FLUID FLOW AERATION TANKS by Robert Berry Steven Cai Carl Weinstein ENGINEERING ...

144 Pages·2011·9.49 MB·English

FLUID FLOW
AERATION TANKS

by

Robert Berry
Steven Cai
Carl Weinstein

ENGINEERING PROJECT REPORT

Adviser: Prof. Kyle Watson

Department of Mechanical Engineering

University of Pacific
Stockton, California

Spring 2011
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Acknowledgements

The design project would not have been possible without the help from
University of the Pacific’s finest. Pacific’s technician Adrian Avila was able to assist
the team manufacture and machine the majority of the parts required as well as
provide a facility and the necessary tools to continuously work on the project until the
end. Dr. Camilla Saviz from the Civil Engineering department provided her fluid
mechanics expertise that greatly affected the outcome of the project. Dr. Ken Hughes
also assisted with the design and verification of the microcontroller circuit used in the
vertical tank. Dr. Kyle Watson was the faculty adviser throughout the term of the
project and provided much insight and guidance. A very special thanks to Domenick
Mondo, Jr. from Tap Plastics in Stockton, California for donating all of the acrylic
and other plastics used in the project as well as his expertise on the material
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FLUID FLOW
AERATION TANKS

Abstract

By Robert Berry
Steven Cai
Carl Weinstein
University of the Pacific
Spring 2011

Fluid mechanics is a fundamental engineering course that engineers of several
disciplines are required to take. As mechanical engineers, one can undoubtedly expect
the need to work with fluids at some point in their careers. With that, the construction
of a unique fountain will lead to a better understanding of some concepts such as fluid
flow, specific fluid properties, and buoyancy. Incorporated will be concepts and
knowledge from various engineering topics such as mechatronics, mechanics, electric
circuits, and computer-aided manufacturing. The complete display is comprised of
two tanks. A tall, vertical tank will contain a viscous fluid where air bubbles will be
injected into it through a series of solenoids controlled by a microcontroller. These
bubbles will coordinate to form letters, numbers, and shapes. A flat, horizontal tank
will have water continuously flowing through it with air bubbles streaming through it.
Magnetic shapes will be inside the tank for users to manipulate to observe its
particular streamline properties with the reaction from the air bubbles in the fluid.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………...……. 5

LIST OF FIGURES ………………………………………………………...... 6

1. INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………….... 7

2. CONCEPTUAL DESIGN ………………………………………….... 9

2.1 Horizontal Streamline Tank ……………………………... 9
2.2 Vertical Buoyancy Tank …………………………………. 13
2.2 Display Stand ………………………………...………...... 15

3. DETAILED DESIGN AND ANALYSIS …………………………… 16

3.1 Horizontal Streamline Tank ……………………………… 16
3.1.1 Horizontal Flow Prototype …………………….. 16
3.1.2 Pump Sizing ……………………………….…… 17
3.1.3 Aeration ………………………………….….….. 18
3.1.4 Exit Flow ………………………………….……. 19
3.2 Vertical Buoyancy Tank ……………………………….… 21
3.2.1 Fluid Viscosity Prototype ………………….…... 21
3.2.2 Viscosity ……………………………………..…. 22
3.2.3 Microcontroller Code and Circuit Diagram ..….. 23
3.2.4 Solenoid Air Pressure ……………………….…. 25

4. MANUFACTURING CONSIDERATIONS …………...……………. 26

4.1 Acrylic Tank Construction ………………………..……… 26
4.2 Machining Various Parts …………………………..……... 27

5. TESTING AND EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE ………..…... 28

5.1 Horizontal Streamline Tank ………….…………………... 28
5.1.1 Flow Rate Test ……………………….………… 28
5.1.2 Aeration in Horizontal Tank …………………… 29
5.2 Vertical Buoyancy Tank …………………….…………… 31

6. CONCLUSIONS …………………………….……………………….. 35

7. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE WORK ….......................... 36
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REFERENCES ………………………………….……………………………. 38

APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………….. 39

A. Final Design Drawings ………………………………….……...… A-1
B. Detailed Analysis ……………………………………….….…...... B-1

B.1 Horizontal Streamline Tank ……………………………...
B.1.1 Horizontal Flow Prototype …………………….. B-1.1
B.1.2 Aeration Prototype …………………………...... B-1.2
B.1.3 Pump Sizing …………………………………… B-1.3
B.1.4 Exit Flow Analysis ……………………………. B-1.4
B.2 Vertical Buoyancy Tank ………………………………….
B.2.1 Buoyancy Prototype …………………………… B-2.1
B.2.2 Viscosity Testing ………………………………. B-2.2
B.2.3 Solenoid Pressure Analysis ……………………. B-2.3

C. Microcontroller Code …………………...………………………... C-1

D. Gantt Chart …………………………………………….………..... D-1

E. Budget Sheet ……………………………………………………... E-1
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LIST OF TABLES
1. Results from Pump Calculations …………………………………………….… 18
2. Viscosity Calculations …………………………………………………………. 22
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LIST OF FIGURES
1. Fluid Flow Aeration Tank ……………………………………………… 9
2. Horizontal Tank Design …...…………………………………………… 9
3. Entry Endcap Baffles System ...………………………………..…….… 11
4. Vertical Buoyancy ……………………………………………...…….… 13
5. The Display Stand …………………………………………….…..….… 15
6. Horizontal Flow Prototype ...……………………………...………….… 16
7. Pump Design ……………....……………………………...………….… 17
8. Aeration ………………...……………………………………….……… 19
9. Modified Horizontal Exit ……………………………………….……… 20
10. Vertical Tank Prototype …..…………………………………….……… 21
11. Viscometer Test …………………..…………………………….……… 22
12. Solenoid Pseudo-code ………………………………………….……… 24
13. Tank Gluing Procedures …………………………….…………….…… 26
14. Milling on Bridgeport ………………………..………………………… 27
15. ESPRIT Tool Path and CNC Machining ………….…………………… 27
16. Modified Entry Manifold ………………………………………………. 28
17. Modified Exit Endcap and Exit Port ……………...……………………. 29
18. Drain Modification ……………..………………………………………. 30
19. Modified Drain Pipe ……………………………………………………. 30
20. Unaligned Bubble Rows …………….…………………………………. 33
21. Bubble Pattern Sequence …………………………………………….… 34
22. Completed Fluid Flow Aeration Tanks ………………………………… 37
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1 Introduction
The Fluid Flow Aeration Tanks is a novel project that displays multiple
engineering concepts and involves many engineering disciplines in the analysis and
conception. Specifically, it will display concepts of fluid streamlines and buoyancy
through the use of two separate liquid tanks; a horizontal tank and a vertical tank. It is
also an interactive learning display as users are able to manipulate the water
streamline in the horizontal tank through the use of the magnetic shapes of a square
and a circle.
The vertical tank will demonstrate the concept of buoyancy in unusual fashion
of releasing air bubbles through a series of thirteen solenoids into a viscous fluid. The
bubbles can also be coordinated through a microcontroller to display various shapes
and patterns. This portion of the tank will incorporate programming techniques and
microcontrollers which are becoming much more common in the field of mechanical
engineering.
Motivations and Objectives
- Innovative project that displays multiple disciplines of engineering
- Can be used as an interactive outreach or learning tool for Fluid
Mechanics
- Displays multiple engineering concepts, some interactively: Streamlines,
buoyancy
- Vertical tank displays pre-determined patterns through controlled bursts of
air in fluid
- Work with modern microcontrollers and advanced programming
techniques to ultimately control pattern display
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2 Conceptual Design
The fluid flow aeration tanks needed a robust
design that would allow both a vertical buoyancy tank,
and a horizontal streamline tank to be shown
interactively at the same time. While displaying them at
the same time, it is also important to make the
distinction between the two tanks as two separate
entities and maintain space for the equipment that
Figure 2.1: Fluid Flow
is intrinsic with each system (i.e. pump system and
Aeration Tanks
electronics). A model of the design the cart was
based on is displayed in Figure 2.1. To more easily discuss these tanks it will be
easier to review them in three separate sections: horizontal streamline tank, vertical
buoyancy tank, and the display stand. For any of the subsections in section two please
refer to the Final Design Drawing package in Appendix A-1.
2.1 Horizontal Streamline Tank
The horizontal tank's
purpose is to display streamline
characteristics of fluids in a highly
interactive and controllable
environment. The tank itself was
designed to utilize a continuous
Figure 2.2: Horizontal Tank Design
fluid source, in this case water, which
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has a controllable flow rate and an even flow across the entire cross-section of the
tank as seen in Figure 2.2. In order to view the streamlines the novel idea of
introducing small bubbles into the system at a controlled rate would be effective.
This method has both the benefit of continuously showing streamlines through
bubbles in the water and allowing for an indicator that, unlike most other systems,
allows for the continuous use of a single source without the use of small particle
filtration systems or die packs. In order to view streamlines some obstructions were
designed to be interactively placed in the tank. This brief synopsis makes it clear that
in order to relay the design characteristics of the horizontal tank it would be easier to
break it down into further subsections: the horizontal tank itself, the pump system
connecting to the tank, the end-caps of the tank that act as the entry and exit points for
the tank, and the obstructions within the tank.
2.1.1 The Horizontal Tank Design
The horizontal tank has an elongated thin rectangular profile of about twelve
inches wide, thirty-six inches long with a half inch gap in the center. It was designed
to be made out of quarter inch thick acrylic sheets and chemically bonded together as
will be further discussed in section four on manufacturing. The tank was designed so
as not deform by the water flowing through it while leaving a large enough gap to fit
pre-determined shapes in it to act as obstructions.
2.1.2 The Pump System
The pump system to the cart did not have an involved design initially. It was
determined that a retention tank would be required to act as both a water reservoir for