Air lift pump

[Basel Zaidia]

We use Airlift pump , pipes with Air Compressor , to remove the settled sands in waste treatment plant at the head work (inlet) ,
How we can calculate the compressor capacity ? is the friction losses for the flow ( air + water + sand )considered as same ass the water flow friction losses?
Basel

 

[BrianPetersen]

"Experience".

Thick sticky mud is going to be a whole lot harder to pump than water with a few little grains of sand in it.

A froth of bubbles like what's on top of your sink when washing the dishes is going to be a whole lot easier to pump than water with an occasional bubble of air in it.

Any calculation that you attempt will be subject to "garbage in, garbage out". The result of a calculation can be no more accurate than what its inputs are. If those inputs are unknown then there is no calculation that can be done.

And that means it comes down to ... "experience".

 

[LittleInch]

Have you tried searching "airlift suction pipe [or pump] design"

Gems like this turn up.

http://www2.ca.uky.edu/wkrec/AirliftPumps.htm

But no, the flow of air plus water plus sand is a complex model.

Depending on the height of the water lift / depth of your pipe the actual volume of air changes from the bottom of the pipe up to the top so the whole thing is a transient calculation.

It is quite a well researched issue though.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[Basel Zaidia]

Thank you all for your comments

 

[chicopee]

Plenty of information found in M.E. handbookssuch as Kent and Mark or in Chem E. handbook such as Perry.

 

[BUGGAR]

I'm posting this last because this is really a non-engineering answer. When we built the treatment plant over the Hudson, it had some 2000+ caissons that were cleaned out with air lifts. The air lifts weren't designed. An old company construction stiff was brought up from Nagadoches TX and he just said this is how they should be made. And they worked.