Simulation of water flow and tracer experiments for a clear water storage tank

Abstract

This paper reports on tracer experiments and simulation results for Stromlo Water Treatment Plant in Canberra, Australia. Experimental data were collected from the tank using fluoride as a tracer. With the tank at a uniform initial fluoride concentration of 0.88 mg/L, the fluoride feeder was turned off for 5 hours and then turned back on. The fluoride concentration at the tank outlet was monitored throughout and the objective was to model it as accurately as possible. Flow through the tank has been simulated at the rated flow from the works of 3.7 m3/s using the PHOENICS computational fluid dynamics (CFD) program. The CFD simulation, with Chen and Kim turbulence model, agrees closely with the measured fluoride concentrations and requires no fitted parameters.