Angled Bypass Conduit Storm Water Separator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing storm water treatment systems face inefficiencies in removing sediments, floatable debris, and hydrocarbons, particularly due to re-suspension and re-entrainment issues during high flows, and require cost-effective, reliable, and passive operation solutions.
Innovation Solution
A storm water treatment apparatus with a dual-chamber design featuring a bypass conduit system that includes angled openings and a check dam regulator, utilizing the Bernoulli Effect to manage flow rates and prevent re-entrainment, allowing efficient separation of liquids from floatable and non-floatable matter across varying flow conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If higher flows are used to increase treatment capacity, then productivity is improved, but re-suspension and re-entrainment of captured material occurs worsening reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The apparatus is divided into multiple chambers (first chamber for sedimentation, second chamber for overflow, and bypass conduit) that handle different flow rates separately. The bypass conduit handles high flows while the chambers handle treatment flows, preventing re-suspension during high flow events while maintaining treatment capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The bypass conduit acts as an intermediary pathway that diverts excess flow around the treatment chambers. This mediator allows high flows to pass through without forcing them through the chambers where they would cause re-suspension, while still enabling the chambers to treat flows at their optimal rate.
2Ease of manufacture
If the bypass conduit is horizontal, then ease of manufacture is improved, but liquid flow distribution between openings becomes unpredictable worsening treatment precision
Solution Approach 1:
The bypass conduit is installed at a specific angle (e.g., 10 degrees upward from horizontal) rather than being perfectly horizontal. This parameter change in the installation angle creates predictable flow distribution through the openings based on hydrostatic pressure relationships, allowing precise control of flow rates while remaining practical to install.
3Productivity
If the first opening is made larger to increase treatment flow rate, then productivity is improved, but the ability to prevent floatable matter from escaping worsens
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the bypass conduit have different opening characteristics. The first opening has a specific size and orientation optimized for allowing floatable matter to escape while the second opening is positioned and sized to allow controlled overflow. This local differentiation of opening properties enables both high treatment flow rates and effective floatable matter capture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus effectively treats storm water by preventing re-suspension of settled particles and allowing high flows to bypass without re-entraining captured materials, ensuring efficient separation and return of cleaner liquid to the environment across all flow rates.
Implementation Method 1
A storm water treatment apparatus with a dual-chamber design featuring a bypass conduit system that includes angled openings and a check dam regulator, utilizing the Bernoulli Effect to manage flow rates and prevent re-entrainment
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for separating a liquid from other substances comprises a first chamber; a second chamber; an inlet connected to the first chamber; an outlet connected to the second chamber; a bypass conduit passing from the inlet, through the first chamber, and into the second chamber; a passage between the first and second chambers and configured to allow the liquid to flow from the first chamber to the second chamber, the passage below the bypass conduit; wherein the bypass conduit comprises a first opening within the first chamber and a second opening in the second chamber; and wherein the bypass conduit is angled relative to a horizontal so that a lowest region of the second opening is higher, in relation to the horizontal, than a highest region of the first opening, such that liquid flow into the inlet, less than a treatment flow rate, flows entirely through the first opening.