in vertical direction. The lifting force is given by a jack-up system confined inside a shaft, drilled below the ground level. In the retracted tower configuration, at rest, tower tubes are hidden in the foundation of the telescopic structure, located below the ground surface, and the wind machine is the only emerging part …

Velocity field computation in bends of shallow channels

Progettazione di una cassa d’espansione e determinazione della riduzione del rischio idraulico con modellazione 2D

Nell’articolo si studia l’effetto di una cassa d’espansione posta a monte di un’area fluviale soggetta a rischio idraulico. Lo strumento utilizzato è un software bidimensionale sviluppato per simulare la propagazione delle piene fluviali. Il dominio di calcolo è rappresentato da una mesh triangolare non strutturata con una maggiore densità di elementi all’interno dell’alveo e nelle zone immediatamente limitrofe. Per facilitare gli accumuli temporanei di parte dei volumi di piena, si ipotizza la costruzione di un restringimento dell’alveo per mezzo di due pareti verticali che avvicinano le sponde fluviali. Durante la piena, il passaggio per lo stato critico nel restringimento provoca un rigu…

Coupled hydraulic and electronic regulation of cross-flow turbines in hydraulic plants

The potential benefit of coupling hydraulic and electronic regulation to maximize the energy production of a cross-flow turbine in hydraulic plants is analyzed and computed with reference to a specific case. Design criteria of the cross-flow turbine inside hydraulic plants are first summarized, along with the use of hydraulic regulation in the case of constant water head and variable discharge. Optimal turbine impeller rotational speed is derived, and traditional as well as innovative systems for electrical regulation are presented. A case study is analyzed to evaluate the potential energy production according to the expected monthly mean flow distribution and two possible choices: CFT1 wit…

Continuous Discharge Monitoring Using Non-contact Methods for Velocity Measurements: Uncertainty Analysis

At gauged site, water stage and discharge hydrographs can be related also during unsteady flow conditions, using the one-dimensional diffusive hydraulic model, DORA, and exploiting sporadic surface velocity measurements carried out with a radar sensor, during the rising limb of the flood. Indeed, starting from the measured surface velocity, the application of a simplified entropic velocity distribution model allows obtaining the benchmark discharge for the Manning’s roughness calibration. The aim of this work is twofold. First, to address the uncertainty of the approach. Second, to detect the minimum water level along the rising limb in which the occasional surface velocity measurement shou…

Riduzione ottimale dell’eterogeneita’ per la calibrazione dei modelli di reti idriche

A new approach for a robust solution of the fully dynamic De Saint Venant equations

The MAST-edge centred lumped scheme for the flow simulation in variably saturated heterogeneous porous media

A novel methodology is proposed for the solution of the flow equation in a variably saturated heterogeneous porous medium. The computational domain is descretized using triangular meshes and the governing PDEs are discretized using a lumped in the edge centres numerical technique. The dependent unknown variable of the problem is the piezometric head. A fractional time step methodology is applied for the solution of the original system, solving consecutively a prediction and a correction problem. A scalar potential of the flow field exists and in the prediction step a MArching in Space and Time (MAST) formulation is applied for the sequential solution of the Ordinary Differential Equation of…

Analisi fluidodinamica e sperimentale su una turbina Cross-Flow

L'energia idroelettrica è una forma di energia rinnovabile che oggi sta subendo un profondo processo di trasformazione passando da un sistema centralizzato di produzione ad un sistema di tipo distribuito. Tale processo ha dato un forte impulso alla costruzione di impianti di produzione idroelettrici su piccola scala. Questi impianti si possono realizzare: 1) lungo piccoli corsi d'acqua con piccoli salti disponibili, 2) alla fine di lunghe condotte di adduzione in corrispondenza della sezione di consegna ad un serbatoio cittadino, 3) nelle reti di distribuzione idriche dove il carico piezometrico in eccesso si dissipa con valvole di regolazione, 4) a valle di impianti di depurazione nel caso…

A NEW SOLVER FOR NON-ISOTHERMAL FLOWS IN NATURAL AND MIXED CONVECTION

Most thermal fluid flow of real-life practical problems fall in the category of low Mach-number or incompressible flow (e.g., industrial flows inside ducts, or around stationary/moving objects, flows in biological/biomedical problems, or atmospheric flows). Several numerical techniques have been proposed for simulation of thermal flows, Finite Difference (FDM), Finite Element (FEM), Finite Volume (FVM) and Lattice Boltzmann (LBM) methods. Unlike the FVMs and FEMs, the classical FDMs show some difficulties in handling irregular geometries. Conventional formulation of FEMs (e.g., Galerkin FEMs) suffers from the lack of local mass balance, recovered by modified formulations (Narasimhan & W…

A new algorithm for a robust solution of the fully dynamic Saint-Venant equations

A new procedure for the numerical solution of the fully dynamic shallow water equations is presented. The procedure is a fractional step methodology where the original system is split into two sequential ones. The first system differs from the original one because of the head gradient term, that is treated as constant and equal to the value computed at the end of the previous time step. The solution of this system, called kinematic, is computed in each element using a spatial zero order approximation for both the heads and the flow rates by means of integration of single ODEs. The second system is called diffusive, contains in the momentum equations only the complementary terms and can be e…

ASSESSMENT OF RIVER FLOW WITH SIGNIFICANT LATERAL INFLOW THROUGH REVERSE ROUTING MODELING

The discharge hydrograph estimation in rivers based on reverse routing modeling and using only water level data at two gauged sections is here extended to the most general case of significant lateral flow contribution, without needing to deploy rainfall-runoff procedures. The proposed methodology solves the Saint-Venant equations in diffusive form also involving the lateral contribution using an ‘head driven’ modeling approach where lateral inflow is assumed to be function of the water level at the tributary junction. The procedure allows to assess the discharge hydrograph at ends of a selected river reach with significant lateral inflow, starting from the stage recorded there and without n…

Optimal valves regulation for calibration of pipe networks models

The calibration of a pipe network model is faced by means of a two-steps iterative procedure. The first step of the procedure is the estimation of the parameters in the network simulation model, obtained from a first set of water head measures. The second step of the procedure is the change of the resistances provided by the valves in the network and the acquisition of a new set of measures. The inverse problem is then solved again and the procedure is repeated, until the set of computed parameters converge to stable values. The new resistances are chosen to minimize the sum of the variation coefficients, computed from the Fisher information matrix. The effect of different correlation funct…

Experimental and numerical investigation of the leading edge sweep angle effect on the performance of a delta blades hydrokinetic turbine

Abstract In the last decades, an increase of energy consumption has been noted around the world. Hence, the excessive use of fossil fuels can lead to serious environmental concerns. Indeed, the use of renewable energy sources is needed to reduce the greenhouse gas effects and the CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. Small-scale hydropower could be an interesting and renewable alternative solution. The cross-flow turbines present several advantages compared to the axial-flow turbines. Therefore, increasing efforts are taken to enhance the efficiency and extend the applicability of the cross-flow turbines. In this paper, experimental investigation was carried out to evaluate the performance of a …

AN EFFICIENT SOLUTION OF HETEROGENEOUS ANISOTROPIC CONVECTION/DIFFUSION TRANSPORT PROBLEMS

Optimization of Osmotic Desalination Plants for Water Supply Networks

Water scarcity and the poor quality of water resources are leading to a wider diffusion of desalination plants using the Reverse Osmosis (RO) process. Unfortunately, the cost of a cubic meter of fresh water produced by an RO plants is still high and many efforts are in progress to increase the efficiency of the membranes used in osmotic plants and to limit the energy required by the process. A further reduction of the energy cost could be obtained by an optimal operation of the desalination plant so reducing the hourly energy cost, or by coupling the RO plant with an energy production plant based on direct osmosis (Pressure Retarded Osmosis PRO). The economic viability of the desalination p…

EFFICIENT SOLUTION OF HETEROGENEOUS ANISOTROPIC DIFFUSION PROBLEMS

Application of Dora-2D model to a distributed catchment dynamics

A New Cross-Flow Type Turbine for Ultra-Low Head in Streams and Channels

In the last few decades, hydropower production has been moving toward a new paradigm of low and diffused power density production of energy with small and mini-hydro plants, which usually do not require significant water storage. In the case of nominal power lower than 20 kW and ultra-low head H (H < 5 m), Archimedes screw or Kaplan type turbines are usually chosen due to their efficiency, which is higher than 0.85. A new cross-flow type turbine called Ultra-low Power Recovery System (UL-PRS) is proposed and its geometry and design criteria are validated in a wide range of operating conditions through 2D numerical analysis computed using the ANSYS Fluent solver. The new proposed solution…

Cross-Flow Turbine Design For Energy Production And Discharge Regulation

Cross-flow turbines are very efficient and cheap turbines that allow a very good cost/benefit ratio for energy production located at the end of conduits carrying water from a water source to a tank. In this paper a new design procedure for a cross-flow turbine working with a variable flow rate is proposed. The regulation of the head immediately upstream the turbine is faced by adopting a shaped semicircular segment moving around the impeller. The maximum efficiency of the turbine is attained by setting the velocity of the particles entering the impeller at about twice the velocity of the rotating system at the impeller inlet. If energy losses along the pipe are negligible, the semicircular …

MAST-RT0 SOLUTION OF 3D NAVIER STOKES EQUATIONS ON UNSTRUCTURED MESHS. PRELIMINARY RESULTS IN THE LAMINAR CASE

Computation of vertically averaged velocities in irregular sections of straight channels

Abstract. Two new methods for vertically averaged velocity computation are presented, validated and compared with other available formulas. The first method derives from the well-known Huthoff algorithm, which is first shown to be dependent on the way the river cross section is discretized into several subsections. The second method assumes the vertically averaged longitudinal velocity to be a function only of the friction factor and of the so-called "local hydraulic radius", computed as the ratio between the integral of the elementary areas around a given vertical and the integral of the elementary solid boundaries around the same vertical. Both integrals are weighted with a linear shape f…

UN’EFFICIENTE METODOLOGIA PER LA SOLUZIONE DEI PROBLEMI DI TRASPORTO ANISOTROPI ETEROGENEI

Finite-Element Modeling of Floodplain Flow

A new methodology for a robust solution of the diffusive shallow water equations is proposed. The methodology splits the unknowns of the momentum and continuity equations into one kinematic and one parabolic component. The kinematic component is solved using the slope of the water level surface computed in the previous time-step and a zero-order approximation of the water head inside the mass-balance area around each node of the mesh. The parabolic component is found by applying a standard finite-element Galerkin procedure, where the source terms can be computed from the solution of the previous kinematic problem. A simple 1D case, with a known analytical solution, is used to test the accur…

Integrazione di metodologie dirette ed indirette per la stima degli idrogrammi di piena in alvei naturali

Le metodologie attualmente disponibili per la misura di pieno campo delle portate possono essere classificate in base al tipo di sensore utilizzato ed al numero delle stazioni idrometriche. Per ognuna delle possibili tipologie vengono presentate le tecniche di analisi più recenti e delineati possibili sviluppi futuri. Viene quindi introdotta una nuova metodologia, basata sull’integrazione di misure dirette ed indirette. Nell’approccio proposto la portata viene calcolata come valore al contorno di monte di un modello di propagazione 1D a cui vengono assegnati i tiranti di monte quale condizione misurata. Il modello viene calibrato attraverso sporadiche misure istantanee di velocità, consente…

An explicit unconditionally stable numerical solution of the advection problem in irrotational flow fields

[1] A new methodology for the Eulerian numerical solution of the advection problem is proposed. The methodology is based on the conservation of both the zero- and the first-order spatial moments inside each element of the computational domain and leads to the solution of several small systems of ordinary differential equations. Since the systems are solved sequentially (one element after the other), the method can be classified as explicit. The proposed methodology has the following properties: (1) it guarantees local and global mass conservation, (2) it is unconditionally stable, and (3) it applies second-order approximation of the concentration and its fluxes inside each element. Limitati…

Numerical and experimental investigation of a cross-flow water turbine

ABSTRACTA numerical and experimental study was carried out for validation of a previously proposed design criterion for a cross-flow turbine and a new semi-empirical formula linking inlet velocity to inlet pressure. An experimental test stand was designed to conduct a series of experiments and to measure the efficiency of the turbine designed based on the proposed criterion. The experimental efficiency was compared to that from numerical simulations performed using a RANS model with a shear stress transport (SST) turbulence closure. The proposed semi-empirical velocity formula was also validated against the numerical solutions for cross-flow turbines with different geometries and boundary c…

The MAST-FV/FEM scheme for the simulation of thermohaline processes in density-variable saturated porous media

Applicazione a 5 bacini siciliani di una procedura integrata per lo studio della propagazione delle onde di piena mediante modellazione bidimensionale e uso di cartografia digitale

La maggiore difficoltà per l’applicazione dei modelli numerici alla simulazione delle onde di piena in alvei naturali consiste nella acquisizione dei dati topografici e in una opportuna discretizzazione spaziale del dominio di calcolo. L’uso di modelli monodimensionali comporta la necessità di assegnare un orientamento prefissato alle sezioni di calcolo, di definire la geometria delle sezioni in base alla cartografia digitale, di tornare alla rappresentazione bidimensionale per la restituzione dei risultati. L’uso di mesh triangolari non strutturate e di metodologie numeriche incondizionatamente stabili consente di realizzare una modellazione bidimensionale che, oltre a produrre risultati m…

An explicit, eulerian and unconditionally stable methodology for the solution of the advective transport problem in irrotational flow fields

Experimental Study of Cross-flow Micro-turbines for Aqueduct Energy Recovery

An important component of the management cost of aqueducts is given by the energy costs. Part of these costs can be recovered by transforming some of the many existing energy dissipations in electric energy by means of economic turbines. In this study an experimental work has been carried out: 1) to test the performance of an economic Cross-Flow turbine which maintains high efficiency within a large range of water discharges, and 2) to validate a new approximated formula relating main inlet velocity to inlet pressure. It is proved that the proposed formula, according to some simplifying assumption, exactly links inlet velocity to inlet pressure according to any possible geometry of the Cros…

PROGETTAZIONE DI UNA OPERA DI PRESA A BASSO IMPATTO AMBIENTALE PER UN IMPIANTO MINI IDROELETTRICO IN SICILIA

EXTERNAL RECIRCULATION IN PRS TYPE TURBINE: EXPERIMENTAL AND NUMERICAL RESULTS.

Cavitation is a relevant phenomenon for structural safety and noise level in hydraulic turbines, occurring when water pressure falls below the vapor value at a given temperature. In this case bubbles of vapor grow inside the liquid and move along with it. When the pressure returns above the vapor value the bubble collapses, and the pressure can locally achieve very high values, up to 7000 bars (Kumar & Saini, 2010). Moreover, if the bubble was confined also by the solid wall of a blade, the solid particles suspended in the fluid can be transported by the fluid ones and hit the solid wall at very high velocity, generating erosion. Cavitation is also the source of high frequency noise, ve…

Utilizzo di un modello diffusivo 2D di acque basse PER LA simulazione in tempo reale di scenari di inondazioni

I recenti cambiamenti climatici e le sempre più frequenti inondazioni rendono particolarmente attuale l’utilizzo di sistemi di allerta per facilitare l’evacuazione precoce della popolazione e la messa in sicurezza dei beni. I suddetti sistemi sono basati in parte sulla previsione a breve termine delle piogge, in parte sulla stima del processo di trasformazione afflussi-deflussi e della propagazione dell’onda di piena. Nella presente memoria il modello diffusivo MAST 2D ad avanzamento spaziale e temporale già proposto da alcuni degli autori viene ulteriormente migliorato per una più rapida soluzione ed una migliore adattabilità all’uso del calcolo parallelo. Viene introdotta una nuova soluzi…

Scala delle portate in sezioni naturali di forma irregolare

Calcolo della portata di piena con modello bidimensionale non lineare

Si propone un modello bidimensionale di trasformazione afflussi-deflussi per il calcolo della piena in una sezione di un corso d’acqua. Il bacino idrografico è rappresentato da una mesh triangolare non strutturata. L’input del modello è costituito dalle piogge lorde, trasformate in piogge nette mediante l’equazione integrata di Horton. Il calcolo della propagazione idraulica nei diversi rami della rete idrografica consente di abbandonare le ipotesi di stazionarietà e di linearità, ordinariamente adottate nell’idrologia delle piene. Il modello proposto viene calibrato ed applicato ad un bacino idrografico di un affluente del fiume Tevere per il quale si dispongono di alcuni idrogrammi di pie…

The MAST model for the solution of advective problem in irrotational flow fields. Preliminary investigation of the non-oscillatory properties

Energy recovery from rectangular weirs in wastewater treat-ment plants

Hydraulic turbines for energy recovery in wastewater treatment plants, with relatively large discharges and small head jumps, are usually screw or Kaplan types. In the specific case of a small head jump (about 3 m) underlying a rectangular weir in the major Palermo (Italy) treat-ment plant, a traditional Kaplan solution is compared with two other ones: a Hydrostatic Pres-sure Machine (HPM) located in the upstream channel and a cross-flow turbine located in a specif-ic underground room downstream the same channel.

Validation of indirect discharge estimation in open channels by means of lab experiments

A Clustering Technique for the Parameter Estimation in Flow Pipe Network Models

The Dora 2D Model: Application to a Natural Carchment in Southern Italy

Sistema per la produzione di energia elettrica

Integration of flow meter devices for optimal discharge estimation during floods.

Palo telescopico per produzione eolica con ridotto impatto ambientale

Tra il 2015 e il 2016 un consorzio costituito da differenti partner ha sviluppato un progetto di ricerca per la realizzazione di un prototipo di un palo telescopico per produzione eolica con ridotto impatto ambientale ed il relativo sistema di sollevamento per una turbina di potenza da 60 a 250 kW e un’altezza di 30 m. Un palo eolico telescopico, che si solleva e si abbassa mediante automatismi o mediante controllo remoto, consente di differenziare nel tempo la presenza dell’aerogeneratore all’interno del paesaggio. La tecnologia attualmente disponibile per la movimentazione assiale dei pali eolici è applicabile a infrastrutture con altezze inferiori ai 10 metri e a pali ribaltabili di alte…

A New Device for Pressure Control and Energy Recovery in Water Distribution Networks

The potential energy of the water in Water Distribution Networks (WDNs) usually exceeds the amount needed for delivery and consumption and, at the present time, it is mainly dissipated through Pressure Reducing Valves (PRVs) or Open Water Tanks. The present study suggests the use of a new energy-producing device, a Cross-flow turbine with positive outlet pressure named PRS (Power Recovery System), which can provide the same service as PRVs and water tanks, with additional significant hydropower production. After a short presentation of the PRS, the management rules of the proposed device are laid out, according to two possible modes. In the ‘passive’ mode, the piezometric level downstream o…

MAST solution of advection problems in irrotational flow fields

Abstract A new numerical–analytical Eulerian procedure is proposed for the solution of convection-dominated problems in the case of existing scalar potential of the flow field. The methodology is based on the conservation inside each computational elements of the 0th and 1st order effective spatial moments of the advected variable. This leads to a set of small ODE systems solved sequentially, one element after the other over all the computational domain, according to a MArching in Space and Time technique. The proposed procedure shows the following advantages: (1) it guarantees the local and global mass balance; (2) it is unconditionally stable with respect to the Courant number, (3) the so…

Cross-flow Turbine Design for Variable Operating Conditions

Abstract The potential energy hidden in water resources is becoming more and more a significant economic value. The value of the hydroelectric energy is often magnified by the proximity of the turbine to pumps or other energy sinks owned by the same water manager. Cross-flow or Banki-Michel turbines are a very efficient and economic choice that allows a very good cost/benefit ratio for energy production located at the end of conduits carrying water from a water source to a tank. In the paper the optimum design of a cross-flow turbine is sought after, assuming a flow rate variable in time. Regulation of the discharge entering in the turbine is a key issue, which is faced adopting a shaped se…

A Marching in Space and Time approach for the solution of shallow water equations

Monotonic solution of flow and transport problems in heterogeneous media using Delaunay unstructured triangular meshes

Transport problems occurring in porous media and including convection, diffusion and chemical reactions, can be well represented by systems of Partial Differential Equations. In this paper, a numerical procedure is proposed for the fast and robust solution of flow and transport problems in 2D heterogeneous saturated media. The governing equations are spatially discretized with unstructured triangular meshes that must satisfy the Delaunay condition. The solution of the flow problem is split from the solution of the transport problem and it is obtained with an approach similar to the Mixed Hybrid Finite Elements method, that always guarantees the M-property of the resulting linear system. The…

Coupled Electric and Hydraulic Control of a PRS Turbine in a Real Transport Water Network

Although many devices have recently been proposed for pressure regulation and energy harvesting in water distribution and transport networks, very few applications are still documented in the scientific literature. A new in-line Banki turbine with positive outflow pressure and a mobile regulating flap, named Power Recovery System (PRS), was installed and tested in a real water transport network for the regulation of pressure and flow rate. The PRS turbine was directly connected to a 55 kW asynchronous generator with variable rotational velocity, and coupled to an inverter. The start-up tests showed how automatic adjustment of the flap position and the runner velocity variation are able to c…

Numerical analysis of a new cross-flow type hydraulic turbine for high head and low flow rate

Cross-flow turbines have recently been proposed for energy recovery in aqueducts when the outlet pressure is greater than zero, owing to their constructive simplicity and good efficiency within a large range of flow rates and head drops. In the case of high head drop (higher than 150 m) and relatively small discharge (lower than 0.2 m3/s), the traditional design of these turbines leads to very small widths of the nozzle and the runner; as a consequence, friction losses grow dramatically and efficiency drops down to very low values. Standard Pelton turbines require zero outlet pressure and cannot be used as alternatives. A new counter-pressure hydraulic turbine for high head and low flow rat…

Costruzione e sperimentazione di una turbina cross-flow per acquedotti

La memoria descrive una nuova micro turbina idraulica con capacità di regolazione della portata, per installazioni in piccoli corsi d’acqua, su acquedotti esistenti o a valle di impianti di depurazione delle acque. Viene inoltre descritta l’installazione del prototipo della turbina nella rete idropotabile di un comune siciliano.

APPLICATION OF THE MAST SCHEME FOR THE SHALLOW WATER SIMULATION IN THE MARSALA LAGOON

Un modello Completo per la Simulazione del Campo di Moto di Correnti a Pelo Libero Lentamente Variate: Applicazione Al caso di Alvei Meandriformi

An explicit unconditionally stable numerical solution of the advection problem in irrotational flow fields.

A new methodology for the Eulerian numerical solution of the advection problem is proposed. The methodology is based on the conservation of both the zero- and the first-order spatial moments inside each element of the computational domain and leads to the solution of several small systems of ordinary differential equations. Since the systems are solved sequentially (one element after the other), the method can be classified as explicit. The proposed methodology has the following properties: (1) it guarantees local and global mass conservation, (2) it is unconditionally stable, and (3) it applies second-order approximation of the concentration and its fluxes inside each element. Limitation o…

A new solver for incompressible non-isothermal flows in natural and mixed convection over unstructured grids

Abstract In the present paper we propose a new numerical methodology for the solution of 2D non-isothermal incompressible flows for natural and mixed convection in irregular geometries. The governing equations are the Incompressible Navier-Stokes Equations and the Energy Conservation Equation. Fluid velocity and temperature are coupled in the buoyancy term of the momentum equations according to the Oberbeck–Boussinesq approximation. The governing equations are discretized over unstructured triangular meshes satisfying the Delaunay property. Thanks to the Oberbeck–Boussinesq hypothesis, the flow and energy problems are solved in an uncoupled way, and two fractional time step procedures are s…

Analisi del moto di filtrazione in rilevati arginali mediante tomografia di resistivià elettrica

Modellazione 3D di problemi diffusivi in mezzi anisotropi ed eterogenei

A marching in space and time solver for the complete 2D shallow water equations. Application to real test cases.

An Evaluation Matrix to Compare Computer Hydrological Models for Flood Predictions

In order to predict and control the impacts of floods in torrents, it is important to verify the simulation accuracy of the most used hydrological models. The performance verification is particularly needed for applications in watersheds with peculiar climatic and geomorphological characteristics, such as the Mediterranean torrents. Moreover, in addition to the accuracy, other factors affect the choice of software by stakeholders (users, modellers, researchers, etc.). This study introduces a &ldquo

Banki-Michell Optimal Design by Computational Fluid Dynamics Testing and Hydrodynamic Analysis

In hydropower, the exploitation of small power sources requires the use of small turbines that combine efficiency and economy. Banki-Michell turbines represent a possible choice for their simplicity and for their good efficiency under variable load conditions. Several experimental and numerical tests have already been designed for examining the best geometry and optimal design of cross-flow type machines, but a theoretical framework for a sequential design of the turbine parameters, taking full advantage of recently expanded computational capabilities, is still missing. To this aim, after a review of the available criteria for Banki-Michell parameter design, a novel two-step procedure is de…

Un nouvel algorithme pour une solution robuste des équations complètes de Saint-Venant

A new procedure for the numerical solution of the fully dynamic shallow water equations is presented. The procedure is a fractional step methodology where the original system is split into two sequential ones. The first system differs from the original one because of the head gradient term, that is treated as constant and equal to the value computed at the end of the previous time step. The solution of this system, called kinematic, is computed in each element using a spatial zero order approximation for both the heads and the flow rates by means of integration of single ODEs. The second system is called diffusive, contains in the momentum equations only the complementary terms and can be e…

Steady-State Convective Acceleration Computation in Shallow Water Equations

Performance study of a Helical Savonius hydrokinetic turbine with a new deflector system design

Abstract The use of renewable energy sources has becoming a necessity to generate electricity. Helical Savonius rotors have been preferred for small-scale hydropower generation. Numerous studies were carried out to improve the performance of the Helical Savonius rotor which has not been fully explored. In this paper, an experimental study was carried out to evaluate the performance of a Helical Savonius water rotor in an irrigation channel. In order to enhance the performance of the studied water rotor, a new deflector system design was proposed. Different configurations of the proposed deflector system were tested numerically using the commercial software ANSYS FLUENT 17.0. Without a defle…

A COST BENEFIT ANALISYS FOR HYDROPOWER PRODUCTION IN WATER DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS BY PUMP AS TURBINE (PAT)

The use of micro hydroelectric plant in urban pipe networks, based on the combination of a PAT, two regulating valves and two pressure meters, is proposed along with simple automation rules. Its economic benefit is tested on a small pipe network, where the network geometry, as well as the demand coefficient variation in time and space have been inferred from previously collected data and existing analysis. A similar analysis has been also carried out for different scenarios, where the reduction of pipe installation cost due to a diameter reduction is compared with the increased benefit in energy production. The case study shows that a small increment of the pipe installation cost, with resp…

MAST-RT0 solution of the incompressible Navier–Stokes equations in 3D complex domains

A new numerical methodology to solve the 3D Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible fluids within complex boundaries and unstructured body-fitted tetrahedral mesh is presented and validated with three literature and one real-case tests. We apply a fractional time step procedure where a predictor and a corrector problem are sequentially solved. The predictor step is solved applying the MAST (Marching in Space and Time) procedure, which explicitly handles the non-linear terms in the momentum equations, allowing numerical stability for Courant number greater than one. Correction steps are solved by a Mixed Hybrid Finite Elements discretization that assumes positive distances among tetrahedr…

Impeller optimization in crossflow hydraulic turbines

Crossflow turbines represent a valuable choice for energy recovery in aqueducts, due to their constructive simplicity and good efficiency under variable head jump conditions. Several experimental and numerical studies concerning the optimal design of crossflow hydraulic turbines have already been proposed, but all of them assume that structural safety is fully compatible with the sought after geometry. We show first, with reference to a specific study case, that the geometry of the most efficient impeller would lead shortly, using blades with a traditional circular profile made with standard material, to their mechanical failure. A methodology for fully coupled fluid dynamic and mechanical …

Urban Flood Prediction through GIS-Based Dual-Coupled Hydraulic Models

Propagation of pluvial floods in urban areas, occurring with return time periods of few years, can be well solved using dual models accounting for the mutual relationship between the water level in the streets and the discharges inside the sewer pipes. The extended WEC-flood model (EWEC), based on the use of unstructured triangular meshes and a diffusive formulation of the momentum equations in both the 2D and the 1D lower domains, is presented along with its novelty, limits, and advantages. The model is then applied to a small computational domain in the Palermo area, where only some ‘hard’ data given by one rain gauge has been used for calibration and validation, along with ot…

The MAST-FV/FE scheme for the simulation of thermohaline processes in variable density saturated porous media

A novel methodology for the simulation of 2D thermohaline double diffusive processes, driven by heterogeneous temperature and concentration fields in variable-density satu- rated porous media, is presented. The stream function is used to describe the flow field and it is defined in terms of mass flux. The partial differential equations governing system is given by the mass conservation equation of the fluid phase written in terms of the mass- based stream function, as well as by the advection–diffusion transport equations of the contaminant concentration and of the heat. The unknown variables are the stream func- tion, the contaminant concentration and the temperature. The governing equatio…

DORA algorithm for network flow models with improved stability and convergence properties

A new methodology for the solution of shallow water equations is applied for the computation of the unsteady-state flow in an urban drainage network. The inertial terms are neglected in the momentum equations and the solution is decoupled into one kinematic and one diffusive component. After a short presentation of the DORA (Double ORder Approximation) methodology in the case of a single open channel, the new methodology is applied to the case of a sewer network. The transition from partial to full section and vice versa is treated without the help of the Preissmann approximation. The algorithm also allows the computation of the diffusive component in the case of vertical topographic discon…

Optimal Network Design with the Use of Reliability Constraints and Simulated Annealing Tecnique

Experimental and numerical analysis of a backpressure Banki inline turbine for pressure regulation and energy production

Abstract Water distribution networks have become, in recent years, a major opportunity for the harvesting of renewable energy, which is otherwise dissipated though hydrovalves installed for discharge and pressure regulation. Mini and micro hydroturbines have the capability of providing the same functionality of hydrovalves, producing at the same time a relevant amount of electric power. In this paper a 10 kW prototype of a new compact in-line turbine, named Power Recovery System (PRS), has been designed, constructed and tested in the hydraulic laboratory of the University of Palermo. The proposed device is a Banki-type micro-turbine, with positive outflow pressure and a mobile regulating fl…

Performance improvement of a Savonius water rotor with novel blade shapes

Abstract Savonius water rotor is a prominent drag based turbine able to extract energy available in flowing water with low velocity like river streams, tidal currents or other man made water canals. However, in view of its low performance, an enhanced design of the rotor blades is necessary to better its efficiency. Therefore, the present study aims to improve the efficiency of Savonius rotor by changing the blade design. Different blade shapes were investigated numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Using conventional design, the peak power coefficient was found to be 0.166 at tip-speed ratio of 0.78. However, the peak power coefficient reaches 0.184 using the optimal blade …

Monotonic solution of heterogeneous anisotropic diffusion problems

Anisotropic problems arise in various areas of science and engineering, for example groundwater transport and petroleum reservoir simulations. The pure diffusive anisotropic time-dependent transport problem is solved on a finite number of nodes, that are selected inside and on the boundary of the given domain, along with possible internal boundaries connecting some of the nodes. An unstructured triangular mesh, that attains the Generalized Anisotropic Delaunay condition for all the triangle sides, is automatically generated by properly connecting all the nodes, starting from an arbitrary initial one. The control volume of each node is the closed polygon given by the union of the midpoint of…

Extensible Wind Tower

The diffusion of wind energy generators is restricted by their strong landscape impact. The PERIMA project is about the development of an extensible wind tower able to support a wind machine for several hundred kW at its optimal working height, up to more than 50 m. The wind tower has a telescopic structure, made by several tubes located inside each other with their axis in vertical direction. The lifting force is given by a jack-up system confined inside a shaft, drilled below the ground level. In the retracted tower configuration, at rest, tower tubes are hidden in the foundation of the telescopic structure, located below the ground surface, and the wind machine is the only emerging part …

Il metodo MAST FV/FEM per la soluzione di problemi di trasporto in mezzi porosi saturi a densità variabile mediante utilizzo di stream function

Anisotropic potential of velocity fields in real fluids: Application to the MAST solution of shallow water equations

In the present paper it is first shown that, due to their structure, the general governing equations of uncompressible real fluids can be regarded as an "anisotropic" potential flow problem and closed streamlines cannot occur at any time. For a discretized velocity field, a fast iterative procedure is proposed to order the computational elements at the beginning of each time level, allowing a sequential solution element by element of the advection problem. Some closed circuits could appear due to the discretization error and the elements involved in these circuits could not be ordered. We prove in the paper that the total flux of these not ordered elements goes to zero by refining the compu…

MAST-2D diffusive model for flood prediction on domains with triangular Delaunay unstructured meshes

Abstract A new methodology for the solution of the 2D diffusive shallow water equations over Delaunay unstructured triangular meshes is presented. Before developing the new algorithm, the following question is addressed: it is worth developing and using a simplified shallow water model, when well established algorithms for the solution of the complete one do exist? The governing Partial Differential Equations are discretized using a procedure similar to the linear conforming Finite Element Galerkin scheme, with a different flux formulation and a special flux treatment that requires Delaunay triangulation but entire solution monotonicity. A simple mesh adjustment is suggested, that attains t…

Coupled Hydraulic and Electronic Regulation for Banki Turbines

Abstract The potential benefit of coupling hydraulic and electronic regulation to maximize the energy production of a Bank turbine in hydraulic plants is analyzed and computed with reference to a specific case. Design criteria of the Banki turbine inside hydraulic plants are first summarized, along with the use of hydraulic regulation in the case of constant water head and variable discharge at the end of aqueducts feeding water distribution systems. Optimal turbine impeller rotational speed is derived and traditional, as well as innovative systems for electricity production according to controlled rotational speed of the generator are presented. The study case at the purification plant nam…

Discharge estimation in natural channels with significant lateral inflow

The indirect measurement technique for discharge estimation, based on water level data analysis in two different river sections, is extended to the case of existing significant tributary flow between the two sections. The methodology is based on the calibration of a numerical flow routing algorithm, solving the Saint-Venant equations in diffusive form along the main channel between the two measurement sections. The first calibration parameter is the average Manning's roughness coefficient holding in the main channel, the other ones are relative to the rating curve of each tributary channel, estimated per unit roughness coefficient and per unit slope immediately before the junction of the tr…

A marching in space and time (MAST) solver of the shallow water equations. Part II: The 2D model

Abstract A novel methodology for the solution of the 2D shallow water equations is proposed. The algorithm is based on a fractional step decomposition of the original system in (1) a convective prediction, (2) a convective correction, and (3) a diffusive correction step. The convective components are solved using a Marching in Space and Time (MAST) procedure, that solves a sequence of small ODEs systems, one for each computational cell, ordered according to the cell value of a scalar approximated potential. The scalar potential is sought after computing first the minimum of a functional via the solution of a large linear system and then refining locally the optimum search. Model results are…

Fast solution of diffusive shallow water equations for real time flood prediction

Misure di portata al colmo mediante analisi di livelli idrici in condizioni di moto vario

Unsteady State Water Level Analysis for Discharge Hydrograph Estimation in Rivers with Torrential Regime: The Case Study of the February 2016 Flood Event in the Crati River, South Italy

Discharge hydrograph estimation during floods, in rivers with torrential regime, is often based on the use of rating curves extrapolated from very low stage-discharge measurements. To get a more reliable estimation, a reverse flow routing problem is solved using water level data measured in two gauged stations several kilometers from each other. Validation of the previous analysis carried out on the flood event of February 2016 at the Europa Bridge and Castiglione Scalo sections of the Crati River (Cosenza, Italy) is based on the use of 'soft' discharge measurement data and the comparison of the water level data computed in the downstream gauged section by three different hydraulic models w…

MAST solution of irrotational flow problems in 2D domains with strongly unstructured triangular meshes

A new methodology for the solution of irrotational 2D flow problems in domains with strongly unstructured meshes is presented. A fractional time step procedure is applied to the original governing equations, solving consecutively a convective prediction system and a diffusive corrective system. The non linear components of the problem are concentrated in the prediction step, while the correction step leads to the solution of a linear system, of the order of the number of computational cells. A MArching in Space and Time (MAST) approach is applied for the solution of the convective prediction step. The major advantages of the model, as well as its ability to maintain the solution monotonicit…

Utilizzo di un modello diffusivo 2D di acque base per la simulazione in tempo reale di scenari di inondazione

Using unsteady-state water level data to estimate channel roughness and discharge hydrograph

A novel methodology for simultaneous discharge and channel roughness estimation is developed and applied to data sets available at three experimental sites. The methodology is based on the synchronous measurement of water level data in two river sections far some kilometers from each other, as well as on the use of a diffusive flow routing solver and does not require any direct velocity measurement. The methodology is first analyzed for the simplest case of a channel with a large slope, where the kinematic assumption holds. A sensitivity and a model error analysis are carried out in this hypothesis in order to show the stability of the results with respect to the error in the input paramete…

Discharge estimation combining flow routing and occasional measurements of velocity

A new procedure is proposed for estimating river discharge hydrographs during flood events, using only water level data at a single gauged site, as well as 1-D shallow water modelling and occasional maximum surface flow velocity measurements. One-dimensional diffusive hydraulic model is used for routing the recorded stage hydrograph in the channel reach considering zero-diffusion downstream boundary condition. Based on synthetic tests concerning a broad prismatic channel, the “suitable” reach length is chosen in order to minimize the effect of the approximated downstream boundary condition on the estimation of the upstream discharge hydrograph. The Manning’s roughness coefficient is calibra…

Water Level Measurement Locations for Coastal Aquifer Management

The coefficient of variation of the optimal cost (CVOC) method is applied to the Acqua dei Corsari coastal aquifer in Sicily's north coast to find the best point for a new water-level measurement location. The purpose of collecting data from the new measurement location is to reduce uncertainty associated with a stochastic management model for salt-water intrusion control. Assuming that uncertainty mainly stems from spatial variability of permeability, the structural parameters of the stochastic spatial permeability field are estimated using data from a nearby aquifer with similar geological properties. It is first shown through sensitivity analysis that the lack of previous information inh…

Comparison of different 2nd order formulations for the solution of the 2D groundwater flow problem over irregular triangular meshes

Mixed and Mixed Hybrid Finite Elements (MHFE) methods have been widely used in the last decade for simulation of groundwater flow problem, petroleum reservoir problems, potential flow problems, etc. The main advantage of these methods is that, unlike the classical Galerkin approach, they guarantee local and global mass balance, as well the flux continuity between inter-element sides. The simple shape of the control volume, where the mass conservation is satisfied, makes also easier to couple this technique with a Finite Volume technique in the time splitting approach for the solution of advection-dispersion problems. In the present paper, a new MHFE formulation is proposed for the solution …

Un risolutore ad avanzamento spaziale e temporale delle equazioni complete di acque basse

Combining flow routing modelling and direct velocity measurement for optimal discharge estimation

Abstract. A new procedure is proposed for estimating river discharge hydrographs during flood events, using only water level data measured at a gauged site, as well as 1-D shallow water modelling and sporadic maximum surface flow velocity measurements. During flood, the piezometric level is surmised constant in the vertical plane of the river section, where the top of the banks is always above the river level, and is well represented by the recorded stage hydrograph. The river is modelled along the reach directly located downstream the upstream gauged section, where discharge hydrograph is sought after. For the stability with respect to the topographic error, as well as for the simplicity o…

Investigation of the hemodynamic flow conditions and blood-induced stresses inside an abdominal aortic aneurysm by means of a SPH numerical model.

The estimation of blood flow-induced loads occurring on the artery wall is affected by uncertainties hidden in the complex interaction of the pulsatile flow, the mechanical parameters of the artery, and the external support conditions. To circumvent these difficulties, a specific tool is developed by combining the aorta displacements measured by an electrocardiogram-gated-computed tomography angiography, with the blood velocity field computed by a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) numerical model. In the present work, the SPH model has been specifically adapted to the solution of the 3D Navier-Stokes equations inside a domain with boundaries of prescribed motion. Images of the abdominal…

ANALISI SPERIMENTALE SUL RENDIMENTO DI UN GENERATORE TERMOELETTRICO A BASSI GRADIENTI TERMICI.

Inserimento di restringimenti e ponti in un modello diffusivo 2D di acque basse

Gli effetti su una corrente, causati dalle pile di un ponte, o più in generale da strutture che riducono la sezione trasversale dell’alveo, risultano di particolare interesse per le variazioni idrometriche che comportano alla corrente stessa. Nonostante i numerosi studi teorici e sperimentali di letteratura, l’attuale modellistica numerica diffusiva non integra la presenza di tali manufatti nelle proprie tecniche risolutive. Nella presente memoria viene presentata la metodologia implementata nel modello diffusivo bidimensionale FLOW2D per la valutazione del rigurgito provocato da restringimenti della sezione trasversale, nonché dalla presenza delle campate. I profili di rigurgito ottenuti c…

Performance improvement of a novel combined water turbine

Abstract Nowadays, industrials and researchers are looking for renewable energy resources due to the increase of energy demand. Recently, the ability of combined turbines in harnessing energy from water current has increased their renewed interest. However, there still exist a big knowledge gap to select the optimal design of these turbines. In this paper, systematic studies of stand-alone helical Savonius and delta bladed Darrieus turbines were carried out using experimental methods as a precursor to analyze their roles in hybrid configuration. By varying the attachment angle, two hybrid configurations were tested experimentally. Using the optimal attachment angle, six hybrid configuration…

Performance Study of Twisted Darrieus Hydrokinetic Turbine With Novel Blade Design

Abstract Twisted Darrieus water turbine is receiving growing attention for small-scale hydropower generation. Accordingly, the need for raised water energy conversion incentivizes researchers to focus on the blade shape optimization of twisted Darrieus turbine. In view of this, experimental analysis has been performed to appraise the efficiency of a spiral Darrieus water rotor in the present work. To better the performance parameters of the studied water rotor with twisted blades, three novel blade shapes, namely U-shaped blade, V-shaped blade, and W-shaped blade, have been numerically tested using a computational fluid dynamics three-dimensional numerical model. The maximum power coefficie…

Application of the DORA 2D Model to some sicilian catchments

Discharge estimation in open channels by means of water level hydrograph analysis

A new methodology, based on the synchronous measurement of stage hydrographs in two river sections located some kilometers from each other, was developed to estimate the discharge hydrograph in the upstream section. The methodology is based on the one-parameter calibration of a numerical flow routing algorithm, solving the Saint-Venant equations in diffusive or complete form. The methodology was validated using results of laboratory experiments carried out at the Polytechnic of Bari University. A known discharge hydrograph was generated in the upstream tank of a rectangular flume, where two water level sensors were located. Two different bed materials have been used, to account for differen…

Leaks Analysis in Pipeline Systems by Means of Optimal valve Regulation

Low-Head Hydropower for Energy Recovery in Wastewater Systems

Hydraulic turbines for energy recovery in wastewater treatment plants, with relatively large discharges values and small head jumps, are usually screw Archimedes or Kaplan types. In the specific case of a small head jump (about 3 m) underlying a rectangular weir in the major Palermo (Italy) water treatment plant, a traditional Kaplan solution is compared with two other new proposals: a Hydrostatic Pressure Machine (HPM) located at the upstream channel and a cross-flow turbine (CFT) located in a specific underground room downstream of the same channel. The fluid mechanical formulations of the flow through these turbines are analyzed and the characteristic parameters are stated. Numerical ana…

Un modello 1D-2D di acque basse per il calcolo della propagazione di piene naturali

Le equazioni 2D del Saint-Venant (SV), o delle acque basse (shallow water), si utilizzano ampiamente per le simulazioni idrodinamiche in fiumi, laghi, zone di estuari e zone golenali. Come ampiamente descritto in letteratura, in base ai termini che si trascurano nell'equazione del momento, si possono distinguere modelli completi, cinematici, diffusivi e a zero inerzia convettiva. Escludendo eventi estremi di shock, nella normalità dei casi relativi a fenomeni di inondazione, si possono trascurare i termini inerziali nell'equazione del momento, ottenendo il modello diffusivo. La scelta del modello da utilizzare dipende anche dalla disponibilità e dall'accuratezza dei dati di input (Smith et …

A Self-Contained and Automated Method for Flood Hazard Maps Prediction in Urban Areas

Water depths and velocities predicted inside urban areas during severe storms are traditionally the final result of a chain of hydrologic and hydraulic models. The use of a single model embedding all the components of the rainfall&ndash

Un modello bidimensionale a zero inerzia per il calcolo della propagazione di onde di piena su superfici fortemente irregolari”.

Simulazione di correnti in moto vario su alveo a fondo mobile mediante l’utilizzo di un modello diffusivo e formule di trasporto solido fisicamente basate

Peak flow estimation in ungauged basins by means of water level data analysis.

Utilizzo di un modello diffusivo bidimensionale a parametri distribuiti per il calcolo della trasformazione afflussi-deflussi in un bacino idrografico

Metodo di misura della portata di piena in un corso d’acqua e relativo sistema

Design of a telescopic tower for wind energy production with reduced environmental impact

A prototype of a telescopic pole for wind energy production with low environmental impact and its lifting system for a 60 to 250 kW turbine and a height of 30 m have been designed and manufactured. A telescopic tower, which is raised and lowered by automation or by remote control, allows to differentiate the presence of the generator within the landscape over time. The technology currently available for lifting and lowering wind turbines is made up of telescopic poles of heights of less than 10 meters and with tilting posts of height below 30 m. Without a state of the art to refer to, the telescopic pole and its lifting system have been designed starting from scratch and solving with innova…

Un sistema informativo territoriale per la simulazione di una rete di drenaggio urbano con Flow1D

Si propone un modello di simulazione monodimensionale delle reti di drenaggio urbano che operi all’interno di un software GIS e che consenta la realizzazione amichevole di un sistema informativo territoriale (SIT) della rete di drenaggio. Il modello, fisicamente basato, simula la formazione e la propagazione idraulica dei deflussi che si realizzano in ogni sottobacino, nonché la propagazione idraulica all’interno della sottostante rete fognaria. La connessione fra le due reti viene ricostruita attraverso il calcolo dei flussi verticali che si realizzano in corrispondenza dei pozzetti. Il modello è di tipo duale, in quanto rispetta l’interazione idrodinamica fra i deflussi nella rete stradal…

A Marching in Space and Time (MAST) solver of the shallow water equations. Part I: The 1D model

A new approach is presented for the numerical solution of the complete 1D Saint-Venant equations. At each time step, the governing system of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) is split, using a fractional time step methodology, into a convective prediction system and a diffusive correction system. Convective prediction system is further split into a convective prediction and a convective correction system, according to a specified approximated potential. If a scalar exact potential of the flow field exists, correction vanishes and the solution of the convective correction system is the same solution of the prediction system. Both convective prediction and correction systems are shown to …

Dual Multilevel Urban Drainage Model

In urban areas, when heavy rains occur, the discharge capacity of sewers is usually unable to transport the effective rainfall reaching the streets. When the runoff flow rate exceeds the capacity of the storm sewer system, the excess flow is conveyed through the street network as overland flow. A dual model is proposed for modeling the system as a double network, formed by an upper network of open channels (street gutters) and a lower network of closed conduits (sewer pipes). What is new in this model is its capacity to take into account the hydrodynamic relationship between the flows in the upper and lower networks. The model is applied to computing the response of a real monitored basin; …

La Progettazione delle reti idriche con il metodo 'Simulated Annealing

Comparison between the MHFEM formulation and a 2nd spatial order FV formulation of the linear ground problem

Cost-Benefit Analysis for Hydropower Production in Water Distribution Networks by a Pump as Turbine

AbstractThe use of microhydroelectric plants in urban pipe networks, based on the combination of a pump as turbine (PAT), two regulating valves, and two pressure meters, is proposed along with simple automation rules. Its economic benefit is tested on a small pipe network, where the network geometry as well as the demand coefficient variation in time and space have been inferred from previously collected data and existing analysis. A similar analysis has been also carried out for different scenarios in which the reduction of pipe installation cost due to a diameter reduction is compared with the increased benefit in energy production. The case study shows that a small increment of the pipe …

A novel pressure regulation system based on Banki hydro turbine for energy recovery under in-range and out-range discharge conditions

Abstract Efficiency improvement of water distribution networks needs to be in place to guarantee a long life period under suitable operating conditions. Excessive pressure is among the well-known issues encountered in water distribution networks which can cause strength damages to the piping system. In order to overcome this drawback and to reach a suitable water pressure delivery, the present work suggests a novel pressure regulation system. This regulation system is consisting of a Banki turbine equipped with a mobile flap as a control device. The suggested pressure regulation system was experimentally and numerically investigated under in-range i.e. like actual water distribution network…

UN’EFFICIENTE METODOLOGIA PER LA SOLUZIONE DI PROBLEMI DIFFUSIVI ANISOTROPI ETEROGENEI

Progettazione di un'opera di presa a basso impatto ambientale per un impianto mini idroelettrico in Sicilia

Diffusive Modeling of Aggradation and Degradation in Artificial Channels

The unsteady flow and solid transport simulation problem in artificial channels is solved using a three-equation model, coupled with a local erosion law. The three equations are the water mass and momentum balance equations, as well as the total solid load balance equation. It is shown that even during severe hydrological events inertial terms can be neglected in the momentum equation without any substantial change in the solution sought. Empirical equilibrium formulas were used to estimate the solid load as a function of the flow variables. Local erosion, due to the scour generated at the jump between two channels connected at different bottom elevations, was estimated adapting a literatur…

An improved numerical solver of the 2D diffusive shallow waters equations over unstructured triangular meshes

A Banki–Michell turbine for in-line water supply systems

The design of a novel Banki-Michell type turbine, to be located in existing water pipelines, is proposed. The turbine has a very efficient diffuser which allows the turbine to be compact and, most important, to have in-line flanges for minimal piping modifications at existing sites. This turbine combines a simple geometry with stable efficiency in a wide range of water discharges. The design procedure estimates the outer diameter of the impeller, its width and the geometry of the diffuser. A series of experimental tests has been carried out to measure the efficiency of the proposed turbine prototype. The turbine was tested in two different configurations, with and without rotational velocit…

Peak flow measurement in the Arno River by means of un steady-state water level data analysis

Discharge and bed roughness estimation from water level data analysis

Water level data measured at the two ends of a reach are used to compute both the average n Manning roughness coefficient and the discharge hydrograph in the upstream section of the reach. The methodology is first introduced for the simple case of homogenous roughness and large slope, when the kinematic assumption holds for the momentum equation. In the more general case, when subcritical flow can occur along the channel, an approximation of the downstream boundary condition is required to make always identifiable the calibration problem. In this case, the calibration problem is solved by 1) associating to each possible n value the solution of a flow routing problem, with assigned upstream …

Optimal Parameter Zonation for Water Distribution Networks

OTTIMIZZAZIONE FLUIDO-MECCANICA DI TURBINE IDRAULICHE CROSSFLOW

Peak flow estimation by means of synchronous water level measurements

Simultaneous zonation and calibration of pipe network parameters

A procedure for simultaneously zoning and calibrating pipe network parameters is proposed and applied to the determination of pipe resistance coefficients. The methodology is aimed at grouping the parameters of all the pipes into a small number of zone parameters, constrained to keep the difference between the computed and the measured water heads below a given tolerance. It is shown that, in the case of nonlooped networks, the methodology leads to a linear minimization problem where the objective function is a measure of the heterogeneity of the estimated parameters. In the case of looped networks an iterative procedure, where the linear problem is coupled with a nonlinear problem having a…

MAST-RT0 solution of 3D Navier Stokes equations in very irregular domains. Preliminary results in the laminar case

A new numerical methodology to solve the 3D Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible fluids within complex boundaries and unstructured body-fitted tetrahedral mesh is presented and validated with three literature and one real-case tests. We apply a fractional time step procedure where a predictor and a corrector problem are sequentially solved. The predictor step is solved applying the MAST (Marching in Space and Time) procedure, which explicitly handles the non-linear terms in the momentum equations, allowing numerical stability for Courant number greater than one. Correction steps are solved by a Mixed Hybrid Finite Elements discretization that assumes positive distances among tetrahedr…

The FLO Diffusive 1D-2D Model for Simulation of River Flooding

An integrated 1D-2D model for the solution of the diffusive approximation of the shallow water equations, named FLO, is proposed in the present paper. Governing equations are solved using the MArching in Space and Time (MAST) approach. The 2D floodplain domain is discretized using a triangular mesh, and standard river sections are used for modeling 1D flow inside the section width occurring with low or standard discharges. 1D elements, inside the 1D domain, are quadrilaterals bounded by the trace of two consecutive sections and by the sides connecting their extreme points. The water level is assumed to vary linearly inside each quadrilateral along the flow direction, but to remain constant …

Design of Reliable and Efficient Banki-Type Turbines

A new shape for the external surface of the Crossflow turbine blades is proposed, which allows for the preservation of hydraulic efficiency in spite of a significant maximum blade thickness providing mechanic robustness and reliability. The final shape of the blades is assessed using an iterative solution for two uncoupled models: a 2D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and a structural 3D finite element method (FEM) analysis of a single blade. Application of the proposed methodology to the design of a power recovery system (PRS) turbine, a new backpressure Crossflow-type inline turbine for pressure regulation, and energy production in a real Sicilian site follows.

The MAST FV/FE scheme for the simulation of two-dimensional thermohaline processes in variable-density saturated porous media

A novel methodology for the simulation of 2D thermohaline double diffusive processes, driven by heterogeneous temperature and concentration fields in variable-density saturated porous media, is presented. The stream function is used to describe the flow field and it is defined in terms of mass flux. The partial differential equations governing system is given by the mass conservation equation of the fluid phase written in terms of the mass-based stream function, as well as by the advection-diffusion transport equations of the contaminant concentration and of the heat. The unknown variables are the stream function, the contaminant concentration and the temperature. The governing equations sy…

Effect of the Converging Pipe on the Performance of a Lucid Spherical Rotor

Lucid spherical rotor is a cross-flow rotor developed to be installed within a pipeline. The purpose of installing this type of rotor is to collect excess energy available in gravity-fed water pipelines. In order to enhance the efficiency of the rotor which is installed in a channel, this paper aims to study the performance of Lucid spherical rotor with converging pipe. Numerical investigations were carried out to analyze the effect of the converging pipe on the performance of the rotor. Numerical simulations have been carried out using the unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations in conjunction with the realizable $$k-{\varepsilon }$$ turbulence model. The validation of the numer…