Twenty years experience with constructed wetland systems in Denmark--what did we learn?

Full scale constructed wetland systems for wastewater treatment have been in operation in Denmark since 1983, mainly for the treatment of domestic sewage from small villages. The systems are constructed as soil-based horizontal subsurface flow systems but, because of low soil hydraulic conductivity, surface runoff is evident in most of the systems. Two decades of experience show that soil-based systems are generally efficient in removing suspended solids and BOD, but the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus is lower (typically 30-50%) and the systems do not nitrify ammonium. Contrary to earlier claims, the reeds do not increase the hydraulic conductivity of cohesive soils as much as necessary to secure sub-surface flow. Operation needs of soil-based reed beds are low and normally restricted to emptying of the sedimentation tank, cleaning of the distribution system and mowing of the grass around the system. The dead plant material and accumulated litter on the surface of the systems improve performance after the initial years. A significant number of systems have been shut down or extended with other technologies in order to meet new effluent standards, particularly demands for nitrification. New constructed wetland systems are either compact vertical flow systems which provide good nitrification, willow systems with no discharge or restored wetland systems for nitrate removal. If efficient removal of phosphorus is required, this is achieved by chemical precipitation in the sedimentation tank.     

Performance of infiltration swales with regard to operation in winter times in an Alpine region

In cold climate regions winter conditions significantly influence the performance of stormwater infiltration devices. Frozen soil and water storage by snow changes their operation. In this paper winter operation of a grassed infiltration swale was investigated using on-site and laboratory measurements. The field investigation of a grassed swale at a parking place in an Alpine region showed that the swale fulfilled its function properly. Although the top layer was frozen for some time, the storage capacity of the swale was sufficient to store the precipitation until the conditions improved. The soil attenuated the air temperature, at 20 cm below ground surface the soil was only frozen for one week. winter maintenance proved to be a problem, together with the snow from the parking place a lot of gravel and fine particles were deposited at one end of the swale. This decreased the hydraulic conductivity at that point significantly. The laboratory tests with soil columns showed an increase of flow time through the soil column with decreasing soil moisture content. For soil temperatures below 0 degrees C the hydraulic conductivity was reduced for increasing initial soil moisture contents. All in all the hydraulic conductivity was best around 0 degrees C for all soil water contents. However, also at minus 5 degrees C the coefficient of hydraulic conductivity was always at least above 10(-6) m/s, thus within the range of tolerated hydraulic conductivity specified in the national guidelines. Nevertheless, the handling of the soil was found to have high influence on the results. The results indicate that in the Alpine region infiltration swales operate sufficiently under winter conditions although with decreased performance.     

A systematic approach for estimating water losses in irrigation canals

In order to determine water losses in irrigation canals, a systematic approach was developed, consisting of two main components: a seepage simulation model and a hydraulic simulation model. The SEEP/W module of the Geo-Studio software was used to simulate the seepage rate, and the Hydrologic Engineering Center-River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) hydrodynamic model was used for hydraulic simulation. Different operation scenarios were designed to investigate all possible situations in daily operation of water distribution and delivery systems. The seepage simulation results show that the seepage losses were higher at the bottom and corners of the canal, because the hydraulic gradient was affected by the hydraulic load. The hydraulic simulation results show that due to physical and management infrastructure (using non-automated and operator-based regulation structures), operational losses accounted for a significant volume of losses compared to seepage losses. In most operation scenarios, the maximum seepage loss was 10%, and the remaining 90% was related to operational losses. It is concluded that any factor (decrease or increase of inflow to the canal) that causes an increase or decrease of operational losses is ultimately a determining factor in reducing or increasing total losses. Therefore, management approaches should be adopted to improve performance of the system and reduce losses, especially operational losses, by improving the operation methods of water level regulation and off-take structures.     

Design of a Control System Using an Artificial Neural Network to Optimize the Energy Efficiency of Water Distribution Systems

Sustainable management of water supply systems is a major challenge within the framework of the water-energy nexus. The main strategies to improve the operation of these systems are related to increasing the hydraulic and energy efficiency of pumping systems. In this context, this work presents a new artificial neural network (ANN) controller to improve the operation of water distribution systems (WDSs) that includes in its algorithm the specific energy consumption (SEC) as a decision parameter. Therefore, pressure control at the measuring points is also based on the energy efficiency of the pumps. The technique was applied to control the pressures in an experimental setup that emulates a WDS with two consumption zones with different topographies. For this purpose, the controller acted on a conventional pump, a booster pump and a control valve. To analyze the performance under the controller action, tests were performed emulating water-demand scenarios, introducing perturbations and changing the pressure setpoints. The real-time control performance was proven based on the dynamic performance, steady-state performance and SEC. The experimental results showed that the proposed controller kept the pressures close to the setpoints and provided a reduction in the SEC between 15.1% and 17.8%, compared with the uncontrolled system, and an economy that varied from 2.5% to 8.1% compared with the performance of the ANN based only on pressure control.

     

Performance of enviss? stormwater filters: results of a laboratory trial

An experimental study was undertaken by Monash University to develop and test enviss? stormwater treatment and harvesting technologies - non-vegetated filtration systems with an extremely low footprint. This paper focuses on the water quality and hydraulic performance of two systems tested over a 'year' of operation in a Melbourne climate: (1) REUSE enviss? filters, designed for stormwater harvesting systems for non-potable supply substitution, and (2) WSUD enviss? filters, developed to treat urban stormwater prior to discharge to downstream systems. The presence of chlorine as a disinfection agent proved to be very efficient for the removal of microorganisms in REUSE enviss? filters. WSUD enviss? filters had the benefit of providing an elevated nutrient treatment performance, due to an extended depth of filter media. However, nutrient outflow concentrations (total nitrogen (TN) in particular) were found to increase during the testing period. Also, extended dry weather periods were found to have a detrimental effect on the treatment performance of almost all pollutants for both filters (nutrients, Escherichia coli and heavy metals). Although hydraulic conductivity results indicated two or three sediment trap replacements per year are required to maintain filtration rates, it is expected that the compressed loading rate schedule overestimated this maintenance frequency.     

The effect of the scale of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands on flow and transport parameters.

Horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands have proven their efficiency in treating wastewater and removing the pollutants of concern. Treatment efficiency depends on the wastewater residence time, which is a function of the hydraulic loading and the physical conditions of the constructed filter system, which can be described with effective parameters such as: hydraulic conductivity, porosity, dispersivity etc. Because spatial variability is often scale dependent, these effective parameters may be affected by the scale of the system being studied. In this paper the results of tracer experiments in constructed filters using saturated horizontal flow at three scales (small and medium lab scales and full-scale system) using the same filter media is reported. Light-weight aggregate (filter media termed Filtralite-P) was used at all scales. Increasing the scale was associated with increasing dispersivity, meanwhile hydraulic conductivity experienced dramatic reduction and variation by increasing the examined scale. Observed changes in the hydraulic parameters indicate that heterogeneity at different scales should be taken into account when the performance of LWA filters are evaluated from small-scale experiments.     

厦门海绵化改造区入渗性能测定及特征

为探究厦门海绵城市改造完成区的入渗性能,利用Guelph入渗仪法测量了两条海绵道路及一个海绵小区的土壤饱和导水率,对比分析了5 cm单水头、10 cm单水头、单水头均值及双水头法所测得土壤饱和导水率的差异,并与传统城市建设区进行了对比分析。结果表明:设有生态多孔纤维棉的新顺路绿化带入渗性能最好,采用一般转输型植草沟的新景路绿化带次之,而设有隔水顶板、地下为停车场的洋塘居住区B13绿地入渗性最差。不同测量方法的结果对比显示,5 cm单水头法计算所得的土壤饱和导水率标准差最小,双水头法的土壤饱和导水率标准差最大;在厦门进行土壤入渗试验时,推荐采用5 cm单水头法计算土壤饱和导水率。     

Long-term hydraulic and pollution retention performance of infiltration systems.

Infiltration techniques are now widely used to manage stormwater in urban areas. These techniques are used and recognized around the world for their many advantages, such as decreasing stormwater flow in sewer systems and recharging groundwater. But numerous cases of infiltration devices that failed after a few years of operation are still being reported. This study, which is based on site-monitoring of operational infiltration systems, is part of the Field Observatory for Urban Water Management (OTHU). The main goals of this study are to improve knowledge of long-term hydraulic behaviour, especially as concerns the clogging speed and the quality of the runoff. This article will present the site, the monitoring process and the model that will be used to assess the hydraulic behaviour. First results of the calibration of the model show that the model is able to assess the hydraulic behaviour of the basin when it is clogged (average value of hydraulic resistance 17.1 h) and when it has been scraped (hydraulic resistance less than 3.8 h). However, further data are needed in order to validate the model. We also show that the experimental setup is well designed to assess the water volume and the sediment brought to the basin with low uncertainties.     

土坝坝体注水试验的影响因素

针对目前病险土坝地质勘察中选取坝体土渗透系数较难的问题,采用适合土坝坝体注水试验的渗透系数计算公式,分析了注水试验参数对渗透系数的影响,并对常水头与降水头室内渗透试验与现场注水试验成果进行对比分析。结果表明:土坝坝体注水试验水头和初始水位对试验结果影响最大,注水试验水头过高易产生坝体水力劈裂,造成坝体土渗透系数偏大的假象;大坝坝体填土均适合进行常水头及降水头注水试验;土坝坝体土渗透系数的确定应综合注水试验及室内渗透试验的成果。     

基于反问题设计的离心泵叶轮泥沙磨损特性优化研究

离心泵被广泛应用于我国黄河沿岸的提灌泵站中。黄河水中的泥沙对离心泵造成的泥沙磨损问题严重影响离心泵的安全高效运行。反问题设计是离心泵叶轮优化设计的常用方法，但作为其关键设计参数的叶片载荷加载方式对离心泵磨损性能的影响尚不清楚。针对叶片载荷加载方式对离心泵叶轮泥沙磨损特性影响的问题，采用固液两相流数值计算的方法，研究了前盖板前加载后盖板后加载、前后盖板均偏中加载以及前后盖板均偏后加载3种不同叶片载荷加载方式对离心泵水力性能、叶轮磨损特性和固液两相流流场特性的影响。结果表明：相比于其它方案，前后盖板均偏中加载方案得到的离心泵具有较优的水力性能。在各工况下，相比于原叶轮，前后盖板均偏中加载方案的叶片最大磨损率减小25%~73%，小流量工况下可减小73%，大流量工况下可减小25%，明显提高了叶片的磨损性能。相比于原叶轮，3种优化方案在前盖板背面流线上的压力分布更均匀光顺;在小流量工况下，前后盖板均偏中加载方案和前后盖板均偏后加载方案叶片表面的固相体积分数较小，各种方案得到的叶片表面的速度分布基本相同;在额定流量工况下，原叶轮的叶片表面体积分数较小，前后盖板均偏中加载方案和前后盖板均偏后加载方案的叶片工作面固相速度大的区域相对较小，固相速度也有所减小。因此，前后盖板均偏中加载方案具有较优的水力性能和磨损特性，可为离心泵叶轮磨损特性的优化提供参考。     

活塞式调流调压阀水力特性测试

为保证调流调压阀运行安全稳定，从阀门水力设计、安装高程确定及运行调度等方面提出阀门水力特性的 优化措施。分析调流调压阀临界汽蚀系数及汽蚀装置系数确定方法，借鉴水轮机汽蚀力学判据的概念，推导出阀 门安装高程的计算公式。采集在线调流调压阀运行数据，绘制真机流量系数与开度特性曲线，对阀门水力设计进 行验证和校核。结果表明：阀门开度大于 45.3% 时流量系数实测值与设计曲线基本一致，但在小开度段偏差稍大； 现场试验过程中阀门运行平稳，噪声在 90?dB（A）以下，振动幅度也在较小范围内，进一步验证了调流调压阀水力 特性优化设计及安装高程确定方法的合理性。     

Effects of leachate infiltration and desiccation cracks on hydraulic conductivity of compacted clay

Both cracks in clay liner and the complex composition of landfill leachate might have effects on the hydraulic conductivity of a compacted clay liner. In this study, the hydraulic conductivities of natural clay and bentonite-modified clay with and without desiccation cracks were measured, respectively, using three types of liquids as permeating liquid: 2 500 mg/L acetic acid solution, 0.5 mol/L Ca Cl2 solution, and tap water. When tap water was adopted as the permeating liquid, desiccation cracks resulted in increases in the average value of hydraulic conductivity: a 25-fold increase for the natural clay and a 5.7-fold increase for the bentonite-modified clay. It was also found out that the strong selfhealing capability of bentonite helped to reduce the adverse impact of cracks on hydraulic performance. In contrast to tap water, simulated leachates(acetic acid and Ca Cl2solutions) show no adverse effect on the hydraulic conductivities of natural and bentonite-modified clays. It is concluded that desiccation cracks and bentonite have more significant effects on hydraulic performance than simulated leachates.     

STOCHASTIC ANALYSIS OF UNSATURATED FLOW WITH THE NORMAL DISTRIBUTION OF SOIL HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY

Stochastic approaches are useful to quantitatively describe transport behavior over large temporal and spatial scales while accounting for the influence of small-scale variabilities. Numerous solutions have been developed for unsatu-rated soil water flow based on the lognormal distribution of soil hydraulic conductivity. To our knowledge, no available stochastic solutions for unsaturated flow have been derived on the basis of the normal distribution of hydraulic conductivity. In this paper, stochastic solutions were developed for unsaturated flow by assuming the normal distribution of saturated hydraulic conductivity ( K,). Under the assumption that soil hydraulic properties are second-order stationary, analytical expressions for capillary tension head variance (σh2) and effective hydraulic conductivity (Kii*) in stratified soils were derived using the perturbation method. The dependence of σh2 and K," on soil variability and mean flow variables (the mean capillary tension head and its temporal and sp     

Development of a Decision Support System for Irrigation Systems Analysis

Different groups of hydrants or configurations operate simultaneously in on-demand pressurized irrigation systems, generating different flow regimes. The varieties of flow regimes cause a variability in hydrant pressure and consequently an adequate analysis of the hydraulic performance of the system is needed for better operation and adequate management. A reliable performance assessment needs a modern diagnostic analysis in space and time. To this aim, this research assessed the hydraulic performance of an irrigation district distribution network calculating two performance indicators at hydrant level: relative pressure deficit and reliability, and integrated the outputs in a geographic information system environment providing a framework for a decision support system (DSS). The user friendly interface provides detailed, attainable and interpretable information to address the present scenario as well as the future development of the system, and facilitates the cooperation among researchers, managers, and manufacturers to improve operation, maintenance, and management activities.     

泵站有压输水系统启动过程中蝶阀非定常流场研究

蝶阀广泛应用于有压输水系统,其开启过程是输水系统启动运行的必经阶段。在开启过程中,阀板需按预定的规律在流场中做旋转运动,具有变压差变截面的特点。本文针对泵站加压输水系统,采用一维/三维耦合计算思路,对蝶阀上下游的管路段按准恒定假设基于伯努利方程、对蝶阀所在的三维流体域基于动网格策略,构建了蝶阀开启过程数值分析方法,提出了模拟计算的动态边界条件及数据更新方式,对蝶阀开启过程非定常特性进行了三维数值模拟。研究结果表明,当阀板转角由0°匀速增大至90°,管道流量在阀板转角0~45°范围内快速增长,在45°时达到额定流量的90%,之后流量增长速度变缓。阀板水力转矩呈先快增后慢减的变化趋势,最大水力转矩出现在阀板转角20°时。从蝶阀前后流场可以看出,在阀板下游具有从两个主涡到流线平顺的演化特征。该研究揭示了蝶阀开启过程中水力瞬变演化机理,为优化蝶阀设计和输水系统稳定运行提供了参考。     

Contaminant removal and hydraulic conductivity of laboratory rain garden systems for stormwater treatment

In order to evaluate the influence of substrate composition on stormwater treatment and hydraulic effectiveness, mesocosm-scale (180 L, 0.17 m(2)) laboratory rain gardens were established. Saturated (constant head) hydraulic conductivity was determined before and after contaminant (Cu, Zn, Pb and nutrients) removal experiments on three rain garden systems with various proportions of organic topsoil. The system with only topsoil had the lowest saturated hydraulic conductivity (160-164 mm/h) and poorest metal removal efficiency (Cu ≤ 69.0% and Zn ≤ 71.4%). Systems with sand and a sand-topsoil mix demonstrated good metal removal (Cu up to 83.3%, Zn up to 94.5%, Pb up to 97.3%) with adequate hydraulic conductivity (sand: 800-805 mm/h, sand-topsoil: 290-302 mm/h). Total metal amounts in the effluent were <50% of influent amounts for all experiments, with the exception of Cu removal in the topsoil-only system, which was negligible due to high dissolved fraction. Metal removal was greater when effluent pH was elevated (up to 7.38) provided by the calcareous sand in two of the systems, whereas the topsoil-only system lacked an alkaline source. Organic topsoil, a typical component in rain garden systems, influenced pH, resulting in poorer treatment due to higher dissolved metal fractions.     

Modified sewage sludge as temporary landfill cover material

In order to study the feasibility of modified sewage sludge as landfill cover material and its performance in a complex landfill environment,strength and hydraulic conductivity tests were conducted. The permeability requirements for daily and interim covers were analyzed first. Based on saturated-unsaturated seepage calculations, it is suggested that approximately 1.0 10 4cm/s and 1.0 10 5cm/s are the appropriate values for the hydraulic conductivities of daily and interim covers, respectively. The strength and permeability requirements of the mixtures, when used as an interim cover, can be met at a sludge:lime:cement:silt:tire-derived aggregate(TDA) weight ratio of 100:15:5:70:15. Results also demonstrate that the solid content ratio of modified sewage sludge, which should be greater than 60% when modified sewage sludge is used as a temporary cover material, is crucial to both strength and hydraulic performance. In addition, as the duration of soaking of modified sewage sludge in synthetic leachate increases, the unconfined compressive strength increases, and the hydraulic conductivity decreases slightly or fluctuates between 1.0 10 5cm/s and 1.0 10 6cm/s, still meeting the requirements for an interim cover. The reduction in hydraulic conductivity of modified sewage sludge under the effect of synthetic leachate, as well as the long-term and environmental performance of the modified sewage sludge, should be examined in future studies.     

三维地下水流随机分析的配点法

本文提出了三维地下水不确定分析的随机配点法，比较了张量积配点法（Tensor Product Collocation Method, TPCM），Smolyak配点法 (Smolyak Collocation Method, SmCM)，Stroud-2配点法 (Stroud-2 Collocation Method, StCM)，以及概率配点法 (Probability Collocation Method, PCM)等四种配点法的基本原理；渗透系数场和水头场分别被表示为Karhunen-Loeve展开和多项式展开的形式；初始随机偏微分方程被转化为在相应配点上的确定性方程；建立了基于Modflow-2000的随机模型；讨论了不同算法的计算精度及计算成本。分析结果表明，配点法可充分继承现有模拟软件或代码的求解功能，配点的选取方法决定了其计算成本，SmCM具有最高的计算精度，但StCM具有最好的性价比。     

Assessment of the Impact of Stormwater Characteristics on Clogging in Stormwater Filters

Hydraulic conductivity of granular filter media and its evolution over time is a key design parameter for stormwater filtration and infiltration systems that are now widely used in management of polluted urban runoff. In fact, clogging of filter media is recognised as the main limiting factor of these stormwater treatment systems. This paper focuses on the effect of stormwater characteristics on the clogging of stormwater filters. Effect of five different operational regimes has been tested in this study of sediment concentration; pollutant concentrations; stormwater sediment size; loading rate and stormwater loading/dosing regime and compared with the Base case. For each operational condition, five column replicates were tested. Results suggest that sediment concentration in stormwater is a significant parameter affecting hydraulic and treatment performance, eventually affecting longevity of these stormwater treatment systems. Further, the size of sediments (and their relation to the size of filter media grains) in stormwater was found to be an important parameter to be considered in design of coarse filters with high infiltration rates that are used for stormwater treatment. As expected, the addition of metals and nutrients had limited or no contribution to changes in hydraulic or sediment removal performance of the studied stormwater filters. Whilst loading rate was found to be an important parameter affecting the hydraulic and treatment performance of these systems, any variation in the stormwater loading regime had a limited effect on their performance. This study therefore develops an understanding of the effect of catchment characteristics on design of filters and hence their longevity and maintenance needs.     

Supervised Intelligent Committee Machine Method for Hydraulic Conductivity Estimation

Hydraulic conductivity is the essential parameter for groundwater modeling and management. Yet estimation of hydraulic conductivity in a heterogeneous aquifer is expensive and time consuming. In this study; artificial intelligence (AI) models of Sugeno Fuzzy Logic (SFL), Mamdani Fuzzy Logic (MFL), Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network associated with Levenberg–Marquardt (ANN), and Neuro-Fuzzy (NF) were applied to estimate hydraulic conductivity using hydrogeological and geoelectrical survey data obtained from Tasuj Plain Aquifer, Northwest of Iran. The results revealed that SFL and NF produced acceptable performance while ANN and MFL had poor prediciton. A supervised intelligent committee machine (SICM), which combines the results of individual AI models using a supervised artificial neural network, was developed for better prediction of the hydraulic conductivity in Tasuj plain. The performance of SICM was also compared to those of the simple averaging and weighted averaging intelligent committee machine (ICM) methods. The SICM model produced reliable estimates of hydraulic conductivity in heterogeneous aquifers.