Plate Settler SpacingThe Plate Settler Spacing runs experiments with variable spacing between Team focuses on finding optimal spacing for the plate settlers in an AguaClara sedimentation tank to optimize (see pictures) in the sedimentation tank dimensions. The team hopes to find the minimum distance between plate settlers to significantly lower the height of the sedimentation tank. With the height at a minimum, the plan saves more material and construction costs which supports AguaClara's emphasis on efficiency. . Optimal spacing will lead to smaller sedimentation tanks and hence to minimize construction costs. The team is currently exploring a system of failure , mechanism termed "floc roll-up". This mechanism It is hypothesized to be caused by plate settler performance is decreased with high velocity gradients near the wall that overcome the floc particles' settling velocity in the plate settlers. For a given capture velocity (the slowest settling particle a plate settler can effectively capture based on geometric parameters and floc properties) these velocity gradients overcome the settling velocity of flocs, which results in flocs rolling up into the effluent instead of settling down to the bottom of the sedimentation tank. With smaller spacing between plates, the velocity becomes greater near the wall bottom plate and thus increases the likelihood of floc roll-up becoming a failure mechanism. The team predicts floc roll-up by using a dimensionless parameter called the "Pi-ratio". This The Pi-ratio compares the terminal velocity of the slowest settling floc to the velocity experiences at the floc's outer diameter. When th the Pi-ratio is less than one, it means that floc roll-up is the dominant mechanism for carrying particles to the effluent, while when the ratio is less should occur. And when this parameter is greater than one, the convention considerations of capture velocity dictate the particle size range that should be captured. To explore these velocity gradients, the team is designing and running experiments at a constant capture velocity, which is the settling velocity of the smallest particle a plate settler should be able to capture, based upon geometric considerations. Future Work | 
