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In Fall 2007, the team researched the effect of introducing obstacles into the flow. Currently, the only sources of shear (and thus mixing and flocculation) are the 180-degree 180° bends between the vertical flow channels. In the channels between those bends, there is very little shear - it is similar to pipe flow. There is therefore a large variance between the maximum shear (at the bends) and the average shear. That means the plant is not as space-time efficient as it can be. By introducing suitable obstacles (that create shear and mixing) into the vertical channels, the average shear is increased significantly without increasing the maximum shear.
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