Atia E. Khalifa

Flux Prediction in Direct Contact Membrane Distillation

Membrane distillation (MD) is a potential mean of water desalination. MD is a thermally driven desalination technology that has been employed in four basic configurations. One of these configuration is Direct Contact Membrane Distillation (DCMD). In DCMD, both hot and cold solution is maintained in direct contact with micro porous hydrophobic membrane material. Heat and mass transfer analysis was performed on DCMD. Based on Kinetic theory of gas, the performance of different models of membrane permeability (coefficient) was investigated under different DCMD operating parameters (feed temperature, coolant temperature and feed flow rate). Knudsen number provides the guideline in identifying the type of model of mass transfer to be considered under any given experimental conditions. Results revealed that for a given pore size under the same simulation and experimental conditions, Transition (Knudsen- Molecular diffusion) type of flow model predictions is in good agreement with the experimental results. Hence the best model to be consider for flux prediction in DCMD. The effect of membrane pore size was also studied. Results showed that permeate flux increases with increase in pore size up to the critical pore condition where the flux prediction remain constant (unchanged).

Experimental Investigation of the Effect of Radial Gap and Impeller Blade Exit on Flow-Induced Vibration at the Blade-Passing Frequency in a Centrifugal Pump

It has been recognized that the pressure pulsation excited by rotor-stator interaction in large pumps is strongly influenced by the radial gap between impeller and volute diffusers/tongues and the geometry of impeller blade at exit. This fluid-structure interaction phenomenon, as manifested by the pressure pulsation, is the main cause of flow-induced vibrations at the blade-passing frequency. In the present investigation, the effects of the radial gap and flow rate on pressure fluctuations, vibration, and pump performance are investigated experimentally for two different impeller designs. One impeller has a V-shaped cut at the blades exit, while the second has a straight exit (without the V-cut). The experimental findings showed that the high vibrations at the blade-passing frequency are primarily raised by high pressure pulsation due to improper gap design. The existence of V-cut at blades exit produces lower pressure fluctuations inside the pump while maintaining nearly the same performance. The selection of proper radial gap for a given impeller-volute combination results in an appreciable reduction in vibration levels.

Performance of Air Gap Membrane Distillation Unit for Water Desalination

Due to water scarcity in the Arabic gulf region, water desalination technologies are considered extremely important. The present work represents a fundamental study on the effect of basic operating and design variables on the flux of an air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) unit for water desalination. The flat sheet, channeled air gap membrane distillation module was designed and manufactured locally. The effect of feed flow rate, feed temperature, coolant water temperature, the air gap width, and the water salinity on the module flux are investigated. Analytical model for heat and mass transfer is used to predict the flux and the model results are compared to the experimental ones. Results showed that the technique has good potential to be used for water desalination. The permeate flux is increased by increasing feed flow rate, feed temperature, decreasing the air gap width, decreasing coolant temperature, and decreasing salinity of feed water. For a given feed flow rate, the width of the air gap and the feed water temperature are found to be the most effective parameters in increasing the distillate flux. Predicting the permeate flux with analytical models for heat and mass transfer showed good agreement with experimental results.Copyright

Design and Evaluation of an In-Pipe Leak Detection Sensing Technique Based on Force Transduction

Leakage is the major factor for unaccounted fluid losses in almost every pipe network. In most cases the deleterious effects associated with the occurrence of leaks may present serious economical and health problems and therefore, leaks must be quickly detected, located and repaired. The problem of leakage becomes even more serious when it is concerned with the vital supply of fresh water to the community. Leaking water pipelines can develop large health threats to people mostly because of the infiltration of contaminants into the water network. Such possibilities of environmental health disasters have spurred research into the development of methods for pipeline leakage detection.Most state of the art leak detection techniques have limited applicability, while some of them are not reliable enough and sometimes depend on user experience. Our goal in this work is to design and develop a reliable leak detection sensing system. The proposed technology utilizes the highly localized pressure gradient in the vicinity of a small opening due to leakage in a pressurized pipeline. In this paper we study this local phenomenon in detail and try to understand it with the help of numerical simulations in leaking pipelines (CFD studies). Finally a new system for leak detection is presented.The proposed system is designed in order to reduce the number of sensing elements required for detection. The main concept and detailed design are laid out. A prototype is fabricated and presented as a proof of concept. The prototype is tested in a simple experimental setup with artificial leakages for experimental evaluation. The sensing technique discussed in this work can be deployed in water, oil and gas pipelines without significant changes in the design, since the concepts remain the same in all cases.© 2012 ASME

Water Desalination Using Direct Contact Membrane Distillation System

ABSTRACT Membrane distillation (MD) is a separation technique used for water desalination, which operates at low feed temperatures and pressures. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) is one of the common MD configurations where both the hot saline feed stream and the cold permeate stream are in direct contact with the two membrane surfaces. An experimental study was performed to investigate the effect of operating conditions such as feed temperature, feed flow rate, permeate temperature, and permeate flow rate on the system output flux. To check the effect of membrane degradation, the MD system was run continuously for 48 hours with raw seawater as feed and the reduction in system flux with time was observed. Results showed that increasing the feed temperature, decreasing the permeate temperature, increasing the feed and permeate flow rate yield an increase in flux. The effects of feed temperature and feed flow rate are the most significant parameters. After 48 hours of system continuous operation flux was reduced by 42.4 % but the quality of permeate (as measured by its TDS) is still very high with salt rejection factor close to 100 %. For the DCMD system under consideration, the GOR values remain between 0.8 and 1.2, for the tested range of operating temperatures.

Pressure variation and effective sensing zone around small leaks inside water pipelines for reliable leak detection

Detecting and locating small leaks in the water distribution networks save water and help in making critical decisions about the network and the infrastructure. In this work, inside-pipe pressure measurements are used to evaluate the local variation of the pressure around small circular leaks as compared to main pipeline pressure, for reliable leak detection. The technique is working for pressurized pipelines and may be used for liquids and gases. In addition, since large leaks are easy to find, the attention is given to detecting small leaks, which are difficult to be detected using the commercial acoustic methods; specifically with plastic pipes. The current study thereafter helps in characterizing the effective zone of pressure sensing around the leak. A pressure probe, mounted on a movable platform, moves inside a water-pressurized pipe very close to the wall in order to measure the pressure variation at the vicinity of the leak. The effects of pipeline pressure, leak size, and the clearance distance between the pipe wall and the pressure probe on the measured pressure drop around the leak are investigated. Results showed that direct pressure measurements inside the pipe can be effectively used for leak detection. The local pressure drop due to the small leak is very localized around the leak and captured within the leak diameter in the longitudinal direction and almost leak-like radius above the leak in the radial direction. As the line pressure increases, the measured pressure drop increases but the zone of pressure variation is still confined around the leak itself. If the sensor is moving over the leak, then the magnitude of the measured pressure drop is inversely proportional to the sensor speed inside the pipe.

Performance and Vibration of a Double Volute Centrifugal Pump: Effect of Impeller Trimming

The fluid-structure interaction phenomenon, as manifested by the pressure pulsation excited by rotor-stator interaction, is the main cause of flow-induced vibrations at the blade passing frequency in large and high pressure centrifugal pumps. This phenomenon is strongly influenced by the clearance gap between impeller and volute diffusers/tongues and the geometry of impeller blade at exit. One way to reduce the effects of this interaction is to increase the effective gap by trimming the impeller. However, trimming the impeller will affect the pump performance and the flow pattern inside the pump volute. In the present work, experiments are carried out using a single stage, double-volute centrifugal model pump to investigate the effect of increasing the clearance gap by trimming the impeller on pump performance and vibration. Pressure fluctuations around the impeller inside pump volute are monitored and recorded. The clearance gap was increased three times by trimming the impeller radius by 1 mm, 2 mm, and 3 mm; respectively. Results showed that trimming the impeller reduces the pump vibration at the expense of the developed pump head. The minimum vibration was measured at the best efficiency point of the pump and the vibration amplitude increases when the pump operates at off-design conditions. Impeller trimming is more effective at flow rates equal to and higher that the design flow rate.© 2014 ASME

CHARACTERIZATION OF IN-PIPE ACOUSTIC WAVE FOR WATER LEAK DETECTION

This paper presents experimental observations on the characteristics of the acoustic signal propagation and attenuation inside water-filled pipes. An acoustic source (exciter) is mounted on the internal pipe wall, at a fixed location, and produces a tonal sound to simulate a leak noise with controlled frequency and amplitude, under different flow conditions. A hydrophone is aligned with the pipe centerline and can be re-positioned to capture the acoustic signal at different locations. Results showed that the wave attenuation depends on the source frequency and the line pressure. High frequency signals get attenuated more with increasing distance from the source. The optimum location to place the hydrophone for capturing the acoustic signal is not at the vicinity of source location. The optimum location also depends on the frequency and line pressure. It was also observed that the attenuation of the acoustic waves is higher in more flexible pipes like PVC ones.© 2011 ASME

Resolving high flow-induced vibrations

Atia Khalifa, Amro Al-Qutub and Yehia Khulief of Saudi Arabias King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals present a case history in which problematic high flow-induced vibration in a boiler feed pump was studied and corrected. A combination of field measurements and lab model testing identified the source of the problem.