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Screening

Jae K. (Jim) Park, Professor

Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Screening
Objective
To remove large objects such as rags, paper, plastics,
metals, and the like. These objects, if not removed, may
damage the pumping and sludge removal equipment,
hang-over weirs, and block valves, nozzles, channels,
pipelines, and appurtenances
First unit operation used at wastewater treatment plants.
Type of screens
Coarse screens: used primarily as protective devices,
e.g., bar racks (or screens), coarse woven-wire screens,
and comminutors
Fine screens: openings of < 2.3~6 mm (< 0.1~0.25 inch);
used to provide pretreatment or primary treatment
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Coarse Screens
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Coarse Screens
Coarse Screen

Manual screening removal

Too wide
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Coarse Screens
Coarse Screen
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Coarse Screens
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Screenings
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Screen
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Screen
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Coarse Screens
Type Location Description
Bar racks or Ahead of pumps and May be manually or mechanically
bar screens grit removal facilities cleaned.
Coarse Behind racks or ahead These are flat-, basket-, cage, or
woven wire of trickling filters disk-type screens used to remove
media screens relatively smaller particles. Cleaned
by removing from the channel.
Openings vary from 3 to 20 mm.
Comminutor Used in conjunction Grinders that cut up the materials
retained over screens. Provisions
to bypass the comminutor is always
made.
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Screw Pumps

To pump the raw sewage from wet wells to the head of the
wastewater treatment plant for gravity flow during the
treatment.
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Fine Screens
Fixed or moving screens
20~35% SS and BOD5 removal; grease removal,
increased DO
Moving Screens
Type Description
Band screens Consist of an endless perforated band which passes over
upper and lower rollers. A brush may be installed to
remove the material retained over the screen. Water jet is
also used to flush the debris.
Wing or shovel Consist of circular perforated radial vans that slowly rotate
screens on a horizontal axis. The vans scoop through the channel.
Strainers or Consist of a rotating cylinder that has screen covering the
Drum screens circumferential area of the drum. Openings vary from
0.02 to 3 mm.
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Screening
A device with openings of uniform size to retain coarse
solids found in wastewater
Consists of parallel bars, rods/wires, grating, wire mesh, or
perforated plate with circular or rectangular shape
Bar racks/screens: used to protect pumps, valves, pipelines,
and other appurtenances from damage or clogging
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Typical Screening Devices

Inclined
fixed screen
Rotary drum
screen

Centrifugal
screen

Rotary disk
screen
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Bar Screens
Width: 2 to 14 ft
Channel depths: >100 ft

Through Flow Design Dual Flow Design

Most commonly used at medium- and large-size wastewater

treatment plants
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Bar Screens
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Frontloader Bar Screen

A back-cleaned unit, which enables the rake to catch the captured
material and keep it from dropping back into the flow.
A back-cleaned unit, which enables
the rake to catch the captured
material and keep it from dropping
back into the flow.
The teeth of the rake extend
through the bars and raise the
material on the upstream side.
Can be used in channels up to 4.5
feet deep and 4 feet wide with bar
spacing down to 1/2" clear
openings.
The headroom required for the unit
is only 8 feet.
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Aqua Guard Bar/Filter Screen

A continuous, self-cleaning device that utilizes a filter-rake
combination to remove floating and suspended materials from a
moving stream.
Available in widths of 1.5
to 15 ft. and discharge
heights of 5 to 50 ft. with
power requirements of 0.5
to 3 HP.
The standard angle of
inclination: 75 (60 and
85 are also available)
Removal of particles as
small as 1 mm to debris
larger than 200 mm
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Curved Bar Screen
Operates through a 90 degree circular action
The horizontal and vertical position control by proximity switches
Hydraulic operation & fully automatic control (0~60 min. timer)
Efficient cleaning by variable operation timing
No damage by trapped material
Maximum screening
area
Hot-dip galvanized or
stainless steel finish
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Climber Screen
Removes solids from the bar
screen by means of a precision
gear-driven cleaning rake
running in guide rails.
Designed to eliminate moving
parts below the water line - low
maintenance time and expense
Width: 18" to over 30
Lift: 2' to over 125',
Bar spacing: 1/4" to 6
Equipped with overload
protection device
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Step Screen
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Step
Screen
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Wash Press
Designed for
effective washing of
organic material
from screenings

Vacuum Conveyor
Designed for long transport
distances, i.e. up to 15
meters (50 feet) vertically
and/or up to 50 meters (165
feet) horizontally
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Rotamat Fine Screen

Removes, transports, compacts, and dewaters screenings.
Simple operation and low equipment costs by combining four
procedures into one piece of equipment
Used for screening raw wastewater, septage, and sludges.
All stainless steel
construction
Only one moving part
No metal-to-metal
wearing parts
One machine with a
single motor to screen,
wash, compact, and
dewater the debris
from wastewater.
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Rotamat Fine Screen

Screens, washes, and dewaters

with a single unit

Easily installs into open

channels for reduced
installation costs
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Mechanically Cleaned Bar Screens
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Band Screen (2 & 5 mm)
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Band Screen (2 & 5 mm)

A low backwash pressure (~30 psi)

required to positively clean the screen

ProPaPanel (US Patent No. 5407563). This thick plate (9 mm or

3/8") screening media resist hair pinning, contain a tapered hole to
prevent plugging and are made of a corrosion resistant urethane.
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Screens/Racks

Design guidelines

Manually Mechanically
Design factor
cleaned cleaned
Velocity through screen/rack (m/sec) 0.3~0.6 0.6~1
Bar size (mm)
Width 4~8 8~10
Depth 25~50 50~75
Clear spacing between bars (mm)25~75 10~50
Slope from horizontal () 45~60 75~85
Allowable headloss, clogged (mm)150 150
Max. headloss, clogged (mm) 800 800
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0 Settling of grit and organic particulates

Screen
Arrangement

Most common
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Design Example

Two identical bar racks; mechanically cleaned, = 75; bar spacing

(clear) = 2.5 cm; Qpeak = 1.321 m3/sec; Qmax = 0.916 m3/sec;
Qave = 0.441 m3/sec
Design values
Velocity through rack at Qpeak = 0.9 m/sec
Velocity through rack at Qmax = 0.6 m/sec
Velocity through rack at Qave = 0.4 m/sec
Diameter of the conduit = 1.53 m; slope of the conduit = 0.00047
m/m; velocity at Qpeak = 0.88 m/sec; depth of flow in the conduit
at Qpeak = 1.18 m
A. Design bar racks
1. Compute bar spacings and dimensions of the bar rack chamber
Use peak wet weather flow for the rack chamber design.
a. Clear area through rack openings = Qpeak/vmax = 1.321
m3/sec 0.9 m/sec = 1.47 m2
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Design Example - continued

b. Clear width of the rack opening = A/d = 1.47

m2/1.18 m = 1.25 m
c. Provide 50 clear spacings at 25 mm
d. Total width of the rack chamber 50 25 mm
10-3 m/mm = 1.25 m
e. Total number of bars = 49
f. Provide bars with 10 mm width
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Design Example - continued
g. Width of the chamber = 1.25 m + 49
10 mm 10-3 m/mm = 1.74 m
2. Calculate the efficiency coefficient
Clear opening
Efficiency coeff. =Width of the chamber

= 50 = 0.72

3. Compute the actual depth of flow and velocity
in the rack chamber at Qpeak
a. Energy equation
v12
v 22 v12 v 22
Z1 d1 Z2 d 2 hL h L K e
2g 2g 2g 2g
b. The chamber floor is horizontal; Z2 = 0; the
invert of the incoming conduit = 8 cm above the reference
datum; Ke = 0.3
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Design Example - continued
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Design Example - continued
2
1.321 m 3 /sec

0.08 m 1.18 m
0.88 m/sec
2
0 m d2 1.74 m d 2 m
2 9.81 m/sec 2 9.81 m/sec
1.321 m /sec 3
2

0.88 m/sec 1.74 m d 2 m
2
0.3
2 9.81 m/sec 2 9.81 m/sec

c. Simplifying the previous equation:

d23 - 1.288 d22 + 0.021 = 0
d. Solving the above equation by trial and error
d2 = 1.28 m; v2 = 1.321 m3/sec (1.74 m 1.28 m) = 0.59 m/sec
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Design Example - continued

4. Compute velocity v through the clear opening

v = Net areaFlow
at the rack
1.321 m3/sec = 0.83 m/sec < 0.9 m/sec
= 1.25 m
May redesign with 48 or 49 clear openings. The width of the
chamber will be reduced and higher velocity through the screen will be
encountered.
5. Compute headloss through the bar rack

1 V2 v2 1 0.832 0.59 2
h L 2
0.025 m
C 2g 0.7 2 9.81 m/sec
4/3 4/3
W 49 10 mm (0.83 m/sec) 2
h L h v sin 2.42 sin75 0.024 m
50 25 mm 2 9.81 m/sec 2
b
6. Compute the flow depth and velocity in the rack chamber below the
rack
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Headloss Calculation

Bar racks (clean or partially clogged)

1 V2 v2
h L
C 2g

where C = empirical discharge coefficient = 0.7;

V = velocity of flow through the openings, ft/sec;
v = approach velocity in upstream channel, ft/sec;
g = acceleration due to gravity, ft/sec2.
Fine screens
2
1 Q
hL
C 2g A
where C = empirical discharge coefficient = 0.7;
Q = discharge through screen, ft3/sec; and
A = effective open area of submerged screen, ft2.
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Headloss Calculation - continued

Screens (clean) 4/3
W
h L h v sin
b
where W = max. cross-sectional width of the bars facing
the direction of flow, m;
b = min. clear spacing of bars, m;
hv = velocity head of the flow approaching the
bars, m; and
= bar shape factor.
Bar type
Sharp-edged rectangular 2.42
Rectangular with semicircular upstream face 1.83
Circular 1.79
Rectangular with semicircular upstream/downstream face 1.67
Tear shape 0.76
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Design Example - continued

a. Depth and velocity in2 the chamber

v2 v 32
d2 d3 hL
2g 2g

1.28 m
0.59 2
d3
1.321 m /sec 1.74 m d 3 m
3 2

0.025 m
2 9.81 m/sec 2
2 9.81 m/sec 2

b. Simplifying this equation:

d33 - 1.273 d32 + 0.029 = 0
c. Solving the equation by trial and error, d3 = 1.25 m and v3 =
0.61 m/sec.
7. Compute the headloss through the rack at 50% clogging
a. At 50% clogging of the rack, the clear area through the rack is
reduced to half and the headloss through the rack is obtained from
the energy equation
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Design Example - continued
' 2
v v 32 Assume outlet channel do not
d '
2
2
d3 hL
2g 2g change. i.e., d3 = 2d3 and v3 = v3
1 (Velocity through rack opening) 2 v '2
b. h 50
0.7 2g
c. Velocity through rack 1.321 m 3 /sec 2.114
v' m/sec
openings at 50% clogging 1.25 m 0.5 d 2
' '
d2
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d. v ' 1.321 m /sec 0.759
2 ' m/sec
1.74 d 2 m
'
d2
e. d ' m
0.759 d '

m/sec
2
2

1.25 m
(0.61 m/sec)2

2
2 9.81 m/sec 2
2 9.81 m/sec 2

2
1 2.114 d 2 m/sec 0.759 d 2 m/sec
' ' 2

0.7 2 9.81 m/sec 2
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Design Example - continued

f. Simplifying this equation:

d23 - 1.269 d22 - 0.254 = 0
g. Solving this equation by trial and error: d2 = 1.40 m and v2
= 0.54 m
h. Velocity through rack openings = 2.114/1.4 m/sec = 1.51
m/sec
i. The headloss under 50% clogging:
h50 = 1.4 m2 - 1.25 m = 0.15 m2
1 V v
2
2
1 1.51 0.54
h 50 2
0.15 m
C 2g 0.7 2 9.81 m/sec

k. v50 = 2 v (0.83 m/sec) (#36) = 1.66 m/sec, v2 = 0.59 m/sec

(#35) 1 V 2 v 2 1 1.66 2 0.59 2
h 50 0.18 m 0.15 m
C 2g 0.7 2 9.81 m/sec
2
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Design Example - continued

7. Headloss increase due to 50% clogging = 0.18 - 0.025 = 0.155

m
Accurate control of the cleanup cycle and protection against surge
load are vital.
A freeboard of > 0.5 m is required.
In this design, the bar screen is deep in the ground; thus, flooding
and overflow is not a consideration.
Upstream v through Downstream Headloss
Conditions d2, m v2, m/s rack, m/s d3, m v3, m/s m
Clean rack 1.28 0.59 0.83 1.25 0.61 0.025
50% clogging 1.40 0.54 1.51 1.25 0.61 0.155

B. Effluent structure
Previous calculations of flow depth and velocity were based on
normal flow conditions. Due to a free fall into the wet well, the
actual depth into the channel will be significantly smaller than the
normal depths calculated earlier. Furthermore, the velocities
through the screen will also be significantly larger.
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Design Example - continued
A proportional weir or Parshall flume is
specially beneficial as a control section if a free
fall is available on the downstream side.
Proportional weir is ideal because:
No converging or diverging sections are needed
(compared to Parshall flume)
Raising of the floor may not be necessary (it prevents
deposition of solid during low flows)
The velocity in the channel will remain fairly uniform
even at lower flows
The head over can be calibrated for flow
measurement
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Design Example - continued
The flow through a proportional weir is given by:
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Q 1.57C d 2g LH 2

where:
Q= flow through the proportional weir, m/s
H= head over weir, m
Cd= coefficient of discharge (0.6~0.9), typically 0.6
L=length of the weir opening at a height H above the
weir crest, m
g= acceleration due to gravity, 9.81 m/s
Substituting the values, the previous equation is
transformed into
Q 4.173 LH 2 H
1

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Design Example - continued
To maintain a nearly uniform velocity under variable-flow
condition, the depth of flow in the chamber must be
proportional to the flow through the chamber or the head
over the weir (H). This is achieved by keeping the factor
[LH] in previous equation constant.
To keep the bearings lubricated, the weir crest will be set
15 cm above the channel floor. The max. depth in the
channel (d3) is 1.25 m. Therefore, the max. head over the
proportional weir at peak design flow is 1.10 m (1.25-0.15
m).
The length of the weir opening (L) at the max. head over
the weir is calculated by:
Q 1.321 m / s
L 3
32
0.27 m
4.173H 2 4.173(1.10)
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Design Example - continued
Compute the geometric profile of the
proportional weir
The factor [LH] at different sections is kept
constant: 1
2
LH 0.27 1.10 0.283
Flow (m/s) Head over Weir length Flow depth Flow velocity
weir (m) (m) (m) (m)
Peak=1.321 1.10 0.27 1.25 0.61
Max=0.916 0.78 0.32 0.93 0.57
Ave= 0.441 0.37 0.47 0.52 0.49
0.220 0.19 0.67 0.34 0.37
0.152 0.13 0.79 0.28 0.31
0.050 0.05
Q
1.27
0.283
0.20 0.14Q
H L d H 0.15 v
4.173 0.283 H 12
1.74 d
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Design Example - continued
Design details of the
proportional weir

The ends of the weir are cut

off at a height of 5 cm
above the crest
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Design Example - continued

Hydraulic profile through the bar rack at peak

design flow when rack is clean and at 50%
clogging
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Design Example - continued
C. Quantity of screenings
From the figure at 2.5 cm clear spacing, the average amount
of screenings produced at the design average (0.441 m3/sec) and
peak (0.916 m3/sec) flows are 20 and 36 m3/106 m3 of the flow.
Average quantity of screenings
20 m3/106 m3 0.441 m3/sec
3600 sec/hr 24 hr/day
= 0.76 m3/day
Max. quantity of screenings
36 m3/106 m3 0.441 m3/sec
3600 sec/hr 24 hr/day 36
= 1.37 m3/day
Range: 3.5~80 m3/106 m3
Average: 20 m3/106 m3
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Design Details
of the Bar
Rack
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Common Operating Problems
Obnoxious odors, flies, and other insects around the bar rack
Increase frequency and removal and disposal of screenings
Excessive screen clogging
Caused by unusual amount of debris, low velocity through the
rack, or slow removal of debris
Identify the source causing excessive discharge of debris and
stop it; provide a coarser rack, or reset the timer cycle or
install level controller override
Excessive grit accumulation in the chamber
Caused by low velocity in the channel
Clean bottom regularly, reslope the bottom, rake the channel,
or flush regularly with a hose
A jammed raking mechanism
Remove the obstruction immediately
A broken chain or cable
A defective remote control circuit or motor
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Maintenance
Daily inspection: raking chain, sprocket, teeth, and
other moving parts
Lubricate and adjust all moving parts
Perform routine maintenance
After dewatered, check for painting, cable, chain, or
teeth, remove obstructions, and straighten bend bars
Screenings: odorous and attract flies and insects
The bar screen area should be thoroughly hosed off
daily with chemical solution (chlorine or hydrogen
peroxide)
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Information Required for
Bar Racks
Width and water depth in the channel
Clear spacing between bars
Velocity through screens
Type of cleaning equipment
Front-cleaned
Back-cleaned: does not jam easily due to
obstruction at the base of the screen
Operation intermittent by a timer or preset
differential headloss across screen