Water Recycling System

Assisted in the redesign of a rock quarry, water recycling system. Given the necessary flow rate and overall configuration of the system, calculations were performed to determine the optimum drain pipe size.

The 2-D diagram on the right shows the general configuration of one part of the system, without the added detail of valves and fittings.

The challenge in performing these calculations resulted from the combination of both parallel and series pipe arrangements within the system, together with the fact that entrance length flow conditions predominated in several pipes.

Due to these conditions, emphasis was placed on obtaining more accurate estimates of the kinetic energy flow coefficients used in the equations modeling the flow. And, to eliminate the error typically associated with reading the pipe flow friction factors from the Moody diagram, a short numerical routine was developed, utilizing the Colebrook equation, to quickly converge on the correct fully developed flow friction factors.