Inlet Manifold Research and PIV Measurements

Team Members

Rami Bechara
Gonzalo Caprario
Vanish Grover
Nicolas Pautassi
Julia Schoen
Arthur Shull

Introduction

Currently, the design inlet to the sedimentation tanks to the AguaClara plants consist of an inlet manifold whose objectives are:

• keep the velocity of the water high enough to prevent sedimentation prior to the tank
• get an even distribution of the influent along the sedimentation tank
• re-suspend the flocs in the bottom of the sedimentation tanks
• prevent floc breakup

The inlet manifold consists of a PVC pipe with a row of drilled holes facing down. The jets coming out of the ports will prevent floc accumulation in the bottom of the sedimentation tanks and hopefully the velocity will keep the floc in suspension to create a floc blanket.

To read more about the inlet manifold design please refer to the design link.

Objectives

The objectives of this research are to experimentally test the inlet manifold recreating the same conditions that will face in a real AguaClara plant, and modify the design based on the results.

To begin with, we calculated the manifold dimensions which include:

• Pipe diameter
• Ports' diameter
• Ports' spacing

The calculations for this experiment were based on the Agalteca design flow and tank dimensions.

Based on theoretical information about manifolds, the initial idea is to prove that to create an evenly distributed flow throughout the different ports of the manifold, we would have to taper the pipe to have the same velocity along the manifold and therefore the same flow in each port.

To begin with the study, we should calculate a manifold with a constant diameter for the design flow. The results of that calculation proposed a 6" PVC pipe with 1" ports spaced 5 cm center to center (total 57 ports). Drilling Process

These calculations assumed that the sum of the areas of the vena contracta of the ports should equal the cross sectional area of the pipe.

Refer to the following link to view the calculation process.

The next step is to recreate in the lab the conditions of that manifold in the Agalteca plant.

Inlet Manifold Overview

Currently, the inlet to the sedimentation tanks of our plants consist of either one port or a three pipe system. Research into alternate methods of water distribution into the sedimentation tank due to problems with uneven flow rates and sediment accumulation. We are considering various manifold systems, such as a tapered system to keep velocity constant in an attempt to keep flowrate constant.

Experimental Methods and Results

[Experiment 1: 10' Uniform Manifold]
[Experiment 2: 10' Uniform Manifold, take 2]
[Experiment 3: 20' Uniform Manifold]

Stay up-to-date on this project by checking the Meeting Minutes, [goals] and Challenges for Future Semesters.

Current Research Teams

Spring 2010 Inlet Manifold Research Team

• Redesigning the inlet manifold for the sedimentation tank in an effort to maintain constant flow out of all of the ports. [^SL741226.JPG]