I am a sophomore in the College of Engineering from Detroit, Michigan. This is my first semester as part of AguaClara. I am working on the Sand Source and Testing sub-team.
As a new team, we are interested in exploring options for local sand supply in Honduras and India. The goal is to vertically integrate the water plant process: this includes localizing the filter media and making it easy to test possible sand sources in the field. We began with the AWWA standards for filter media and the list of corresponding ASTM tests for the various characteristics. The next step is to determine which tests fit the needs of AguaClara filters; notably that the SRSF technology allows back-washing instantaneously, so sand does not need to be "clean" prior to use.
This leaves the acid solubility, hardness, and uniformity coefficient tests. It is up to this sub team to evaluate these tests and perfect them for the field and determine whether, if a sample of sand does not pass these tests, it is possible to treat or sort the sand so that it is usable.