3D Numerical Investigation of the Flow Pattern in Settling Basins by SSIIM2 Software

Settling basins are considered as a major and important component in conventional water treatment processes. The high cost of constructing these basins accounts for approximately 30% of the total capital investment of water treatment plants. Hence, it is essential to model and optimize their performance beforehand. In settling and sedimentation basins, different areas of flow including secondary and rotational flows occur due to the velocity gradient. Such phenomena cause short paths, increase flow stationary and dead zones, and change the mixing rates of the flow, which collectively prevent laminar conditions to be created for the sedimentation process, and thereby reduce process efficiency. The remedy is to reduce as far as possible the dead zones in the flow. The first step to optimize a settling basin is to calculate accurately the velocity field and the volume of rotation zones. The present study presents the numerical simulation of a flow in a rectangular basin. Continuity and Navier-Stokes equations are solved using finite volume method. A 3D flow simulation is performed using the standard k-ε turbulence model for settling basins with and without baffles. Finally, the numerical results obtained are compared with experimental results reported elsewhere.