A first CFD study of small hydro energy recovery from the attica water supply network.

The present paper proves that the vast water supply infrastructure of Athens and the region of Attica could produce useful hydropower. The first aim of this paper is to present the unconventional small hydro philosophy of recovering the hydraulic energy wasted in the existing break pressure devices and energy dissipating structures of the Water Supply Network of Athens, the capital of Greece and of the whole Attica region. The paper discusses themes concerning the replacement, in this large drinking water infrastructure, of all the existing break pressure devices, by a series of small hydro plants and also the efficient ways by which such small unconventional hydro schemes could be realized. The second aim of the paper is to highlight some important CFD simulation features which however needs further investigations and to present preliminary some Flow-3D results concerning the hydrodynamic performances of this series of small hydro plants harnessing the important wasted hydraulic energy of the Attica Water Supply Network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]