Team Challenges (with optimal number of students and interested team leaders)

Design (Max 8 - Alissa Diminich)

Documentation

Design Documentation (same people upgrading design tool)

• update design algorithm descriptions
• update variable list

AutoCAD Documentation (Max 2)

• complete documentation of AutoCAD script generation
• determine what additional design pieces Team in honduras needs in AutoCAD drawings(ex. Drains, valves, etc)
• consider adding water levels into AutoCAD drawing

Upgrade design tool (Max 5)

• Reduce time required by AutoCAD to draw plant. Evaluate duplicating baffles rather than drawing each baffle. Add an option for drawing flat baffles and plate settlers.
• create method to make it possible to choose a layout
• add AguaClara design stamp and disclaimer to drawing
• create layouts of useful views
• create materials list
• consider keeping an even number of floc channels by varying the floc channel width

  Design plants (same people upgrading design tool)

• design plants for Agua Para el Pueblo

Move the design capabilities to the web (1)

• Complete LabVIEW online tool

Document past designs (same people upgrading design tool)

• Create a single table with a list of critical as built parameters for all of the AguaClara plants

Research

Tube Floc (Max 2 - Ian Tse)

• Document effects of varying
  • influent turbidity
  • alum dose
  • flocculator length
  • flow rate
• Develop the optimal relationship between G and Gθ
• Develop method to test optimal relationship between G and Gθ either by varying the flow rate in real time or by building a flocculator with a variable cross sectional area or using some other technique
• Help develop a method to transfer knowledge from the tube flocculator to full scale baffled flocculators.

Linear Flow Orifice Meter (1 - Leah)

• Test the new design algorithm for linearity
• Develop an algorithm for the maximum flow that can be carried by a linear flow orifice meter as a function of pipe diameter.
• Write a paper detailing the theory and design of the Linear Flow Orifice Meter

Flow Controller

Linearity and Calibration (Max 2)

• test linearity of response and create calibration protocol
• compare with theory and explain any differences
• upgrade flow controller design algorithm to handle both alum and chlorine

Chlorine metering (Max 2)

• Determine what causes flow to decrease over time and develop a method to prevent this failure mode

Constant chemical doser (Max 3)

• Complete prototype
• Test prototype
• Develop calibration procedure
• Create plan to implement this in an AguaClara water treatment plant in Honduras during the January intersession or provide detailed info for the AguaClara team in Honduras to fabricate and install it during the fall semester.

Floc blanket (laboratory research) (1 - Matt Hurst)

• Optimize design and operating parameters for floc blankets
• Develop an understanding of the relationships between solids fraction, bulk density, velocity gradients, floc size, and settled effluent quality

Plate settler spacing (laboratory research) (Max 2 - Sarah Long)

• Determine the effects of varying plate settler spacing on effluent turbidity and on operation and maintenance requirements

Pilot Plant at the Cornell University Water Filtration Plant

Full Scale Sed Tank (Max 3)

Design and build a larger scale sed tank that will make it possible to fully test our sed tank designs

Floc blanket and Plate settler (Max 3)

• Test plate settler performance with and without a floc blanket to access the utility of floc blankets.

Triangular manifold for sed tanks (Max 2)

• Build manifold prototype and test ability to uniformly deliver flow to plate settlers
• Explore overlapping alternating jets from the two manifolds as an inlet configuration that would distribute flow more uniformly into a sed tank (where jets impinge flow would be vertical toward center of tank, where jets miss each other flow would be toward walls of the tank)

Tapered flocculation (Max 2)

• Experiment with alternative designs for G vs Gθ (this could interfere with the sedimentation research. Perhaps this should wait until the tube floc and CFD research teams can provide an improved design.)
• Determine properties of tube flocculation with raw water. (ideal settling velocities, floc densities, Gtheta values)

Floating flocs, dissolved air (Max 2)

We still have trouble with floating flocs, or foamy sludge growing appearing on the surface of the sed tanks, particularly in Tamara. Now we need to figure out how to get the air out of the water in Tamara. They seem to have trouble keeping air out of the conduction line (it's a pretty complicated line, about 15 km long with 5 pressure break boxes) and are also having trouble with the line rupturing at weak points. They have some air valves, but we're not sure if they are all working. Once they get the leaks fixed and regulate valves in the line so it is always full, that may help. Another idea suggested by APP to get rid of the dissolved air is a small open tank just before the plant where some of it might bubble out.

If we could create a very low pressure region that could help force the supersaturated air to come out of solution. This could possibly be accomplished in a venturi that discharges to the atmosphere.

Computation Fluid Dynamics (baffled flocculator) (Max 2 - Yong Sheng Khoo)

• Determine which turbulence model is best for modeling energy dissipation in jets.
• Quantify the energy dissipation distribution
• Quantify the effective Gθ for a single bend
• Develop an improved design algorithm that appropriately accounts for the energy dissipation distribution. (This might be as simple as quantifying the value of Pi.FlocDissipation.)

Computation/Experimental Fluid Dynamics (sedimentation tank manifold design) (Max 3)

• Model the flow distribution in the bottom of a sedimentation tank
• Devise an optimal design for creating uniform flow

Outreach

• Hollister Hall poster*
• Raise $100,000 for water treatment plants to be built between January and August
• Actively pursue corporate sponsorship and foundations
• Planning community outreach events
• Facilitating on campus involvement in presentations and events
• Complete the FAQ sheet
• Create flyer to circulate to Latin American Studies or Romance Language offices to attract apanish english translators to create spanish option of important wiki pages
• Look into recruiting events near pre-enrollment period

Wiki

• Update or assign update tasks to teams for all outdated wiki pages.
• Develop organizational guideline for wiki
• Develop guidelines on wiki page size to improve download speed
• Improve theme to make browsing easier and to give a more professional appearance
• Access whether alternate themes could improve page load time