Sediment Resuspension and Transport in Water Distribution Storage Tanks

Abstract

Computational and experimental studies were conducted to better understand conditions that affect particle resuspension and movement in water storage tanks. Parameters that were investigated included inlet/outlet (I/O) line location and diameter, flow rate, particle size, and filling versus draining cycles. Simulation results showed that smaller particle sizes, higher flow rates, and draining cycles yielded the greatest potential for particle resuspension, which was generally limited to regions near the I/O line. Small‐scale experiments were also performed using different sizes of glass beads and silica sand; the results generally validated the models. Mitigation methods were also presented to reduce the amount of particle resuspension. A pipe that extended from the I/O line into the tank (slightly above the bottom floor) was found to significantly reduce the potential for particle resuspension in both the computational models and experiments.