WATER FILTRATION PLANT
A fresh young graduate from Bahrain polytechnic came up with an idea to set up a Water Treatment Plant to purify polluted ground water. Figure 1 shows the schematic of the water filtration plant with two overhead tanks namely overhead tank 1 and overhead tank 2. The plant also has 3 filtration units namely filtration plant 1, plant 2 & plant 3 respectively. The idea is to purify impure ground water and store it in overhead plant 2.
Limitations –
- You cannot change the direction of flow.
- You cannot increase the number of pipes. Each arrow is a pipe in Figure 1.
- You cannot change the heads.
Your design should mainly consist of various activities that include pressure drop calculations, selection of pumps, design of venturi meter and selection of check valve, the details of which are shown below:
A. You are to size the pipelines and to select a suitable pump. The proposed piping layout is as per the attached schematic. You are given details of the required lengths of pipes and the number of bends involved to get the chilled water to each of the cooling coils. There are isolating valves around each piece of equipment so that maintenance work can be carried out. (LOs: 1,2,3,4)
B. You have also been asked to design a venturi flow meter, a form of flow measurement device, to be installed after the pump so that the total water flow can be measured on a continuous basis. You will need to demonstrate how the venturi will work. (LOs: 2,3)
C. Select the appropriate check valves which must be fitted before each coil at the supply lines according to all the engineering parameters of the system. (LOs:2,4,5)
D. Prepare a PowerPoint presentation file outlining your system design, including pipe and fittings sizing, pump and motor selection, design of the venturi and selection of the check valves. (LOs: 1,2,3,4,5)
Sample Answer
Okay, this is an interesting and practical engineering design project! As a large language model, I can help you structure your approach and outline the key calculations and considerations for each part of your design. However, I cannot perform the actual numerical calculations or make specific equipment selections without detailed specifications of the system (flow rates, desired pressure, fluid properties, etc.).
Here’s a breakdown of how you can approach each section of your design and what your PowerPoint presentation should cover:
Understanding the System (Figure 1):
Before diving into the specifics, analyze Figure 1 carefully. Understand the flow path:
- Impure groundwater source -> Pump (presumably drawing from a well or ground storage) -> Filtration Plant 1 -> Filtration Plant 2 -> Filtration Plant 3 -> Overhead Tank 2 (purified water storage).
- Overhead Tank 1 seems to be a separate storage, potentially for raw water or another purpose not directly involved in the purification and storage in Overhead Tank 2. The piping doesn’t directly connect it to the purification stream going to Tank 2.
A. Sizing Pipelines and Selecting a Suitable Pump:
To size the pipelines and select a pump, you need to determine the required flow rate and the total head the pump needs to overcome.