ABSTRACT

Hydraulic networks' energy dependence in order for them to be exploited causes that, over the years, its variable costs overshadow the construction costs or fixed costs. The aim of this paper is to minimize the operating cost in existing simple branching networks and it analyses the application of sectoring techniques together with the use of variable speed drives as an energy efficient measure. A criteria to determine if the use of sectoring is favorable, is suggested. It is applied to a real case study: a simple branching network with four hydraulic zones used for irrigation in the province of Segovia, Spain. It resulted in energy savings of 7.54%, which may reach 26.31% if the pumping time of the original case is increased.

Keywords: Branching networks; sectoring; variable speed drives; optimization; energy efficiency.