EPA P3 Rapid Mix Tube Display
The Chemical Dose Controller team is travelling to Washington, D.C. in April 2009 to compete for a Phase II grant in the EPA P3 competition. The rapid mix tube was designed under the chemical dose controller team and plays an important role in the dosing process, and the rapid mix tube is thus included in the EPA project proposal and will be a part of the display at the competition. A scale version of the rapid mix tube developed in the Fall 2009 semester and refined in the Spring 2010 semester was developed to be taken to the conference and demonstrate the concept of rapid mix and how it relates to water treatment.
At the conference, the rapid mix tube display will be run in-line with the rest of the chemical dosing apparatus display, allowing a continuity of flow throughout the display. We will also be introducing Red Dye #40 into the water flow at the entrance to the rapid mix tube to simulate and visualize the mixing of alum and water that occurs in the rapid mix tube.
Conceptual Design
The design of th EPA scale rapid mix tube is almost exactly that developed for use in the AguaClara treatment plants, simply scaled down to provide a smaller tube and accommodate a small flow rate of water through the system. A separate [MathCAD| file was developed, however, to provide the full design for the EPA rapid mix tube. The flow rates of water through the tube, as well as the size and diameter of the tube itself have become mush smaller, requiring some adjustments to the original tube design. The most notable changes include:
- Reduction in the size of the large scale mixing orifice. Because the flow rate and the tube sizes are much smaller, the large scale mixing orifice has become much smaller and occupies less of the total pipe area than in the full scale model.
- Reduction in the size of the small scale mixing orifices. The flow rate through the system will be much smaller than originally designed for in the AguaClara plants, and thus the small scale orifices have become much smaller and occupy less of the total area of the small scale mixing plate.
- Addition of a flow constriction at the exit of the rapid mix tube. This addition was made solely to control the flow of water through the tube to enable us to display the rapid mix tube at the EPA conference. This restriction is accomplished by adding a plate with a small orifice at the end of the rapid mix tube, which then controls the flow of water through the rest of the tube and the display system in general.
Built Model
The scale model of the rapid mix tube was constructed out of clear PVC tubing to enable easier viewing of the rapid mix process in the tube.
Figure 1. Photo of the small scale mixing orifice installed in the EPA P3 rapid mix tube display. To achieve the target head loss through the tube in this model, 60 orifices of diameter 9/64" were drilled in the rapid mix plate.
Figure 2. Photo of the entire rapid mix tube display built out of clear PVC pipe. This model will be included in-line with the doser for the conference, allowing for a continuity of flow in the demonstration.
Red Dye #40 Flow Visualizations
Experiments with the introduction of Red Dye #40 into the flow through the rapid mix tube were begun recently and are still in progress. The goal of these experiments is to provide a good visualization of the flow of the dye, which represents alum, through the tube, allowing us to see the different stages of flow and mixing of alum with the water in the rapid mix system.
Preliminary experiments have indicated the need for an accumulation chamber to feed the rapid mix tube display in place of a direct siphon line from the dosing tank. A direct siphon line creates a lot of mixing in the upper portion of the tube, negating the visual effects of the display. Thus, to create a 'calmer' flow into the rapid mix tube, we will introduce a chamber, directly fed by the siphon that will provide a steady flow into the rapid mix tube and allow for better visualization of the chemical mixing processes.
Photos of the dye flow through the system will be posted as soon as they are taken after further experimentation.
Deliverables
- [EPA scaled Rapid Mix Tube Design|