Fall 2010 Inlet Manifold Team

Hypotheses: Hypotheses regarding the design of the inlet manifold and the cause of irregular flow in the sedimentation tank.

Design and Models: Here, you can find sketches, pictures and videos of experiments that we have done and what we are currently working on. Future ideas for experimental designs are also included in this section.

Experiments and Data Analysis: Several experimental methods have been employed to research the hypotheses described above.  Data and analysis from these experiments can be found in this section.

Reflection Report #1: Two crude models were used to reveal that the horizontal component of the velocity out of the ports may be a key factor to solving the floating floc / uneven flow distribution problem.  The team identified the initial challenges of the project and developed a detailed task list and schedule to move forward in researching the inlet manifold.

Reflection Report #2:Using a 1/12th scaled down PVC pipe model, the team discovered that the wall-thickness of the pipe was causing backwards flow out of the port.  To overcome this obstacle, two new models were made using thin copper piping.  These two models were used to perform an experiment of capturing the flow out of the 1st and 15th ports.  Additionally, the team continued to modify the experimental set-up to create a flow rate that was both quiescent and large enough to produce the desired head loss.

Reflection Report #3: Experiments were conducted on both a submerged pipe and a pipe suspended in the air. Repeated flow collection experiments on the latter showed that the flow from the last port is consistently higher than that of the first port, indicating pressure recovery at the last port. Dye tests on the submerged pipe clearly indicate the presence of circular flow in the sedimentation tank. The higher concentration of dye at the end of the manifold proves that the water exits the orifices with a horizontal velocity. Research on solutions to these problems is now underway.