Review of Treatment System Hydraulics by John Bergendahl: ASCE Press, Reston, Virgina, 2008; 271 pp.; ISBN 13: 978-0-7844-0919-0; ISBN 10: 0-7844-0919-6.

In the preface of the book, the author states that although courses covering general fluid mechanics and general hydraulics abound, a text specifically developed for dealing with the hydraulics of treatment systems is lacking. There are hardly any civil engineering curricula in the United States offering a course on treatment system hydraulics. As noted by the author, the book covers “nuts and bolts” of treatment systems, which is what is needed by entry-level as well as practicing engineers almost on a daily basis. Therefore, this book is a welcome contribution.

At the outset some general comments about the book are in order. First, each chapter starts with chapter objectives. This immediately gives the reader a sense of what the chapter is about. Examples are given to illustrate concepts discussed in the chapter. Then there are end-of-chapter problems and only pertinent references are included. In this manner the general treatment of each chapter is appealing and focused.

The subject matter of the book is divided into 12 chapters. The first chapter is introductory, providing a general overview of what engineered systems are needed to accomplish, including treatment of water extracted from a water source for producing drinking water; removal of pathogens, organics, and organics from domestic wastewater before discharge; pretreatment of industrial effluents before discharging to wastewater treatment plants; increased purification of water for specialized purposes; removal of hazardous compounds from groundwater remediation projects; and treatment of water for direct or indirect reuse for various purposes. The chapter provides an excellent context for what to follow in the succeeding chapters.

Chapter 2 deals with the properties of both Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, found in most elementary fluid mechanics texts. These properties include density, viscosity, Bingham plastics, pseudoplastics, dilatants, surface tension, and vapor pressure. Also included are the relationships between velocity gradient and shear stress and time dependence of viscosity. The discussion is easy to follow and is well illustrated with figures and tables. Chapter 3 is on fluid statics, available in most elementary fluid mechanics books. It deals with fluid pressure, gravitational force, pressure force on a plane, definition of a pressure datum, variation of pressure with elevation, and static pressure forces on surfaces. Solved examples and illustrations make the chapter easy to understand.

Fundamentals of fluid flow are covered in Chapter 4, dealing with mass, momentum and energy balances. Both microscale and macroscale mass balances are included. The chapter goes on to discuss equations of motion, and provides a brief prelude to thermodynamics. Forms of energy, energy transfer, and energy balances are discussed next. The chapter is concluded with a treatment of Bernoulli’s equation. The treatment in this chapter is at a higher level than in the preceding chapters. This is an excellent chapter in relation to treatment hydraulics.

Chapter 5 deals with friction in closed-conduit fluid flow. Beginning with a discussion of fluid flow phenomena, it treats laminar flow, turbulent flow, computation of friction factors for turbulent flow, boundary layers and transition length, reduction of friction due to the addition of polymers, flow through noncircular cross sections, friction loss from changes in velocity direction and magnitude, types of fluid problems, and non-Newtonian fluids. The chapter is to the point and well written.

Pumps and motors constitute the theme of Chapter 6. Beginning with a classification of pumps, it goes on to describe both positive displacement pumps and kinetic pumps. Centrifugal pumps and vertical turbines are examples of kinetic pumps. Included in the discussion on centrifugal pumps are centrifugal pump principles; centrifugal pump configurations; radial flow, axial flow, and mixed flow centrifugal pumps; and pump affinity laws. The chapter then discusses pump characteristic curves, system controls, specific speed, cavitation, and net positive suction head. Fundamentals of electric motors are dealt with next. Included in this treatment are squirrel-cage induction motors, wound rotor induction motors, synchronous motors, motor speed, electric motor torque, motor features, motor efficiency, and variable speed drives. This is a very practical and useful chapter.

Chapter 7 discusses friction loss in flow through granular media. Starting with a treatment of granular media used in treatment systems, it discusses granular media filtration, granular-activated carbon contactors, friction loss in granular media, and characteristics of fluid flow in porous media. Derivation of friction loss equation is presented next and the chapter is concluded with fluidization of granular porous media. The next chapter is on valves. Starting with categorization of valves into isolation valves, flow control valves, check valves, pressure relief valves, and pressure control valves, the chapter discusses different types of valves, including globe valves, ball valves, gate valves, butterfly valves, plug valves, check valves, and pressure relief valves. Next, recommended valve applications, valve actuators, and valve materials are discussed. Chapter 8 is concluded with a discussion of valve flow performance. This is a very practical and useful chapter.

Chapter 9 is on instrumentation. It discusses pressure measurement using Bourdon tube, diaphragms, and manometers. Next, the flow rate measurement is presented. Included in the presentation are orifice plates, venturi meters, magnetic flowmeters, ultrasonic flowmeters, turbine and propeller meters, and comparison of flowmeters. The chapter is concluded with measurement of flow in open channels. Piping materials and corrosion constitute the subject matter of Chapter 10. In the piping material are included ferrous materials, copper materials, cement-based materials, and thermoplastic materials. Corrosion is discussed next. It starts with a discussion of corrosion principles and corrosion scales, and goes on to discuss the forms of corrosion, including uniform corrosion, galvanic corrosion, localized corrosion, concentration cell corrosion, reducing corrosion. The chapter is lucidly written.

Fluid flow transients are presented in Chapter 11. The topics included in the presentation are unsteady flow, pressure waves, velocity of the pressure wave, and minimizing occurrence or damage from transients. The chapter is brief but to-the-point. The final chapter is on open channel flow. It discusses Manning’s equation, specific energy of open channel flow, specific energy of open channel flow, and hydraulic grade lines. It also is brief but relevant.

The book is well-written, concise, to-the-point, and indeed provides nuts and bolts of the treatment hydraulics. The topics are well organized, the prose is easy to read and understand, the style is lucid, and there is a wealth of information reflecting the knowledge and experience of the author. This is an engineering book, well-suited for an undergraduate course on treatment hydraulics. The book will also be useful to practicing water and environmental engineers. The treatment is classical and the book does not touch upon newly emerging topics in the environmental or water area.