Challenges Fall 2009

Challenges for Fall 2009

Subteam Leader:

Number of team members needed: 9-10

Important team member skills:

CEE 3310, or equivalent Fluid Dynamics course
CEE 4540 co-requisite
Students must be comfortable with coding
Students should be familiar with the AguaClara design
AutoCAD and/or MathCAD knowledge is a plus
We are willing to train new members

Challenges

Design Tool

Check that all pieces are scaling properly
Identify design errors and work with the team in Honduras to develop improved design algorithms
Update the list of variables that are returned to the user to ensure that all relevant parameters are returned.
eliminate variables in the VNG that aren't used.

Chemical Doser

Need to develop AutoCAD code to draw this part of the plant
Need to develop the transition from linear dose controller to nonlinear dose controller

Entrance tank

A first draft of this code has been created, but it has not yet been reviewed.

Rapid mix components

Requires review and possible upgrade to the first draft of the rapid mix design and then coding of the MathCAD to AutoCAD (MtA) code.

Chemical storage tanks

These tanks need to be drawn. These may be an item that the onsite civil engineer will relocate to fit site conditions, but the design tool should show them at the correct elevation and in a reasonable location.

Floc Hopper Drain Valves

Now that the floc hopper has been drawn, we need to code and draw the valves that dumps the flocs from the floc blanket to waste.

Horizontal Flocculator

Need to continue coding the flocculator so change to horizontal flocculation and determine when this transition should occur.

Vertical Flocculator

Need to ensure that the size of the ports between channels does not exceed the size available on the floc tank wall. Also, ensure that the spacing of the baffles in the last channel does not force them into the exit channel space (this may be taken care of by switching to horizontal flow).

Flocculator Drain System

Need to code and draw the flocculator drain system.

Sedimentation Inlet and Exit Tanks

The tanks at the end of the inlet and exit channels that hold the pipes leading to the distribution tanks and to the waste no longer need to be as tall as they are currently drawn. Rather they can just cantilever off the side of the sedimentation tank. Also the pipes in these tanks that lead to waste should be drawn as Tee's that connect to one another and then lead to waste.

Sedimentation Tank Control Pieces

The pieces that allow the sedimentation tanks to be shut off need to be drawn (caps for the inlet channels, and exit channels). In addition, the caps should have a 1" PVC pipe that extends above the surface of the water in order to prevent air being trapped in the pipes delivering flocculated water to the sedimentation tank, and also to serve as a handle for removing the caps.

Material's List

This list has been started and needs to be edited with input from the engineers in Honduras.

Documentation

Continue the effort to create an AutoCAD video that will show the assembly of the plant with descriptions of each part. This video could serve as the documentation that gets sent to a user who designs a plant with the Design Tool that explains the technology behind each piece.

The rapid mix research project's goal is to determine if inadequate mixing in the rapid mix unit is responsible for the residual turbidity at the end of the AguaClara treatment process. This can be accomplished by adding some additional turbidity after the rapid mix process to see if those colloids have a significant effect on the settled water turbidity. If a large fraction of the colloids that didn't go through the rapid mix end up in the effluent, then it suggests that colloids that aren't properly exposed to aluminum hydroxide in the rapid mix process could also end up in the effluent. The next phase of this research would be to experiment with different rapid mix designs.

energy dissipation rates
residence times
sequence of mixing units where each mixing unit has an alum feed