Column Settling Tests for Flocculant Suspensions

The settling of flocculant suspensions can not be described mathematically with the commonly used formulations of Newton and Stokes, because the coalescense of settling particles changes the velocity behavior during the settling trajectory. For this reason batch column settling tests have been employed for basin design or performance evaluation when flocculant suspensions are involved. Forty-eight column settling tests were conducted to evaluate the settling test procedure and for the purpose of recommending a standard batch column settling test.