Using computational fluid dynamics to describe H2S mass transfer across the water-air interface in sewers.

For the past 70 years, researchers have dealt with the investigation of odour in sewer systems caused by hydrogen sulphide formations and the development of approaches to describe it. The state-of-the-art models are one-dimensional. At the same time, flow and transport phenomena in sewers can be three-dimensional, for example the air flow velocities in circular pipes or flow velocities of water and air in the reach of drop structures. Within the past years, increasing computational capabilities enabled the development of more complex models. This paper uses a three-dimensional two-phase computational fluid dynamics model to describe mass transfer phenomena between the two phases: water and air. The solver has been extended to be capable of accounting account for temperature dependency, the influence of pH value and a conversion to describe simulated air phase concentrations as partial pressure. Its capabilities are being explored in different application examples and its advantages compared to existing models are demonstrated in a highly complex three-dimensional test case. The resulting interH2SFoam solver is a significant step in the direction of describing and analysing H2S emissions in sewers.

Fluid dynamics in a full-scale flat sheet MBR, an experimental and numerical study.

Fluid dynamics is used for fouling mitigation in membrane bioreactors (MBRs), whereby a proper understanding of the fluid dynamics is of great interest. The influence of fluid dynamics has led to the use of computational fluid dynamics for optimizing MBR systems. In this work, a model has been validated for flat sheet membranes, with use of the Eulerian multiphase method. The model is validated against a comparable setup where the liquid velocities are measured with a laser Doppler anemometer (LDA). Furthermore, the Eulerian multiphase approach is validated against the more numerical direct volume of fluid (VOF) approach with sludge properties for the liquid, resulting in an error between the models of less than 2% for the wall shear stresses. The VOF model further showed that the horizontal components contribute significantly to the total wall shear stresses. The model has been applied to a full-scale setup for studying the effect of deflecting membranes as deflections have been seen in production. Minimizing the deflection of the membrane sheets was crucial to achieve a good operating condition as a deflection of 2 mm in a setup with a gap of 7 mm decreased the wall shear stresses with as much as 40% on average on the specific membrane surface.

Airflow in Gravity Sewers - Determination of Wastewater Drag Coefficient.

Several experiments have been conducted in order to improve the understanding of the wastewater drag and the wall frictional force acting on the headspace air in gravity sewers. The aim of the study is to improve the data basis for a numerical model of natural sewer ventilation. The results of the study shows that by integrating the top/side wall shear stresses the log-law models for the air velocity distribution along the unwetted perimeter resulted in a good agreement with the friction forces calculated by use of the Colebrook-White formula for hydraulic smooth pipes. Secondly, the water surface drags were found by log-law models of the velocity distribution in turbulent flows to fit velocity profiles measured from the water surface and by integrating the water surface drags along the wetted perimeter, mean water surface drags were found and a measure of the water surface drag coefficient was found.

Validation of computational non-Newtonian fluid model for membrane bioreactor.

Membrane bioreactor (MBR) systems are often considered as the wastewater treatment method of the future due to their high effluent quality. One of the main problems with such systems is a relative large energy consumption, compared to conventional activated sludge (CAS) systems, which has led to further research in this specific area. A powerful tool for optimizing MBR-systems is computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling, which gives researchers the ability to describe the flow in the systems. A parameter which is often neglected in such models is the non-Newtonian properties of active sludge, which is of great importance for MBR systems since they operate at sludge concentrations up to a factor of 10 compared to CAS systems, resulting in strongly shear thinning liquids. A CFD-model is validated against measurements conducted in a system with rotating cross-flow membranes submerged in non-Newtonian liquids, where tangential velocities are measured with a Laser Doppler Anemometer (LDA). The CFD model is found to be capable of modelling the correct velocities in a range of setups, making CFD models a powerful tool for optimization of MBR systems.

Development of low-cost rotational rheometer.

Liquids with non-Newtonian properties are presented in many engineering areas, as for example in membrane bioreactors where active sludge exhibits shear thinning properties. Therefore, the ability to determine the rheology's dependence on shear is important when optimising systems with such liquids. However, rheometers capable of determining the viscosity are often expensive and so a cheaper alternative is constructed with this exact capability. Using the principle of rotating rheometers, a low-cost rheometer was built to determine the rheology of Newtonian and non-Newtonian liquids. The general principles and background assumptions and the physics are described. The rheometer was calibrated by comparison with measurements conducted on a Brookfield viscometer for Newtonian liquids. For validation measurements on non-Newtonian liquids, xanthan gum solutions were made and compared with measurements on the Brookfield viscometer and with values from other sources. Furthermore, the effect of excluding the different shear rates in the system is discussed and good practice hereto is given.