The design of sewage sludge pumping systems

Abstract

A project has recently been undertaken to improve the way in which sewage sludge pipeline systems are designed. A new, more accurate method of calculating pressure losses has been developed which replaces the traditional empirical formulae. The technique uses Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) together with the Generalised Bingham Plastic Model to describe the sludge rheology. Improvements have also been made to how the viscometry data is measured and processed. The method has successfully been verified against experimental data and validated against site measurements. Design issues have been addressed and presented in a simple design methodology. Overall, the work has had considerable success, as demonstrated by the fact that the technique is currently being used to design major capital investment schemes.