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Challenges Spring 2009

Team Leader: Nicole Ceci

Design

Design Spring 2009 Challenges

This team is responsible for maintaining and upgrading the automated design tool and for delivering AguaClara plant designs to implementation partners. This team will need to expand this semester.

Subteam Leader: Sara Schwetschenau

Number of team members needed: 5

Additional for Spring 2009: 3

Important team member skills:

CEE 3310, or equivalent Fluid Dynamics course
CEE 4540 co or prerequisite
Student must be comfortable with coding

Challenges

  • Create an organized method of handling multiple designs so that we don�t have the confusion of not knowing what design assumptions correspond to the different facilities that are being designed. Put the final design files for a facility on the wiki. Perhaps zip all the files to make a package that can easily be downloaded for review. Include ALL of the associated design files so that as design algorithms evolve it will still be possible to see the designs of each facility.
  • Document the designs of the existing facilities (as built) in a table format and when possible include the zipped design files.
  • Integrate lessons learned during the construction of the Cuatro Comunidades plant into the design and AutoCAD code.
  • Add construction details including ledge that supports the plate settlers, inlet manifold plates, sludge drain channel, sludge drain plates, sedimentation tank inlet drop tubes, inlet channel port covers, etc. Attempt to draw the inlet drop tubes using the same pieces that will be used to construct the drop tubes.
  • Create several series of plant designs to illustrate how the designs vary as a function of flow rate and design assumptions. Post these designs on the wiki.
  • Flocculation program: include the Energy Dissipation Approach and to draw the baffles correctly for different numbers of flocculator channels.
  • Sedimentation inlet manifold program
    • Allow user to specify width of the plates used to create the manifold. Use the width of the plates to set the port spacing. Eliminate the dimensionless ratio of the port width to the port spacing.
    • Check the manifold design algorithm assumptions. Specifically the method of incorporating the pressure recovery term may be incorrect. It might be beneficial to create a full model of the flow out of each port and compare those results with the analytical model for the ratio of the flow between max and min flow ports.
    • Correct arbitrary assumptions - 1/3 velocity factor, Square ports, Distance between ports.
    • Check for reasonable values
  • Update the Variable Naming Guide
  • Check AutoCAD dimensions
    • H.SedRectangle > B.Port Check to be added to Sedimentation Slopes Program
  • Add pictures to programs pages
  • Group related objects in AutoCAD to make manipulation of the drawings easier (plate settlers, baffles, inlet manifold plates, etc.)

    Research

    Pilot Plant Spring 2009 Challenges

Number of team members needed: 3 returning and 1-2 new members

Important team member skills:

Returning Members
Familiarity with AguaClara Project
CEE 4540

It would be helpful to have a "handy" person on the team that feels comfortable using power tools.

Challenges

Floc Tank

  • Team members should test consecutive alum doses in order to familiarize themselves with the tank and floc formation
  • Compare uniform and non-uniform baffle configuration results from the flocculation tank with high incoming turbidity

Tube Flocculator

  • Alter the tube flocculat set-up to minimize air trapped from joints and it has a more permanent location at the plant.
  • Set up FReTA to be used with the tube flocculator
  • Use FReTA to compare settling velocities at different points in the tube flocculator
  • Compare raw water readings from the Pilot Plant FReTA with the laboratory results

Sed Tank

  • Discover how much time it takes to form a sludge blanket.
  • Can a sludge blanket form if the lamella are present? Can the lamella be designed differently so that this is possible?
  • What is the best way to drain a sed tank so as to cause the least amount of disturbance and water waste. How often would this need to occur?
  • What else could be done to optimize the sed tanks?
  • Are the two sed tanks equal? Is the tank turbidity comparable? Are flocs remaining equally intact from the flocculator to the tanks?

Plate Settler Spacing Spring 2009 Challenges

Subteam Leader: Sarah Long/Colette Kopon

Number of team members needed: max 3

Important team member skills:

  • Fluid Dynamics background

Challenges

System

  • Make the system more robust
    1. Improve the tube settler connection
    2. Stabilize the tube flocculators

Experiments

  • Jet dissipation
    1. Run experiments using a mesh with 1 cm diameter holes
    2. Run fluid mechanics experiments to determine the rate of jet dissipation with the cone
  • Tube spacings
  1. Vary flow rates with each tube size
  2. Vary Floc blanket height
  3. Vary alum dosage

Process controller

  • Use process control incremental method for varying flowrates with each tube spacing
  • Set up a system that allows comments to be made without collecting data twice in process controller
  • Develop some sort of video recording system to monitor floc blanket growth

Chemical Doser Spring 2009 Challenges

Subteam Leader: unknown

Number of team members needed: 1

Important team member skills:

  • Familiar with AguaClara project (not a brand new member)
  • Comfortable with MathCAD
  • Willing to put in extra time to learn how flow controller and linear flow orifice meter (LFOM) work

Challenges

  • Combine design with the sutro weir/LFOM
    • Create series of calibrations for CD to match each of the pre-designed LFOMs
  • Create more comprehensive MathCAD program to design and theoretically model CD performance when coupled with weir
  • Find out how small the chem doser tubing can be before flooding occurs
  • Create a robust tool for float sizing
  • Assess feasibility of CD use in chlorine dosing
    • Develop methods for dosing with the CD when not next to the grit chamber

Flow Controller Linearization & Calibration Challenges Spring 2009

Subteam Leader: Unknown

Number of team members needed: 1-3

Important team member skills:

  • Knowledge of data acquisition software
  • Medium level understanding of fluid mechanics

Challenges

  • Verify the possibility of internal deformation causing head loss within the tube
  • different tubing diameters- how is the flow affected by different tube sizes? and is there still divergence from the equations in large diameter tubing?
  • Non-negligible losses- Minor losses with major effects may be accumulating in the tube due to constant bending and are causing an accumulated substantial head loss. Due to internal deformation, should major losses be considered?
  • Early transition to turbulent flow- induce turbulent flow to better understand the upper bound of the design technology
    • Is the flow control device feasible in the turbulent range?
    • Is there any benefit to pushing the technology to higher and higher laminar flow rates?
    • What is the viability of a dual dosing system or using a dosing tube which expands to control flow?

Linear Flow Orifice Meter Spring 2009 Challenges

Subteam Leader: Unknown

Introduction for New Members

In order to gain a firm understanding of the LFOM material it is necessary to review the posted material. The most important material is listed below

Number of team members needed: 1

The LFOM team is a one person team, with a narrow focus. It may be beneficial to combine the LFOM team with the Chemical Doser because integration between the two systems will be very critical.

Important team member skills:

  • Strong background in Mathcad or at least some aptitude with computer programming
  • Understanding of the fluids concepts would be beneficial, through courses such as CEE 4540 or CEE 3310

Challenges

  • Currently the drill size is based on the diameter that is the best fit for the top hole, it would be interseting to see what the effect is on the error if different rows were used to determine the diameter. The very top hole has a relatively small flow rate based on other rows - there may be a critical row.
  • Also the point of failure experiment was conducted and the results were contrary to the expected hypothesis. Instead of the LFOM working to a certain flow rate and then failing the flow rates were linear but with a different slope than the predicted values, information is available on the experiment page. The perplexing results may be due to the fact that there we were not witnessing a point of failure, a flow rate at which a LFOM will fail, but a complete failure. If the pipe is sized too small to accomodate the flow rate which the orifice pattern is designed to support then the LFOM will fail for all flow rates. This hypothesis would agree with the results. It would be beneficial in future research to test the LFOM created above with a diameter of 1.5 inches with an orifice pattern designed to handle the maximum flow rate for the pipe, 62.5 L/min. It would also be interesting to apply a flow rate in excess of the 62.5 L/min and watch the system for evidence of failure.
  • Thirdly it is important to work on interface between the LFOM and the automated chemical doser.

Floating Floc Spring 2009 Challenges

This team should add an experimental component to first replicate the floating floc problem and then test methods to eliminate them. The laboratory research will be a new strong focus for the spring semester.

Subteam Leader: Tiffany McClaskey

Number of team members needed: 3 total

Important team member skills:

  • Programming in MathCAD
  • CEE 3310 or equivalent
  • Laboratory experience

    Modeling Challenges

  • Review program and make sure everything is correct. Especially look into the head loss calculations
  • Determine the optimal hole size, number of holes, length of pipe and diameter of pipe
  • Give the numbers to the guys in Honduras and have them try it
  • If it works calculate fittings for any other plants having this issue, if it doesn't choose a different set up and try again

    Experimental Challenges

  • Design a laboratory setup to create floating flocs
    • High pressure aeration to create water supersaturated with oxygen
    • Hydraulic flocculation
    • Sedimentation could be conventional horizontal flow to easily illustrate the problem of floating flocs
  • Test various methods to strip excess air from the water to eliminate floating flocs

Subteam Leader: Unknown

Number of team members needed: 2

Important team member skills:

  • Comfortable with coding;
  • Basic knowledge of fluid mechanics;

Challenges

  • Appropriate mesh in 3D
    • Mesh interval size and boundary layers
    • Validate: Check grid convergence, etc.
  • Define the model in FLUENT
    • Turbulence model and other parameters
  • Validation of the model
    • Numerical stability: convergence, accuracy
    • Compare with experimental data: find similar flows and related experimental data (free/confined jets, back step,etc. )
    • Compare with 2D model: verify the assumptions and validity
  • Automation of mesh generation and FLUENT setup
  • Data/Parameter analysis and recommendations
    • Recognize important variables and parameters
    • Write user defined functions to extract analysis data
    • Investigate the performance of different geometry

      Outreach

      wiki updating

      Update the top level wiki pages to reflect the current state of the project
      Coordinate translation to Spanish with Leopoldo

      Outreach Spring 2009 Challenges

Subteam Leader: Unknown

Number of team member needed: As many as possible

If more than 5 people join, subteams should be created

Important team member skills:

  • At least one returning Outreach team member
  • Experience with AguaClara is helpful, but this is a good team for new members

Challenges

Fundraising
Overview: In the Spring 2008 the Outreach team worked to make contacts to develop relationships for future funding and potential partners. The Fall 2008 Team took the opposite approach and devoted much effort toward applying for grants and creating the materials that would make it easier. The next Outreach Team needs to go back and reach out to the contacts made last spring through presentations, newsletters, and any other applicable means you feel would be effective. In the future we hope that communities will be able to outright buy an AguaClara plant based on their affordability. Until that day comes we rely on grants and donations to see us through. It has also been proposed that microfinance partnerships could benefit us, although it seems that it would be a direction that needs to be well research and thoroughly planned before implementation could occur. (See Business Team below)

Specific challenges:

  1. Follow up with and maintain contact with organizations and contacts from both D.C. trips in Spring 2008 (another trip to DC?)
  2. Plan events to present to Alumni (Reunion, Cornell Clubs?)
  3. Apply to some grants

Awareness
Overview: Awareness ties in with both our fundraising and recruitment efforts. Our current awareness initiatives include the conferences we attend, the fliers, brochures, and posters we create, and the presentations we give. Awareness challenges include those that we already do, but a few new ones have been suggested.

Specific Challenges:

  1. Continue with AguaClara newsletter (quarterly? electronically sent to all contacts/ potential donors/ aguaclara alumni etc.)
    1. Update AguaClara Alumni to include past semesters grads
    2. In the future ask students if they wish to be on the list serve for the newsletter.
  2. Finish the Demo Plant Instructions Manual, laminate for the suitcase, and make available on the wiki
  3. ESW Conference scheduled for Fall 2009, keep an eye out for any new deadlines or correspondance
  4. Lesson plan for local schools present about Honduras/water/aguaclara at local schools
  5. Organize trips/events for people to present

Recruitment
Overview: Recruitment initiatives continue to be based on Presentations to freshmen's Intro 1050 Classes. Other initiatives have included attempting to get CEE 255 cross listed, so more non-engineering majors might enroll, but hasn't proceeded very far.

Specific Challenges:

  1. Organize ENGRG 1050 presentations, host meetings open to class to go over using the demo plant and the presentation aka training for 1050 presentations
    If you still think it's a good idea (less important than other challenges):
  2. Get CEE 255 listed for interdisciplinary courses for the fall
  3. Work on syllabus for interdisciplinary purposes

Business Team?

If there is interest in creating a separate business team, it could be 2-3 members. Tasks (suggested by last spring team) could include:

  1. Need to decide grants/microfinance
  2. Microfinance proposal with help from someone with business experience
  3. Better projections of global demand
  4. Better generic public health statistics about the importance of water
  5. Follow up on contacts made by Larry Harrington...lots of contacts so figure out a way to reach more of them
  6. Learn more about microfinance specifically towards AguaClara
  7. Contact Engineering firms/Government Agencies about the potential for partnerships.
  8. Follow-up with SEA and figure out a strategy that can work for both groups to keep them involved
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