Hydrodynamic evaluation of a full-scale facultative pond by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and field measurements

Abstract

Knowledge of the hydraulic behaviour is very important in the characterization of a stabilization pond, since pond hydrodynamics plays a fundamental role in treatment efficiency. An advanced hydrodynamics characterization may be achieved by carrying out measurements with tracers, dyes and drogues or using mathematical simulation employing computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The current study involved experimental determinations and mathematical simulations of a full-scale facultative pond in Brazil. A 3D CFD model showed major flow lines, degree of dispersion, dead zones and short circuit regions in the pond. Drogue tracking, wind measurements and dye dispersion were also used in order to obtain information about the actual flow in the pond and as a means of assessing the performance of the CFD model. The drogue, designed and built as part of this research, and which included a geographical positioning system (GPS), presented very satisfactory results. The CFD modelling has proven to be very useful in the evaluation of the hydrodynamic conditions of the facultative pond. A virtual tracer test allowed an estimation of the real mean hydraulic retention time and mixing conditions in the pond. The computational model in CFD corresponded well to what was verified in the field.

The Role of Environmental Variables in Waste Stabilization Ponds' Morphodynamics

“…Since the introduction of computation fluid dynamics (CFD) in modeling WSP in the 1990s, numerical models have successful been applied both as a substitute to and in complimenting the laboratory scaled models famously used to study WSP processes (Shilton, 2001;Shilton et al, 2008;Alvarado et al, 2012a,b;Passos et al, 2014bPassos et al, , 2019Ouedraogo et al, 2016). Their use, such as in this research, shows that numerical models may be applied both during design and operation to simulate different scenarios for the pond inputs.…”

2-D modeling to understand the design configuration and flow dynamics of Pond-In-Pond (PIP) wastewater treatment system for reuse

“…The latest advances in pond design have been the use of mechanistic modeling tools to describe the process [43,44,45,46,47]. The use of mechanistic models on traditional pond systems have helped design engineers better understand the flow dynamics and the effects of pond configuration on the treatment performance [48,49,50] .…”

High-Resolution Bathymetry Mapping of Water Bodies: Development and Implementation

“…Previously bathymetric data from traditional sludge surveys in WSPs have been used to create computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models with varying levels of success (Olukanni and Ducoste, 2011;Alvarado et al, 2012aAlvarado et al, , 2013Sah et al, 2012;Passos et al, 2014). Due to low-resolution of data input as bathymetry, these models have been harder to validate against actual conditions.…”