Inlet and Outlet Manifolds and

Plant Hydraulics

In which Kinetic
Energy BECOMES
SIGNIFICANT
(Thanks to A.A.
Milne)
 Nomenclature: a start
Symbol Description Sub
Q Flow P Port
A Area M Manifold
H Piezometric head D Diffuser
hL Total Head Loss
HGL Hydraulic Grade Line
EGL Energy Grade Line
Cp Pressure Coefficient (includes shear and expansion
effects)
Pvc Area of the vena contracta divided by the orifice area =
0.62
D Diameter
P Dimensionless ratio
n Number of ports
 The Problem
• How can we deliver water uniformly
• between sed tanks
• into the bottom of the sedimentation tank and
• between StaRS layers
• Within layers of the StaRS?
• Extract water uniformly
• from above the plate settlers and
• How can we make it so that the water doesn’t
preferentially take the easy path?
1 2 n-1 n
• Draw manifold in lake picture
• Define Pi.Q= Qp1/Qpn
• Define H average (=vjet^2/2g) and deltaH
(vpipe^2/2g) showing manometers
• Note that shape of inlet (pitot tube) matters
• H proportional to 1/A^2 (from orifice eq)
• How do you get Pi.Q = 1?
• Hbar> dH
• Ajet<Apipe
 How can we make water choose
equally between several paths?
• Draw a manifold with ports that you think
would give unequal flow

• Draw a manifold with ports that you think

would give equal flow

• What do you think is important?

1 2 n-1 n
 Will the flow be the same? NO!

An example to illustrate the concepts Dh

Long

p1 V12 p2 V22
 z1    z2   hL
g 2g  g 2g
K=1

K=0.5 K=1
K=0.2 Short

Head loss for long route = head loss for short route if KE is ignored
Q for long route< Q for short route
 Flow Division Analysis

V2 V2 L V2
hl  C p he  K hf  f
2g 2g D 2g
L
8Q 2
Cp   K  f
hl  C p D
g 2 D 4
Short path Long path
hl  C p Q 2 hl  C pShort QShort
2
hl  C pLong QLong
2

QLong C pShort
2
C pShort Q
Short  C pLong Q2
Long PQ  
QShort C pLong
 How did the flow divide?

Long
C pShort  K Control
Improve this? PQ 
C pLong  K Control
K=1

K=0.2 Short PQ
2
C pLong  C pShort
C pShort K Control 
PQ 
QLong
 1  PQ
2

QShort C pLong Set PQ to 0.95

2
P.Q  C.PLong  C.PShort
0.2 K.Control   25.718
  0.26 1  P.Q
2
3
 Plant Flow Distribution

• Equal flow between sed tank bays?

• Equal flow through diffusers into sed
tank?
• Equal flow between
plate settlers?
• Equal flow
through ports into
sludge drain
Where can we use flow restrictions? ___________________
After flocs are removed
 Terminology

• Flow into tank (out of manifold) – Inlet

Manifold
• Flow out of tank (into manifold) – Outlet
launder
• Overflow Weir
• Submerged pipe with orifices (head loss
through orifices is set to be large relative
to construction error in level of weir
Ease of construction, avoid floating flocs
 Manifold: Flow Calculations
p
• We will derive equations in terms of Hydraulic g
z
Grade Line (HGL) because piezometric head
controls the port flow
• Port flow  a     p   g    2
V
• based on orifice
_______ equation
• Piezometric head change (DH) across port
• flow expansion
In manifold
• Piezometric head change (DH) between ports
• Darcy-Weisbach and Swamee-Jain
 Head Loss due to
Sudden Expansion
pin  pout Vin2  Vout
2 Ain Vout
Energy hex   Mass A  V
g 2g out in

2 Ain
Vout  Vin
2

Momentum pin  pout  Aout

g g
2 Vout
V 2

2 out 2 in
V 2
 2VinVout  Vin2
Vin Vin2  Vout
2

Vout
hex   hex
2g
2g 2g
2
 Ain 
2
2
 
Vin  Vout  V A
2
hex  in
 1 in
 K ex   1  
hex   Aout 
2g
2g  Aout 
Discharge into a reservoir?_________
Kex=1
 Ain
V 2
V2

pin  pout
out in
Aout
Inlet Manifold 
g g

pout  pin Vin  Vout  Vout DH expansion 

Vin  Vout  Vout

g g g
EGL Pressure recovery
HGL

1 2 n-1 n

Major head loss

 What is total SDHexpansion as a function
of n?

DH expansion 
Vin  Vout  Vout
Vin  Vout 
QP
g AM
n 1 n 1
QM  n  i  QM 1 QM
 DH
i 1
expansion 
i 1 nAM nAM g
QP 
n

n 1
V 2 n 1
n  i 
 n  i  QM
 DH
i 1
expansion 
g
M
i 1 n2
Vouti
nAM

n 1
VM2 n  1 VM2
 DH
i 1
expansion 
g 2n
Approaches
2g
for large n
_______________
All kinetic energy is recovered for very gradual expansion.
 Outlet Manifold (Launder)
Flow contractions, thus no significant minor loss!

EGL

HGL VM2
All of the changes at the ports sum to
2g
1 2 n-1 n
 Head Loss in a Manifold (same for
inlet or outlet) between first and last
ports
L V2
hf  f Define manifold length as LM  LP  n  1
D 2g
2
QM
hfi  f i
LP VM i VM i  n  i EGL

DM 2 g nAM HGL

1 2 n-1 n
2
n 1
LM 1  QM  1 n 1

  n  i
2
h f  
i 1
fi i
DM 2 g  AM   n  1 n 2 i 1

n  n  1 2n  1
n1
n 1

n  i
1 2 1 1
 ( n  i) simplify  

2
2 3 6 n
( n  1)  n i  1
i 1 6 EGL

HGL

 2n  1
2
n 1
LM 1  QM 
 hfi  fi
i 1
 
DM 2 g  AM  6n
1 2 n-1 n

Head loss in a manifold is 1/3

__ of the head loss with constant Q.
 EGL

Change in Piezometric Head HGL

1 2 n-1 n

in an Outlet Manifold
VM2
 2n  1
2
n
LM 1  QM 

i 1
hfi  f i  
DM 2 g  AM  6n 2g

 2n  1  1
2
1  QM   LM
DH total    fi  Total change in
2 g  AM   DM 6n 
piezometric head

C plong

Note: We have factored out the friction factor knowing

0.25
that f  2
and thus f is not constant
   5.74  
log  3.7 D  Re0.9  
  
 EGL

HGL

Change in Piezometric 1 2 n-1 n

Head in an Inlet Manifold

n 1
VM2 n  1
 2n  1  DH
2
n
LM 1  QM  

i 1
hfi  f i  
DM 2 g  AM  6n i 1
expansion
2g n

 2n  1 
2
1  QM   n  1 LM
DH total      f i 
2 g  AM   n DM 6n 
C plong

This equation gives the difference in piezometric head

between the first port and the last port. Since the two terms
have opposite signs the maximum difference could be at an
intermediate port. We need to determine if one of these
terms dominates to see if the maximum difference really is
between the first and last ports.
 Calculating the Control (Orifice)
Pressure Coefficients
0
PQ
2
C plong  C pshort For a manifold the short
K Control 
1  PQ
2
path head loss is zero (not
including the flow control
PQ
2
C plong
K Control  head loss)
1  PQ
2

EGL
EGL
HGL
HGL

1 2 n-1 n 1 2 n-1 n

C plong  LM  2n  1   n 1 LM  2n  1 
fi  1  f 
 DM 6n   n DM 6 n 
 Minor Loss Coefficient for an
Orifice Port (in or out)
Vvc2 Ke has a value of 1 for an exit and is
heP  K eP
2g close to 1 for an entrance nQP  QM
But this V is the vena contracta velocity. The control
coefficient analysis normalizes everything to the maximum
velocity in the manifold. So let’s get the velocity ratio
VM QM AP P vc nP vc DP2 DM2
  Vvc  VM
Vvc AM QP DM2
nP vc DP2
2
 D  VM2
2
 D 2

2
heP  K eP 
M
2   K eP  M
2 
K Control
 nP vc DP  2g  nP vc P 
D
K Control
 Solution Path
• The length of the manifold will be
determined by the plant geometry
• The spacing of the ports will be set by other
constraints
• We need to determine the diameter of the
manifold and the diameter of the ports
 EGL

Launder: Traditional Design HGL

1 2 n-1 n

Guidelines
• Recommended port velocity is 0.46 to 0.76
m/s (Water Treatment Plant Design 4th
edition page 7.28)
• The corresponding head loss is 3 to 8 cm
through the orifices
• How do you design the diameter of the launder?
(coming up…)
• Would this work if head loss through the
manifold were an additional 10 cm? _____
NO!
2
1  VPort 
Q  P vc AOrifice 2 g Dh Dh   
2 g  P vc 
 Design Constraints

• For sed tank Inlet Manifold the port velocities

and the manifold diameter are set by the
_____________________________________
energy dissipation rate in the flocculator
• For the launder that takes clear water from the
top of the sed tank bays the goal will be to keep
head loss low and greater than construction
errors in level of weir (we aim for about 5 cm)
• For Outlet Manifold that takes sludge from the bottom
of the sed tank bays the goal is to be able to drain the
tanks in a reasonable length of time (perhaps 30
minutes) (this means that the initial flow rate would be
able to drain the tank in 15 minutes: remember the hole
in a bucket analysis)
 EGL

Design for Outlet HGL

1 2 n-1 n

Launder
• Given target head loss between sed tank and
clear water channel (5 cm for AguaClara)
8QM 2 CPTotal
hl  Minor loss equation
g 2 DM 4

1
Solve the minor loss
 8QM 2 CPTotal  4 equation for the manifold 0
DM   diameter
 g 2
h l  PQ 2
C pLong  C pShort
K Control 
1  PQ 2

CPTotal  CPLong  K Control

PQ 2
C pLong
K Control 
1  PQ 2
 Outlet Launder EGL

HGL

Diameter: Iterative 1 2 n-1 n

solution for DM
CPTotal  CPLong  K Control PQ
2
C pLong
K Control 
1  PQ
2
 P Q2   C pLong 
CPTotal  C pLong 1     
 1  P 2
Q   1  P 2
Q 
0.25
f 2
   5.74  

  3.7 D Re0.9  
log
   The iterative solution
will converge quickly
 LM  2n  1 
C pLong  f  1 because f varies slowly
 DM 6n  with Re.
1
 8QM 2 C pLong  4
DM  
 g 2 h 1  P 2 
 l Q 
 Example Code for Iteration

y0  First guess at solution

Error ← 1 Set error to be large to ensure
MaxError ← _____ that loop executes once
While Error > MaxError
a  f  y0 
y1  f  a  Improved guess
y0  y1
Error  Dimensionless error
y0  y1
y0  y1
Return y1
 Launder Diameter (Approximate
Solution)
 LM  2n  1 
1
 8QM 2 C pLong  4
C pLong  f  1
DM   2
 g h 1  P 2   DM 6n 
 l Q 

1
 8QM 2  4
Here we are omitting the
1
DM   2  major (wall shear) head
 g h 1  P 2
 l Q  loss contribution
In this equation the head loss is
the total head loss for both the
orifices and the pipe flow
 Example: Launder

What is the minimum launder diameter for a plant flow

rate of 50 L/s divided between 8 bays if we use 5 cm of
head loss? For an approximate solution you can omit
the effect of the major losses. Use a value of 0.8 for the
minimum flow ratio between the last and first orifice

PQ  0.8 h l  5cm

L
1 50
s L

 8QM 2 
Q   6.25
4 8 s
1
DM   2 
 g h 1  P 2
1
4

 l Q   8 Q2
DM   
1 
  11.6 cm
 g   2 h 1  P 2 
 l Q 
  LM  2n  1 
C pLong  f  1
Example: Launder  DM 6n 

• What is the effect of the shear force?

• How can we estimate the length of the
launder? We will assume that the sed bay
has a width of 1 m.
• What is the length of the sedimentation
tank?
V↑ = 1 mm/s
3
m
0.05
s
8
LSed   6.25 m
m
1m 0.001
s
  LM  2n  1 
C pLong  f  1
Example: Launder  DM 6n 

• n is the number of orifices (ports). If the port

spacing is 10 cm how many are there?
62
 2n  1 1
 For large n
6n 3
0.25
f
LM  2n  1    5.74  
2

6.25m 1
f 0.02   0.359
DM 6n 0.116m 3
log  3.7 D  Re0.9  
  
 LM  2n  1 
C pLong  f  1  1.36
 DM 6n 
 1
More exact  8QM 2 C pLong 
DM   2
4

 g h 1  P 2 
solution…  l Q 
6.94m 1
0.02   0.421
0.11m 3
1
 8QM C pLong 
1
2 4
DM   2
 g h 1  P 2 
4
 8 Q2 1.36 
DM     11.8 cm
 l Q   g  2 h 1  P 2 
 l Q 

What diameter launder do you recommend?

6 inches
 Why is the
launder diameter
so large?
• (50L/s /9) launder of 6 inches
• The head loss in the launder is small and it would be
tempting to use a smaller pipe
• Why is such a large pipe necessary?______________
Equal orifice flow
• Why do we even need a launder pipe?
For uniform flow distribution between (and within)
___________________________________________
plate settlers
___________
• What is the max velocity above the plate settlers
given a 1 m wide tank, 25 cm of water above the
plates, a single launder? __________
2 mm/s
What is the horizontal velocity above the
plate settlers without a launder?

mm
HSuper  25cm VUp  1
s

LSed  6m LSed
 24
HSuper

2
LSed  VUp mm VSuper
VSuper   24  29 m
HSuper s 2g

This velocity is very large compared with the head loss

through the plate settlers (about 1 m) and thus
elimination of the launder would result in preferential
flow through the plate settlers closest to the exit
 Approach to Find Port EGL

HGL

1 2 n-1 n

Diameter
• Calculate the head loss in
 2n  1
2
L 1  QM 
the manifold hf  f M  
DM 2 g  AM  6n
• Subtract 50% of that head
loss from the target head
loss (5 cm) to estimate
the port head loss AP 
QP
P vc 2 g Dh
• Calculate the port
diameter directly using Dorificio 
4Q
the orifice equation P vc 2 g Dh
 EGL

What about Inlet HGL

1 2 n-1 n

Manifold Design?
• Total head loss is not a constraint (it will be
VERY small)
• Energy dissipation rate at the inlet of the
manifold determines the manifold diameter
• Energy dissipation rate at the inlet to the
diffuser pipes will set the diffuser diameter
• Available pipe sizes for inlet manifold and for
the diffusers is a constraint
 Schulz and Okun guidelines:
Note these cause floc breakup!
• VPort = 0.2 to 0.3 m/s (assumes no diffusers)
• “The velocity through the ports should be 4x
higher than any approaching velocities.”
(but to prevent sedimentation approach
velocities need to be 0.15 m/s which would
give velocities of 0.6 m/s!)
3
 VPort 
These guidelines result in  Jet P 
extremely high energy  Max  vc 

DPort P vc
dissipation rates!
 Schulz and Okun famous quote…
“In practice, one can rarely meet all four basic
requirements because they conflict with one
another; thus a reasonable compromise must
be attained.”

Conclusion of inlet design for sedimentation

tanks.

Page 135 in Surface Water Treatment for Communities in Developing Countries

 Flow Distribution EGL

HGL

Equation for Inlet

1 2 n-1 n

Manifold
LM  2n  1 
2
 n 1  D  2
C pLong  f  K Control  K eP  2 
M

 n DM 6n   nP vc D 
D
0 Control resistance
C pShort  K Control by orifice
PQ 
C pLong  K Control
DM2 VD

nP vc DD VM
2
 DM 2
 2
K eP  2 

PQ   nP vc DD 
 n 1 LM  2n  1   DM 2

2
n 1 LM  2n  1
 f   K eP  2  n
? f
DM 6n
 n DM 6 n   nP vc DD 

What can we play with to get a better flow distribution?

 Area ratio if the DM
and DD cause the same
Max
6
  7

 QM 4 Jet 
 1 7
 
AM   Max P vc
3 6

 6
AP 1

 7

Area ratio to achieve equal ε.Max

 QM 4 Jet  0.9
n
 1 7
 
 n Max P vc
0.8


3 6
0.7

0.6
1
AM
n 7 0.5
0 20 40 60 80 100
AD Number of ports per manifold

But apparently energy dissipation rate doesn’t matter!

 EGL

Importance of Area A M
HGL

1 2 n-1 n

Ratio A D

7
1.2  0.55   66 
Ratio of actual port flow to average port flow

Area Ratio of 0.55  0.6 

AM  
36

Area Ratio of 0.6  0.65   20  ports

 0.7   12 
   
1.1 Area Ratio of 0.65 AD
Area Ratio of 0.7
Effect of
1 pressure
recovery
0.9

 JetVJet 
3
0.8
 Max 
DJet
0.7
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 3
1.2  1.728
Normalized distance along manifold
 One more Issue: Vena Contracta
with High Velocity Manifold
• The vena contracta at each port must be
much more pronounced (small Pvc) when
the velocity inside the manifold is high.
• If the vena contracta, Pvc, is smaller, then the
velocities are higher and the energy
dissipation rate is higher.
• This requires further investigation
 Manifold Conclusions
• Outlet manifolds (launder) require an iterative
design to get the manifold diameter
• Inlet manifold design has complex constraints…
• Avoid breaking flocs
• Don’t let flocs settle (ignore if ports are on bottom)
• Distribute flow uniformly
• Eliminate horizontal velocity in the sed tank
• Produce jets to resuspend flocs to form floc blanket
 Pérdida de Carga Acu
20

Head loss in an AguaClara Plant

10

50

0
 0.01 0.495 1

40 40 Orificio de laOrifice
Mezcla Rápida
Pérdida de Carga Acumulada (cm)

Rapid Mix
Tubo
RapiddeMix
la Mezcla
Pipe Rápida
(cm)(cm)

Floculador
Flocculator
Launder
Tubo de Recolección
Settled water
Vertedero weir Decantada
de Agua
30
loss

30
Acumulada
Pérdida de Cargahead

20 20
Cumulative

• Why isn’t there much head loss between

10 10 the flocculator and the launder pipe?
• How do we ensure that the flow divides
0 0
 0.01 0.01 equally
0.4950.495 between
1 1sedimentation tanks?
10 50
Orificio de la Mezcla Rápida
Orificio de la Mezcla Rápida
L/sTubo de la Mezcla Rápida
Settled Water Weir: Controls the Plant Level

H is water level measured from the top of the weir

2
Q P vcW 2 g H 3/2 With a maximum H of 5
3
cm the sedimentation tank
water level can change a
3 Q
W total of 10 cm! Launders
2 P vc 2 g H 3/2
have 5 cm of head loss
also. m
3
3
Q  0.05
m s
0.05
3 s H  5cm
W
2  m
 0.62  2  9.8 2   0.05m 
3/2
3 Q
W   2.443 m
 s  2 3
2
Kvc 2g  H
 Hydraulic Conclusions

• The water level in the plant is set by the settled

water weir
• The most significant head loss in the sedimentation
tank is the orifices in the launder
• The water level increases through the flocculator.
• The entrance tank water level is significantly higher
than the flocculator due to head loss in the rapid
mix orifice
• The stock tanks have to be even higher to be able
to flow by gravity thru the chemical doser and into
the entrance tank.