A Study on the Flow Characteristics of Vertical Impeller to Improve Flocculation Efficiency

The optimum condition is defined as one that best suits the purpose of flocculation; the number of small particles should decrease, while that of large particles should increase. The object of this research was to develop a new impeller and substitute for conventional flocculators. The flow characteristics of turbines and hydrofoil type flocculators in turbulent fluids were observed using a standard Model and a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation program-FLUENT. The experiments were performed to compare PBT(Pitched Blade Turbine) flocculator with twisted hydrofoil type flocculators for velocity distribution, and floe formation at conventional water treatment plants in Korea. As a result of the CED solution, twisted hydrofoil types are similar to hydrofoil flocculators for flow characteristics without regard to the twisted angle, On the other hand, it was established that turbine flocculators are greater than hydrofoil flocculators with flow unevenness and dead zone formation. Twisted hydrofoil type-II (Angle ) is the most proper impeller for water flocculation from this point of view with a decreasing the dead zone, maintaining of the equivalent energy distribution and a drawing up of the sedimentation substance from the bottom of the flocculation basin.