|
Hydro-Flo's LS Series Clarifiers, just like the rest of Hydro-Flo's
products, are engineered and fabricated to the highest standards.
We are constantly reviewing our designs in order to provide you with
the most efficient, highest quality products available today.
For example, Hydro-Flo uses advanced fluid
dynamic modeling to optimize laminar flow characteristics through
the LS Series of inclined plate clarifiers. We look for
quiescent flow and equal distribution as the water enters the
plates, laminar distribution of flow through the plates, equal
distribution of flow as the water exits the plates, flow
characteristics at the effluent trough, etc.
Hydro-Flo engineers have optimized the
influent and effluent trough configurations, as well as the plate
pack's height to width ratios. Our attention to all these
details assures you of receiving a piece of equipment that will
perform exactly as designed.
The LS Series Clarifier utilizes a bottom feed
configuration. While this concept is used by many "low end"
clarifier manufacturers, the Hydro-Flo design is different in may
respects. In addition to optimizing flow through the plate
pack, we have supplied this clarifier with the largest sludge
collection hopper in its class. This, combined with the LS
Series standard sludge thickener, keeps sludge re-entrainment to a
minimum. As an additional benefit, the pre-conditioned sludge
has a higher solids content than competitive models.
Influent Distribution Trough:
An influent distribution trough is provided to reduce influent
velocities and uniformly distribute the flow to the plate pack. Laminar flow is established and
the hydraulic momentum of the incoming liquid is dissipated to
prevent channeling. The Hydro-Flo Technologies design does not use
orifices, which may clog with heavy suspended solids.
Main (up flow) Plate Pack:
Flow enters the main plate packs from the
bottom, where
the flow is evenly distributed throughout the pack. Flow
travels up through the pack, toward the effluent overflow V-notch
weirs,
where the clarified water is carried toward the separator discharge.
Effluent
Overflow V-notch Weirs:
The effluent V-notch weirs must be designed to
control uniform flow
throughout all plate compartments, and also over the entire width of
the plates. The Hydro-Flo clarifier utilizes a V-notch type weir. This allows
for uniform flow distribution, and also makes installation and
leveling the system easier than other designs.
Sludge Collection Hopper:
Hydro-Flo LS Series Clarifiers come standard
with a horizontal hopper bottom with integral sludge
thickener. This design will break up compacted sludge and
direct the sludge to the center discharge point. This design
also allows for the maximum amount of sludge storage below the
plates for a given height (three time as much as a cone bottom
design).
NOTE:
Most clarifier manufacturers offer a vertical sludge rake as an
option. Hydro-Flo's horizontal thickener has several advantages
over the vertical sludge rake...
-
More consistent thickening
Horizontal thickeners have been used in industrial applications
for many years. The action of turning/folding the material over
(at a relatively slow rate) and conveying the material to a
central discharge point (as opposed to stirring/turning the
material in a single direction) results in a more consistent,
less stratified sludge blanket. As the sludge
compresses/thickens toward the center of the thickener and along
the thickener's compressing edge, water passes up into the
clarifier at the thickeners ends and at its rising edge. In a
vertical sludge rake, the only path for the escaping water is up
through the developing sludge blanket, elevating the sludge
blanket and slowing the thickening process. Horizontal
thickeners present a much more "convenient" path for the
escaping water than conventional vertical sludge rakes and
generate a more consistent product for further thickening and
dewatering.
-
Less required HP
While our horizontal thickeners have more sludge contact area
than an equivalent sludge rake, we require less HP because of
the smaller overall diameter. Typical sludge rakes are going to
be approximately 10 feet in diameter and have two "wipers" at
the bottom of the device giving you approximately 10 linear feet
of sludge contact (three wipers give you approximately 15
feet). Our horizontal thickener is 4 feet in diameter with 12
"wipers" giving you 30 linear feet of sludge contact. So, even
though you have a much greater contact area with the horizontal
thickener, the torque and HP requirements are reduced due to its
smaller effective diameter.
-
Horizontal thickeners have a longer
service life and are less expensive to maintain and
operate.
We have been using this basic horizontal design for over 20
years. During that span we have only replaced a single driven
shaft as a replacement part. And, this was only due to over
tightening of the driven shaft packing. Over the past 20 years
we have never replaced any bearings, thickeners, shafts, wipers
or any other thickener component. On the other hand, vertical
sludge rakes often require replacement of the bearings, motors
and sometimes the entire gear motor drives themselves.
Adequate capacity must be allowed for the solids as they slide
off the bottom of the plate packs. Turbulence and channeling are
avoided by continuously removing the solids from the bottom of the
hopper.
Plate Pack Materials of
Construction:
Hydro-Flo plate packs are fabricated out of a
combination of polypropylene, fiberglass and stainless steel.
Polypropylene was chosen as the plate material
for many reasons, but superior chemical resistance and its ultra
smooth surface (which allow the collected sludge to easily slide off
the plates' surface) were the primary considerations. More
often than not, polypropylene can be used in situations unsuitable
for stainless steel. The ultra smooth surface of the
polypropylene will continuously slough off accumulated sludge in
situations where the surfaces of stainless steel will oxidize and
start to hamper the sliding sludge's progress down the plate
surface.
|
Follow this link for information on Hydro-Flo's