CE 472W Design Team Project Report

2.2.2 Cascade Aeration System

Purpose
To transport the water from the Oak Hill Borehole and Pine Knot Tunnel pump houses
there will be two different transport systems used. These systems are specific to each site and
both will consolidate in the aeration basin of the water treatment plant. Based on the elevation
these water sources will be pumped to the water will be able to collect in the aeration basin
without having to be brought to a separate holding tank at the ground level.
At the Oak Hill Borehole there will be a combination of two different sections that will
each make up approximately half of the 1597.21 feet that it takes to reach the treatment plant
site. The first half of this distance will be a cascade aerator. This cascade aerator will consist of
steps with walls on either sides to contain the water. Using a cascade aerator allows iron present
in the water to be oxidized before it reaches the plant. The cascade aerator will eventually flow
into a pipe that will make up the second half of the transportation. Once the water has been
funneled into this pipe, it will flow with a full pipe until it reaches the aeration basin at the plant.
Instead of utilizing another pump when this water reaches the aerator, the use of gravity flow due
to the head difference of the Oak Hill Shaft and the proposed plant site will allow the water to
flow directly into the aerator.
The Pine Knot Tunnel will require an artificial elevation to be created in order to utilize
gravity bringing the water into the aeration basin. Here, we will use two pumps to accommodate
the high flow, approximately 14,000 gallons per minute, which is produced at the Pine Knot
Tunnel (Cravotta et al., 2013). Both of these pumps will flow into separate pipes and much like
the second half of the transportation from the Oak Hill Boreholes, these pipes will flow into the

CE 472W Design Team Project Report

aeration basin. Both of these sites will require some cut and fill (i.e. excavation of land) to make
the elevation changes consistent.
Materials
The transportation system for the first half of the Oak Hill Boreholes discharge will be a
cascade aerator. This material used to construct these steps will be based on several factors to
include:

The metals present in the water

External factors from the surrounding environment

Cost

Reliability over a 20 year period

Easiness in being repaired

Practicality for a step system

The water coming out of the boreholes contains about 400 ppm of sulfate based on a 75%
confidence interval (Cravotta et al., 2013). Being located in Eastern Pennsylvania, freezing and
thawing effects on the aerator will also having to be considered as they could cause significant
cracking and other damage to the system. The material will optimally be low in unit cost as an
approximate 800 linear feet of material will be required in the design. Long term reliability of
the material is vital because the process of completely treating this water will take several years
to complete. Ease in being repaired will be necessary as it will difficult to divert the water in
large quantities to repair the steps. Finally, a material that is practical for constructing steps will
be important as well.
When considering the above factors, the cascade aerator will be made up of primarily
concrete. Based on Table X.X we chose to us Type I Portland Cement for the concrete mixture.

CE 472W Design Team Project Report

As shown, this type of cement handles moderate sulfate exposure well. Type I is common and
the most practical to a project such as the aerator being designed. The rest of the concrete
mixture will be a proportion of several other constituents to include (Note: the volume and
percentage of volume are relative to the volume of a single step = 5 ft3):
Table X.X: Densities and volume proportions of concrete constituents for a single step of the
cascade aerator (The Engineering Toolbox)
Constituent

Density (lb/ft3)

Volume (ft3)

Percentage of Volume (%)

Fine Aggregate or Sand

90

1.60

32.00

Coarse Aggregate or Gravel

75

2.00

40.00

Air (Standard Temperature and

0.0708

0.25

5.00

Water

62.4

0.59

11.70

Type I Portland Cement

75

0.51

10.17

Silica Fume

95

0.05

1.13

Pressure)

This mixture proportioning is standard as defined by Dr. Radlinska, The Pennsylvania State
University, in Lecture XX. To increase strength in the concrete silica fume will be added to the
mixture and will make up about 10% of the volume of the cement. This silica fume adds
strength because of how it densifies the structure and lowers the permeability. Being a channel
for water to flow over, it is imperative the permeability of the concrete is kept low and the
density high. To achieve these desired characteristics, the water to cement ratio (W/C) must be
kept relatively low. This value defines the weight of water and cement that will be mixed and
has an effect on both strength and porosity. Since this concrete will be exposed to water and

CE 472W Design Team Project Report

ideally will have low permeability the maximum W/C will be defined at 0.45 as shown in Table
X.X. The value being aimed for in our design here will be about 0.33, or 33 pounds of water to
every 100 pounds of cement, which is kept below the maximum value for W/C. Keeping the
value of W/C at this value will keep the porosity of the concrete low, below 2% as shown in
Equation X.X:

= 0.33 = 33 100

33
=
= 0.53 3
62.4
3

( )

100

3.15 62.4 3

= 0.51 3

= 0.51 3 + 0.51 3 = 1.02 3

= 0.53 3 0.51 3 = 0.02 3
0.02 3
= =
100% = 1.92%
0.02 3 + 1.02 3
Keeping a low porosity and permeability as described above will be critical to prevent
fracture damage in the concrete. Allowing water into the pores of the concrete will lead to
freezing and thawing damage that will only catalyze the fracture of the concrete. Since some
cracking in concrete is inevitable due to the environment acting on the concrete it is ideal to keep
it to a minimum.
The addition of silica fume will add strength to the concrete because of two reasons: its
role in a pozzolanic reaction and the size of its particles. The pozzolanic reaction involves the
hydration of Portland cement which is a reaction between tri-calcium silicate (C3S), which is
found in the cement, and water. In the hydration reaction shown below (Equation X.X) the
reaction of C3S and water yield two products: Calcium Silicate Hydrate (CSH) and Calcium
Hydroxide (CH).

CE 472W Design Team Project Report

Equation X.X: The hydration reaction

3 + 2 +
CSH is the product contributing to an increase in strength in the concrete while CH is an
undesired byproduct of the hydration reaction. CSH is a stable product and has a high surface
area and is the primary factor in determining how strong the concrete mixture is. CH, also
known as Portlandite is unstable and dissolves in water, therefore increasing the W/C ratio and
decreasing the strength. The role of silica fume in this process is to decrease the amount of CH
resulting from the hydration reaction. The pozzolanic reaction is shown below as Equation
X.X, where is the silica fume or pozzolan:
Equation X.X: The pozzolanic reaction
+ +
By reacting with the CH resulting from the hydration reaction, the silica fume produces more
CSH. Increasing the CSH in turn increases the strength of the concrete.
The second factor silica fume contributes to the strength of the concrete is due to the size
of its particles. An average particle of silica fume is about 100 to 150 magnitudes smaller than a
particle of cement, which allows the silica fume to fill the voids of the concrete mixture. This
fine division of the silica fume particles also is critical to the pozzolanic reaction. The reaction
requires finely divided particles to ensure the reaction occurs quickly. Silica fume serves as an
ideal pozzolan for this process. The relatively small amount of silica fume required in the
concrete mixture gives highly desired advantages in our design that make it a desired constituent
to our concrete.
An extra layer of protection will be added to the concrete by adding a slag overlay on top
of the concrete. We will mimic a similar concrete structure designed by a company named

CE 472W Design Team Project Report

Elsevier. They built a mine wastewater-processing basin where the concrete was subject to iron
ore and pyrite from the surrounding rocks of the mine. After analyzing the structure 25 years
later, they found significant damages due to the sulfate exposure (about 1000 mg/L) from the
pyrite. After removing the damaged concrete, they added a 4 cm thick protective coating, the
slag overlay. This slag overlay showed only minimal damage 15 years later. To protect our
concrete we will add a 4 cm thick layer of slag on the face of each step to ensure protection from
sulfate exposure.
Dimensions
The dimensions of the steps in the cascade aerator are based on both the flow of water
and the external factors on the system. Each step will be dimensioned the same, where the
height of each stair is 0.25 feet, the length is 4 feet and the width is 5 feet. The height of each
step is merely 0.25 feet or 3 inches because it is assumed the steps only need a small barrier of
separation between the ground and the water. A length of 4 feet per step allows the water to
easily flow from one step to the next without losing the necessary speed to keep the water
flowing by gravity. Keeping the stairs 5 feet wide allows the high volume of water to flow
without causing the turbulence that is common in a narrow channel. Along with decreasing
turbulence, if items such as leaves or sticks were to fall into the water, flow is still easily diverted
around a clog that would impede a narrower channel.
Walls
Walls on either side, each standing 2 feet high and are 0.5 feet thick, will guard the steps.
Walls are necessary on either side to confine the flow of the water to the steps and prevent
overflow. Having walls 2 feet high gives plenty of room to allow excess flow without creating
spray over the walls. Much like the steps the walls will also have a slag overlay on the inside

CE 472W Design Team Project Report

face of each wall. The slag on the wall will serve the same purpose intended for the steps, to
prevent major damages due to sulfate exposure.
There will be a final layer of protection for the cascade aerator from the environment,
seeing that it is completely open to intrusion. Along the entire stretch of the step system, there
will be chain link fence to keep out wildlife and other intruders. The fence will be 6 feet tall for
the entire length and will have access points throughout to allow plant operators easy access for
cleaning and maintenance. Using chain link fence allows easy entry and exit to any point on the
cascade aerator while still providing security from curious by passers or the wildlife in the area.
The relatively small width of each step and low height of the walls allow easy access to each
individual step for any necessary maintenance. Bar filters at the transition point from the
cascade aerator to the pipe will contribute to a large part of the cleaning, but separate cleaning of
the system is also possible. Again, because of the dimensions of the steps and walls, any
cleaning of debris will be easily available.

2.2.3 Transition to Pipe

At the end of the cascade aeration system the water is funneled into the pipe that will
carry the water the remainder of the way to the aeration basin. This interchange includes enough
distance to keep the water moving without significant turbulence along with two passages of bar
filters, where the space between bars is narrower in the second filter than it is in the first.
Bernoullis Equation
Transitioning to a pipe for flow to the aeration basin proposes the question of whether
gravity flow is possible or if the water will have to be pumped again to a new elevation. The
elevation of the end of the being higher than the elevation of the propose plant site allows gravity
flow to be possible. Using head difference for flow can be explained by the Bernoulli Equation,

CE 472W Design Team Project Report

which uses the pressure, velocity and head of a flowing fluid to relate two different points along
a pipe. Bernoullis Equation is defined as the following for given point 1 and 2 along a fluid
flowing through a pipe:
1 12
2 22
+
+ 1 =
+
+ 2
2
2

= , = ,

= , = =
The head and pressure differences between the location of the aeration basin and end of the
cascade aerator allow the water to flow through the system without pumping.

Bar Filters
Two different widths and materials of bar filters are used to clean the water before it
enters the pipe. Figure X.X shows the approximate layout of the bar filters within the funnel
system connecting the cascade aerator to the pipe.
Figure X.X: Funnel passageway from staircase conveyance to pipe

The first filter serves to keep out larger objects such as stick or large clumps of leaves.
The separation between each bar here is 2 inches, which will block these large objects but still

CE 472W Design Team Project Report

allow water to flow. To keep this filter simplistic, the material used will be wood because it is
cheap and allows this filter to be repaired easily.
The second filter will be narrower in bar spacing and will contain its own mechanical
system to clean the debris caught in the bars. This filter is made out of iron making it more rigid
than the first filter and reliable for the mechanical cleaning system. The mechanical arm
cleaning this filter will act much as a windshield wiper does on a car. It is connected to the wall
on a sliding track and moves up and down along the front face of the second filter. When it
moves from bottom to top, it will push any of the debris caught in the filters up onto the
horizontal surface on top of the bars shown below in Figure X.X:
Figure X.X: Mechanical arm sweep system used for cleaning debris from the second bar filter

These two levels of bar filters will allow cleaning of the debris to be easy. Most of the
debris will pass through the initial 2-inch filter so the majority of the debris will be caught in the
second filter. Utilizing the mechanical arm sweep allows the debris to accumulate on the
horizontal surface above the filter where it only needs cleaning infrequently. The small amount
of debris caught in the first filter can also be manually cleaned at similar intervals to the
mechanical arm sweep system. The alternative to the arm sweep, manually cleaning both filters,
would require much more frequent and labor intensive means of cleaning these filters.