• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2016.05a
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• pp.386-390
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• 2016

Water aeration is an effective water treatment process, which involves the injection of air or air-water mixture into water treatment reservoir commonly through pipes. The main purpose of water aeration is to maintain healthy levels of dissolved oxygen (DO), which is the most important water quality factor. The pipes' operating conditions are important for controlling the efficiency and effectiveness of aeration process. Many studies have been conducted on two-phase flows in pipes, however, there are a few studies to deal with small s ale in millimeter. The main objective of this study is to perform 2-dimensional two-phase simulations inside various straight pipes using the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) OpenFOAM (Open source Field Operation And Manipulation) tools to examine the influence of flow patterns on bubble size, which is closely related to DO concentration in a water body. The both flow regimes, laminar and turbulence, have been considered in this study. For turbulence, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) has been applied. The coalescence and breakage of bubbles caused by random collisions and turbulent eddies, respectively, are considered in this research. Sauter mean bubble diameter and water velocity are compared against experimental data. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental measurements.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.233-240
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• 2016

The research aims to study the different flexible rubber tube diffusers used in urban wastewater treatment processes and aquaculture systems. The experiment was conducted in small-scale aeration tank with different physical properties of the tubes that were used as aerators. The volumetric mass transfer coefficient ($k_La$), oxygen transfer efficiency (OTE) and aeration efficiency (AE) were measured and determined to compare the diffusers. Moreover, the bubble hydrodynamic parameters were analyzed in terms of bubble diameter ($d_B$) and rising velocity ($U_B$) by a high speed camera (2,000 frames/s). Then the interfacial area (a) and liquid-side mass transfer coefficient ($k_L$) can be calculated. The physical properties (tube wall thickness, tensile strength, orifice size, hardness and elongation) have been proven to be the key factor that controls the performance (kLa and OTE). The effects of hardness and elongation on bubble formation, orifice size and a-area were clearly proved. It is not necessary to generate too much fine bubbles to increase the a-area: this relates to high power consumption and the decrease of the kL. Finally, the wall thickness, elongation and hardness associated of the flexible tube diffuser (tube No. 12) were concluded, to be the suitable properties for practically producing, in this research.