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SedimentationTeamFinalResearchReport
CreatedbyAnnaLee,lastmodifiedonMay11,2011

SedimentationHydraulicsTeamSpring2011FinalReport

PrimaryAuthor:YiwenNg,TiffanyTsang,AnnaLee
SecondaryAuthor(s):YiwenNg,TiffanyTsang,AnnaLee

PrimaryEditor:YiwenNg,TiffanyTsang,AnnaLee
SecondaryEditor(s):YiwenNg,TiffanyTsang,AnnaLee

AguaClaraReflectionReport
CornellUniversity
SchoolofCivil&EnvironmentalEngineering
Ithaca,NY148533501

DateSubmitted:05/07/11

DateRevised:05/07/11

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Abstract

Ourobjectivehasbeentodeterminetheminimumangleofreposenecessaryforflocblanketformation.Wehadhypothesizedthat
foraninsertanglebelow60degree,aflocblanketwouldnotformbecausetheslopeoftheinsertwouldbeinsufficientfordirecting
settledflocstotheresuspendingjet.
Withanangleofreposeto30degrees,aflocblanketformed.Experimentsoutlinedinthisreportconfirmedthisresultandshowed
thatfora15degreeangleofrepose,flocblanketformationresultedwhenabuildupofsludgealongtheinclineincreasedtheeffective
angle.Insightwasalsogainedintothemechanismofflocformationbyobservingthepatternsofmovementofflocsduringthevarious
trials.

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Introduction

Previously,werananexperimentwitha30degreeinclineina1/2inchwidetank,whichmodelsa2dimensionalcrosssection
oftheAguaClarasedimentationtank,believingthat30degreeswaslessthantheminimumangleofreposetoresuspendflocsandthat
aflocblanketwouldnotform.Aflocblanketformedveryquicklyaftersomelargeairbubbleswereaccidentallyintroducedintothe
tank,whichcausedlargescalemixingofflocsandsludge.Within20minutes,theflocsintheentiretanktransitionedfromastateof
differentialsettlingtohinderedsettling,thereforeitseemsthattheconcentrationofflocsofthebulkfluidneedstobesufficientlyhigh
beforehinderedsettlingandflocblanketformationcanoccur.Beforetheflocblanketwasformed,theangleofreposeformedbythe
accumulated sludge was close to that of the incline, and the settled flocs were continuously returned to the jet. Therefore we
concluded that the minimum angle of repose is less than or close to 30 degrees. When the angle of repose is less than this
minimumvalue,flocsthatsettleontheinclineareunabletoreturntothejetandremainassludge,resultinginnoflocblanket
formation.Werepeatedourexperimentwiththe30degreeinclinetoensurereproducibility,andconductedasecondexperimentwith
a15degreeincline.

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ExperimentalDesign

ExperimentalSetUp

We used the same experimental apparatus and procedure as with our previous experiment, which is documented in the
SedimentationTankTeamsResearchReport1.Figure1showsourhalfinchwidesedimentationtank.

Flocblanketformationinthesedimentationtankwassimulatedusingaflowof460mL/min of aerated water containing

45mg/Lofalum.Theaverageinfluentturbiditywas100NTUmadefromaconcentratedkaoliniteclaystock regulated by the
Process Controller. The raw water and alum were mixed and run through a flocculator before being expelled through a vertical
downwardpointingjetsuspended10cmfromthebottomofthesedimentationtank.Atriangularfoaminsertrestingona10cmhigh
lengthofPVCboardoccupiedthewidthofthetankbottom,leavingasmallspaceforthejet.Thetankwaslitbyabacklight,andi
magesofthetankwereacquiredevery30secondswithashutterspeedof20(400slightexposurepershot)usingdataacquisition
softwareprogrammedinaLabVIEWenvironment.Theseimageswerecompiledintoavideotoanalyzetheprocessofflocblanket
formation.ThisprocedureissummarizedinFigure2below.

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ExperimentalObjectives

Ourfirstexperimentwasarepeatrunwiththe30degreeinsert,checkingtomakesurethattheProcessControllerwasworking
andthattheaeratedwatertankwasfulltoavoidairbubbles.Thepurposeofthisrepeatedexperimentistoverifythataflocblanket
canstillformevenwithoutthelargescalemixingcausedbytheairbubbles,aswellastocheckforreproducibilityofourresults.

We then conducted a second experiment with a 15 degree insert. We anticipated that a significant amount of sludge would
accumulate on the insert until the minimum angle of repose is reached. Our observations of sludge accumulation and floc rolloff
along the insert would be able to provide insight as to whether our hypothesis is correct, and we would be able to measure the
minimumangleofreposewhensteadystateisreached.Thisexperimentwouldalsoallowustoobservethedifferences,ifany,inthe
stagesofflocblanketformationduetoadifferenceintheangleoftheinsert.

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ResultsandDiscussion

SimplifiedMassFluxProcesses
Figure3showsasimplifiedmodelofthemassfluxprocessesinthesedimentationtank.Beforeaflocblanketforms,theangle
ofreposeisnotlargeenoughforallsettlingflocstobereturnedtothejet,hencethesettlingflocsaccumulateontheinclineand
.Whentheminimumangleofreposeisreached,allsettlingflocsarereturnedtothejetand
.
Atsteadystate,theflocblanketisfullyformedanditsheightismaintainedbycontinuouslydrainingflocsbymeansofaflocweir.
Therefore,therateofchangeinmassoftheflocblanketcanberepresentedby

GeneralResultsandDiscussion

Flocblanketsformedforboththe30degreeangleofreposeandthe15degreeangleofrepose,thoseforthelatterexperiment,the
effectiveanglecausedbysludgebuildupwasgreaterthan15degrees.Thetimeittookforflocblanketformationwasgreaterforthe
moreslightangleofrepose,asitwasfirstnecessarytoachievetheminimumangleofreposeviasludgebuildup.Itisthoughta
minimalangleisnecessaryforthegravitationalforceandcurrentforcesactingonasettlefloctoovercomefrictionalforces.
Byobservingthemovementofflocsforthe30degreeand15degreeangleofreposetrials,wegainedinsightintotheprocess
offlocblanketformation.Forthe30degreetrials,flocsenteringthetankatthestartofthetrialsarenegativelybuoyant,asflocsare
moredensethanwaterand
.Becauseoftheirsmallsize,flocsreachthewatersurfacebeforesettlingout.Particles
generallysettleoutalongthehalfoftheinclineclosertothejet.Asthesettledflocsmovedowntheinclineandareresuspended,they
gaininsizeandsettleoutmorequickly,theresultbeingthattheyentrainthebulkfluidvialargescalemixing,facilitatingfloc
resuspension.Becausesmallerflocssettlefurtherfromthejetandlargerflocsfallclosertothejettobecontinuallyresuspended,
sludgebuiltupalongtheinclineduetofrictionforcesincreasestheeffectiveangleofrepose.Constantresuspensioneventually
causesthejettobecomeneutrallyorpositivelybuoyant,i.e.
,andaflocblanketisformed,asshowninFigure4.Flocs
enteringthesedimentationtankareaddedtotheblanketwithlittlebulkmixing.
Forthe15degreeangleofreposetrial,theinitialangleofreposeisnotsufficienttocauseresuspensionofflocs.Flocs
enteringthetankatthestartofthetrialsimplybuildupalongtheinclineuntiltheeffectiveangleofreposeisgreatenoughtocause
resuspensionofflocs.Thisanglewasfoundtobe23degreesasillustratedinFigure5.

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FutureWork
ThenextSedimentationTankHydraulicsteamcanconductanotherexperimentwithouttheangledinserttocheckthatthe
minimumangleofreposestillstaysatabout24degrees.Thiswillserveasanadditionalcheckonthevalidityofourhypothesis,aswe
expecttheminimumangleofreposetobethesameregardlessoftheangleoftheinsert.
Wealsoproposemovingthepositionofthejetfromthesideofthetanktothemiddleofthetank(seefigurebelow).This
geometrymorecloselyresemblesthebottomoftheactualsedimentationtank,andwalleffectsonthejetarealsoeliminated,
providingamoreaccuraterepresentationofflocblanketformation.

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Additionally,otherparameterssuchasthealumconcentrationandjetheightabovethetankbottomcanbevariedtoinvestigate
theireffectsonflocblanketformation.Theconcentrationofalumaffectsthestickinessofflocsontheinclinewhilethejetheight
affectstheeffectivenessofflocresuspension,henceitisimportanttodeterminetheappropriatevaluesfortheseparameters.

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TeamReflections

OurteamfacedtechnicaldifficultieswiththeProcessControlleraswearenotveryfamiliarwiththesoftware.Wewereunableto
getthecomputertocommunicatewiththeexperimentalapparatusandhadtorelyonourteamleadertohelpustosolvetheproblem.
Howeverwhenhefellsick,ourprogresswasbroughttoastandstill.Ourteamshouldgainmorefamiliaritywiththeapparatusand
softwaresothatwecanconductexperimentsandtroubleshootonourownwhenourteamleaderisunavailable.

Nolabels

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