Investigating the Effectiveness of Vortex-Enhanced Particle Settling in a Hydraulic Separator Using Physical Modeling
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 148, Issue 6
Abstract
Often it is implied that hydraulic particle separators that incorporate vortex technology provide enhanced particle settling. In this study, a generic vortex particle separator was closely examined using physical modeling to help understand typical flow hydraulic conditions. The study was conducted using particle capture analyses under different internal structure configurations, inflow rates, and inlet pipe configurations to examine how resulting changes to flow conditions influenced the settling of particles. The purpose of this study was not to evaluate performance or obtain absolute particle removal rates of a particular particle separator design; instead, the focus was on understanding how modifications to the flow conditions in the examined separator could affect the particle-settling efficiency. The comparison results show that the inflow-generated large internal vortex does not effectively improve particle settling; possible explanations are given based on hydraulics and physics principles. The study method and results can be extended to examine and improve other hydraulic particle separators.
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Data Availability Statement
All data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This study was financially supported by the Great Lakes Action Plan (GLAP) with funding by Environment and Climate Change Canada. Thanks are given for the support from the Engineering Branch at the National Water Research Institute for providing very valuable advice and helping to build the physical model.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 148 • Issue 6 • June 2022
Copyright
© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 20, 2021
Accepted: Jan 28, 2022
Published online: Apr 6, 2022
Published in print: Jun 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Sep 6, 2022
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