Guneet Sandhu's Individual Contribution Page

Summer 2014 Contributions

I am a member of the Low Flow Stacked Rapid Sand Filtration Team for Summer 2014. After the fabrication of the LFSRSF by the Spring 2014 team, the main tasks for Summer 2014 include operating the filter and analyzing the head loss through the filter during filtration and backwash mode. There were some key observations by the Spring 2014 team which need to be analyzed experimentally this summer. The LFSRSF design code also needs to be updated for the current design  with flexible tubing.

The team is working on estimating the key sources of head loss through the filter and comparing them with the head loss predicted using the design code. Based on the results of the analysis, the team will also work on modifying the design. The team will also be working on design upgrades to the LFSRSF to optimize performance and improve ease of operation on field. This will be achieved by testing the sand drain and designing better control systems to allow more flexibility to the operator and improving the reliability of the design. The team wishes to include feedback received from the field in terms of operation so as to make necessary design changes. Another major task will be to test the performance of the filter and collect data for analysis.

Spring 2014 Contributions

I was member of the Design Team in Spring 2014. More specifically I was a part of the Error Checking sub team. The objective of our team was to develop an independent error checking code that will be used to identify potential sources of error in the main design code.

The scope of the project was to ensure that the head loss computation in the design code is correct since it is one of the most relevant parameters  in a hydraulically driven system. Additionally it is also desirable to compare values of approved Expert Inputs to the values being used in the design tool to ensure the values being used in the design code reflect the latest developments in AguaClara Technology.

A critical task was to develop the overall hydraulic gradient of the plant to ensure the accuracy of head loss estimation for each component of the plant. We also developed the Expert Inputs Comparison Code to ensure that the expert inputs used in the design tool are consistent with the approved expert inputs.

We incorporated the head loss estimation functions in the error checking code to calculate the head loss through each component. We also incorporated head losses, which were not originally included in the design code. The functions being used in the design code were also checked for consistency with the design philosophy followed in CEE 4540. Additional head loss functions were added in the code to reflect the entire path of water through each element of the component using the basic principles of fluid mechanics for hydraulic head estimation. After the head loss estimation, we also incorporated any checks or constraints explicitly mentioned in the design code to make the code even more comprehensive. To ensure mitigation of serious design issues like flooding, the code also checks for water depths in each tank.

The purpose of our code is to ensure that all constraints critical to the overall design of the plant are accounted for, in the final designs provided by the design tool. The objective of our task was also ensure that the integrity of the design code is maintained as the code gets more comprehensive. This task also gave us an opportunity to go through the entire design code and identify any discrepancies that could lead to incorrect designs.