The problems associated with the presence of sediments in sewers and stormwater drainage systems represent a major engineering challenge. Their accumulation can result in operational difficulties, including low restriction and premature overflows. Sediments themselves are known to contribute significantly to the polluting load of storm overflows. The use of sediment interceptors within sewer systems or downstream of stormwater intakes represents one way of alleviating these problems. A study of stormwater sediment interceptors using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has identified that the ability of a chamber to retain, as well as remove, sediments is an important performance characteristic. A methodology for the assessment of such characteristics using CFD is presented in the context of a study of different chamber types. This concludes that primitive chambers, for example, gully pots, are likely to be far more prone to flushing out during high flow inputs than advanced systems such as vortex separators.
A hydrodynamic vortex separator (HDVS) has been studied under laboratory conditions by using a specifically designed rig. Pressure tapping points placed at eight locations, six external and two internal, have revealed an even radial pressure distribution on the outer walls and central shaft. The ability of the HDVS to separate particulates has been studied. The particulates have been characterized by measurements of particle diameter and settling velocity, which have allowed efficiency cusps to be plotted against dimensionless groups used by other researchers. Owing to an unsatisfactory reduction of the data to a single curve by plotting the efficiency against dimensionless groups, an efficiency law has been determined based on the logistic equation and describes the separation efficiency in terms of the inlet flowrate, volume of the separator, and particle diameter and density.
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