Inlet Manifold - Tube Diffusers
The objective of this team is to create a fabrication method for the most recent design for the diffusers on the inlet manifold. The diffusers on the manifold need to be constructed so a line source of fluid is created that will be divided between the two sides of the sedimentation tank. To accomplish this the diffusers, which are currently simply unaltered pieces of PVC pipe need to be flattened in some way as to turn the bottom geometry of the pipe from a circle into a rectangle.
Current Research
The team that worked on the fabrication of the inlet manifold diffuser fabrication during the fall of 2011 came up with a few ways to accomplish the goals of creating a line source of fluid. To be able to shape the PVC into a rectangle, a variety of heating methods were tested. Methods tested included immersing the PVC in boiling water and warming the pipe with heat guns. The most successful method turned out to be immersing the pipe in boiling water that was constantly being heated over a hot plate.
The team also had to come up with a method for changing the physical shape of the PVC from a circle into a rectangle. The two main ideas that were tested to try and accomplish this were stretching the pipe while it was hot until it became the correct size, or forcing the pipe over a mold while it was hot. The most successful method of reshaping the pipe turned out to be forcing the pipe over a metal mold; this method worked especially well when the mold itself was also heated.
Future Research
Though the team was able to find the most successful method for heating and stretching in the pipe for the diffusers in the AquaClara lab it is highly likely that when the diffusers are actually fabricated in Honduras a different method will be used. For example instead of heating the PVC pipe in boiling water over a hot plate, the PVC will most likely be heated over an open fire. Also, in terms of future research a method for keeping all of the diffusers aligned once they are in the tank must be looked into. Some possible ways of doing this would be attaching some kind of rod along both sides of the pipes so that they do not move or maybe finding a way to tie all of the pipes together.
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| h5. Foam Filtration
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Numerous techniques of water filtration are in use today, most of which involve the use of sand as the porous media. A preliminary literature review revealed a dearth of information on foam filtration. Our team has decided to focus on investigating the actual filtering capacity of a polyurethane foam material as opposed to the traditional method of sand filtration. With proper implementation, a foam filter could reduce the amount of water that is wasted during the backwash cycle of a traditional sand filter. A foam filter could also potentially require less area, and be less expensive to build than a traditional sand filter. However, a foam filtration unit will also require a tight seal with all of the edges of the tank, in order to avoid preferential flow paths which will result in unfiltered water. In addition, a foam filter will likely require manual maintenance by the plant operator.
Foam filtration has been ruled out for an AguaClara plant because the foam would be too difficult for an operator to clean. However, previous research has proven that foam is an effective method of filtration, therefore this team will focus on designing a point of use foam filtration unit. Research will be done to optimize the design such that it is as efficient as possible and provides the desired standard of 1 NTU effluent water turbidity.
Note: Turbidity is defined as the cloudiness of a fluid caused by suspended particles. Higher turbidities correlate to more opaque fluids.
h6. Current & Future Research
Our team is currently designing a point-of-use unit filtration unit to be eventually built and tested. Additionally, experiments are still being conducted to determine the range of influent turbidities for which the filter can produce acceptable effluent turbidity, optimal foam layering and to conclude last semester's studies on head loss through the filter column. [Read more|Foam Filtration Spring 2011].
After laboratory tests on the filtering capacity of the polyurethane foam material are concluded, we will continue to explore different research areas. This will include the effectiveness of an aluminum hydroxide wash to decrease the ripening time of the foam, the effects of natural organic matter on the foam material and the most efficient way to clean the foam material. [Read more|Foam Filtration Future Research].
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h6. Team Members
[Julia Morris|rbp58]
[Heidi Rausch|her28]
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h6. Foam Filtration Documents
| | Challenges | Tasks | Teach-In | Presentation | Final Report |
| Fall '11 | [!Research^word_icon.jpeg|height=25!|^FoamFiltrationChallenges.doc] | | | | |
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h6. Past Research
None.
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