Summer 2013

This summer I am a member of the Surface vs Subsurface Sand Filtration team.

Fall 2013

This semester I am a member of the SRSF Theory subteam. This subteam is based off of the conclusions made from the Surface vs Subsurface Filtration team. The Surface vs Subsurface team concluded that subsurface filtration was more efficient and upon clogging the column did not require hours of backwash to unclog. Now that subsurface filtration has been proven more effective the SRSF Theory team aims to develop a model for stacked rapid sand filters that will prove helpful to AguaClara plant operators. Our first task was to design and construct an apparatus that properly modeled the SRSF used in AguaClara plants. We then decided on the experimental parameters. The influent turbidity through the system was desired to remain constant at 5 NTU. To accomplish this a PID system was incorporated into the system. The flow rate during all of the experiments was kept constant at 0.929 mL/s and the coagulant dosage was changed for different experiments. The effluent turbidity and head loss were measured and analyzed for each of the experiments. We did not manage to run through the full range of coagulant dosages and future teams should complete these experiments in order to develop a model for stacked rapid sand filters.

Spring 2014

This semester the goal of our subteam was to determine a mathematical model stack rapid sand filters. By monitoring the effluent turbidity and head loss of the filter at a variety of PACl dosages, we looked for trends and disproved theories. The goals for future semesters will be to test new theories we determined from our experimental observations.

Summer 2014

This summer I will be working on the laminar and turbulent tube flocculators. The first tasks will include updating the water supply tank and clay dosing systems of both the systems. After the laminar tube flocculator is updated we will test the newly added SWaT system and compare its results to those observed in past semesters using the FReTA system. The majority focus for the turbulent tube flocculator will be adjusting issues with the apparatus and process controller file. Once these changes have been addressed, the goal will be to analyze how flocculation differs in turbulent conditions as most AguaClara plants have turbulent flow conditions.

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