A method to improve the energy capture performance and fluid regulation characteristic of capture-energy ball valve based on the biomimetic principle

The capture-energy ball valve (an impeller inserted into the throttling element of the ball valve) is a highly promising green-power generation device. This valve captures fluid energy within a pipe network and converts it into electricity to power the electrical equipment of the pipe network. To enhance the energy capture performance and fluid regulation characteristics of these valves, this study introduces a biomimetic impeller design that incorporates dermal denticles from shark shield scales onto the convex surfaces of its blades. Numerical calculations were performed, and a comparative analytical study was conducted to assess the energy capture performance and fluid regulation characteristics of conventional and the proposed biomimetic capture-energy ball valves. The study examined the impact of the aspect ratio and spacing of denticles on the valve's energy capture performance, revealing the mechanism by which denticles enhance the impeller's energy capture efficiency. The results demonstrated how the biomimetic denticles mitigate turbulence, reduce fluid resistance to the blade surface, and increase the pressure differential across the blade surfaces. When operating at the optimal tip speed ratio, the biomimetic energy capture ball valves can increase shaft power by up to 36.64 % and improve the flow coefficient by as much as 1.01 % compared to conventional energy capture ball valves.