Coagulation Design Handout

First chose a pair of mixing intensity parameters (G and t) from the Table 13.3 of your textbook on page 391; or Table 8.1 on page 184 of handouts.

1.0-1.25 * W (or D) (1.25 typical)

D or W

D or W

The flow rate is known, and you selected a detention time (t), so calculate the volume of the mixing basin. Choose a design: circular or square. Find out the dimensions of the selected basin with 1 in. increments (round-off to an higher integer.) Get the values of viscosity and specific weight of the water at the operational temperature from the appendix (Table A5 or A6) of your book. Now, you have; Q, V, G, t, g, , . Plug those into the velocity gradient equation, G. And calculate the Power (P) that needs to be imparted to water. It is the same equation regardless of the type of the mixer you chose.

At this point you have the tank dimensions and the power that should be imparted calculated. The next thing is the chose a type of mixermechanical or pneumatic (mechanical mixers are more common.)

If you chose a pneumatic mixer, calculate the air flow need using the following equation:

If you chose the mechanical mixer, then use the following equation for the design of the mixer.

Before using this equation you need to:

Decide if you are going to have baffles (0.1* D tank) installed, if yes proceed to next item, if no, you need to increase the power (P) by one-third. Note that for propeller impellers either the baffles have to be installed or the mixer has to be installed offcentric. Decide the type of mechanical mixer: turbine, paddle, or propeller impeller. And decide what type, and the number of impellers.

Based on your decision, obtain Kt value from the Table 13.4 on page 394 of your textbook; or Table 8.2 of the handouts. Decide an rpm. Caution: remember the n in the above equation is as rps, so do not forget to convert it.

30-150 rpm (typical 100) for turbine and paddle impellers 400-1750 rpm (typical 1000) for propeller impellers

Now, you have every parameter but the Di, so find out the Diameter of the impeller using the above equation.

Know there are several checks that you have to perform to ensure proper operation of your design.
1. The Di should be 0.3-0.5 * the W or D if you have turbine impeller.

0.5-0.8 * the W or D if you have paddle impeller. max. diameter is 18 in. if you have propeller impeller.
2. The NRe must be higher than 10,000 to ensure enough turbulence.

3. If any of these tests fails go back and change one or two selections of your design, and redo it.

The following are the considerations for the placement of the mixer, and impellers.

Turbine impellers are installed at one impeller diameter above the tank bottom. Paddle impellers are installed at one-half impeller diameter above the tank bottom. Propeller impellers are installed at less one-half the tank diameter above the tank bottom.

Flocculation Design Handout

The flocculators are also mixers, and govern by the same parameters as coagulators; velocity gradient (G) and time of mixing (t).

A pair of G-t is selected form literature of determined experimentally.

Typically, G = 10 to 60 1/sec. G * t = 104 to 105

Once the G-t pair selected, the volume of the basin can be calculated (we know the Q). Find the dimensions of the basin. The length of the basin generally equals to the length of sedimentation basin. And the H to W ratio is typically 1. Determined the power that needs to be imparted to water using the equation for G. Only P is not known, find it.

Now, chose a flocculator (Paddle wheel as shown in the figure), and decide the number of paddles and their size. The total area on a shaft should be in between 0.15 and 0.20 of the cross-sectional area of the basin. Determine the drag coefficient for a paddle. L/W of a paddle Cd

5 20

1.2 1.5 1.9

Get the specific weight of the water at the operation temperature. Then, find the speed of the paddle blade relative to water using the following equation.

Then find the peripheral velocity of the outer blade (V):

v=V*
The peripheral velocity (V) should be 0.3 to 3 ft/sec. Check for this. If not go back and change some of the design parameters.

The above procedure for one shaft, one wheel and one basin only. However, the flocculators are generally designed in 3 compartments with decreasing G to reduce the shear and avoid the short circuiting. The procedure, in principle the same, is slightly different. The same equations are used.

For tapered flocculation (typically 3 shaftcompartment), the value of G is reduced. The average G should be close to G selected for a single compartment design.

Chose the G values for each compartment, and the (t).

Typically G: 50, 20, and 10 1/sec. for the last compartment.

Calculate the volume of basin, and the dimensions. Remember, the length is the same as sedimentation, and H to W ratio is typically 1. Chose the number of wheels, paddles, blades, and the blade dimensions. Determined the total power that needs to be imparted to water using the equation for G. Only P is not known, find it.

Calculate the power need for each wheel, Pw = P/# of wheels Now, chose a flocculator (Paddle wheel as shown in the figure), and decide the number of paddles and their size. The total area on a shaft should be in between 0.15 and 0.20 of the cross-sectional area of the basin. Determine the drag coefficient for a paddle. L/W of a paddle Cd

6 20

1.2 1.5 1.9

Get the specific weight of the water at the operation temperature. Then, find the speed of the paddle blade relative to water using the following equation for a wheel.

* the number of arms. Write the (vi)s in terms of rps, and remember the v is the speed of the blade relative to water so you need to multiply it by 0.75. And find the speed as rps.

Then find the peripheral velocity of the outer blade (V):

v=V*
The peripheral velocity (V) should be 0.3 to 3 ft/sec. Check for this. If not go back and change some of the design parameters. Repeat the steps for each compartment (G).

http://kahuna.sdsu.edu/~fatih/CEE555/CoagulationDesignHandout.htm