Bar Screens

Dr. Akepati S. Reddy

Associate Professor, Thapar University
Patiala (PUNJAB) – 147 004
 Screening
• First unit operation usually encountered in W/WTP
• Has uniform size openings and used to retain solids of
wastewater
• Important to
– avoid damage to subsequent process equipment
– increase overall treatment process reliability and
effectiveness
– minimize contamination of waterways
• Selection and design of screens should consider all
aspects of removal, transport and disposal of screenings.
– Degree of screenings removal required
– Health and safety of operators
– Odour potential
– Requirements for handling, transport and disposal
– Disposal options
 Screens
Classification of screens
• Coarse screens (6-150 mm)
– used in the preliminary treatment of wastewater to protect pumps,
valves, pipelines and other appurtenances from damage or
clogging by rags and large objects
– hand cleaned or mechanically cleaned
– Often may not be needed (characteristics of wastewaters
may determine)
• Fine screens (<6 mm)
– Often used after coarse screens
– May be to protect process equipment or to eliminate materials that
inhibit beneficial use of biosolids
– Fine screens can be static wedgewire, drum or step types
• Micro screens (<50 microns)
– used principally for the removal of fine solids from the treated
effluent
 Screens
Screening element may consist of parallel bars, rods or
wires, grating, wire mesh, or perforated plate
• Openings may be of any shape (mostly circular or
rectangular slots)
Bar screen/bar rack
• A screen with parallel bars/rods
– Bars are welded to spacing bars located at the rear face out
of the way of the lines of the rake
– Bar width can be 5 to 15 mm and bar depth 25-38 mm
– Spacing between bars can be 25-50 mm (for manual
screens) and 15-75 mm (for mechanical screens)
– Slope of the screen from the vertical can be 30-45 for
manual screens and 0-30 for mechanical screens
• Perforated drainage plate is provided at the top of bar rack
for temporary storage and drainage of rakings
 Screens
Screen channel
• Should have a straight approach
• Should not accumulate grit and other heavy materials both
ahead of the screen and following the screen
• Allowable head loss: 150 mm for manual screens and 150-
600 mm for mechanical screens.
• Approach velocity: 0.3 to 0.6 m/sec for manual screens
and 0.3 to 1.0 m/sec for mechanical screens
Hand cleaned screens
• Used in small to medium sized wastewater treatment units
• Sometimes used as standby screens
• Length of the hand cleaned bar rack should not exceed the
distance that can be conveniently raked by hand
Mechanically cleaned screens
• Can be chain driven, reciprocating rake, catenary or
continuous belt types
• Use corrosion resistant materials (stainless steel, plastics)
 Screens
Chain driven mechanical screens
• Chain operated screens have submerged sprockets
whose maintenance is difficult - maintenance needs
dewatering of channels
• Chain driven screens three types based on the method of
raking
– Front clean and front return type - more efficient in cleaning
but less rugged (susceptible to jamming by solids collected
at the base of the rake)
– Front clean and back return type - rakes return to the bottom
of the screen on the backside of the screen - potential for
jamming is minimized.
– Back clean and back return type – the rake is protected from
damage by the bars – more susceptible to solids carry-over
to down stream side – top of the bar rack is unsupported
and hence less rugged
 Screens
Reciprocating rake type bar screens
• Rake moves to the base of the screen, engages the bars
and pulls the screenings to the top of the screen for
removal
• All parts requiring maintenance are above the water line
and can be easily inspected and maintained
• Front clean and front return feature minimizes solids carry
over
• Have only one rake and hence have limited capacity to
handle heavy screenings loads
• High overhead clearance is required to accommodate the
rake mechanism
• Grit accumulation in front of the bar can impede rake
movement
 Screens
Catenary screen
• A type of front cleaned and front return chain driven
screen, but has no submerged sprockets
• Rake is held against the bar rack by weight of the chain
(less sensitive to bar jamming by heavy objects)
• Multiple cleaning elements, shorter cleaning cycles enable
handling of large objects (very little screenings carryover)
• Chains are very heavy, inclination angle of the screen is
higher (43 to 75) and hence large footprint
• Jammed racks can cause misalignment and warpage
• Open design can cause odors problem
 Screens
Continuous belt screen
• It is a continuous self-cleaning screening belt that
removes fine and coarse solids
• Overhauling or replacement of the screening
elements is time consuming and expensive.
• Screen openings may range from 0.5 to 30 mm and
hence be used as either as a coarse screen or as a
fine screen
• Have no submerged sprockets
 Screens
Design considerations
• Location - installed ahead of grit chambers
• Approach velocity:
– 0.3 to 0.6 m/sec for manual screens
– 0.3 to 1.0 m/sec for mechanical screens
• Velocity through the bar screen:
– should be <0.9 m/sec. during peak flow (debris passover!)
– can be controlled by a head control device on down stream
side (parshall flume)
• Bar width: can be 5 to 15 mm
• Bar depth: can be 25-38 mm
• Rectangular bars (also teardrop and trapezoidal bars) are
used - Wider width dimension is on the upstream side
• Clear openings between bars
– can be 25-50 mm for manual screens
– Can be 15-75 mm for mechanical screens
 Screens
• Head loss through the screens
– 150 mm for manual screens
– 150-600 mm for mechanical screens.
• Slope of the screen from the vertical:
– can be 30-45 for manual screens
– Can be 0-30 for mechanical screens
• Flatter angle increases screen submerged area
• Screenings handling, processing and disposal
• Mechanical screens
– 2 or more screens are provided to facilitate screen isolation
& maintenance
• Manual screen
– Often used as an overflow device whenever the mechanical
screens are inoperational
 Approach channel
Assume slope (0.01 to 0.001) and find width and depth of the
approach channel
Assume depth of flow during peak flow as 2/3rd of the width
Take velocity of flow during peak flow as 0.6 m/sec.
Find velocity during average flow and check whether it is >0.3
m/sec.
Provide >0.2 m freeboard
V is for the channel
velocity (m/sec.)
1 2 3 12
V  .R .S n is Mannings coefficient
n R is hydraulic radius (m)
3
S is slope
 n.V  2
R   1  W is width of the channel (m)
D is depth of flow (m)
S 2  Q is peak flow rate (m3/sec.)
2.R.D Q
W D Solve through iterations for D and W
DR W .V
 Approach channel
Approach channel length can be taken as >4 times its width
If the screen is to be provided in a screen chamber underground then length of
the chamber can be
 
LApproach channel  2 W  0.3 tan   2W  D 
3
 is inclination angle of screen from horizontal
W is width of the channel
If perforated plate is planned over the channel behind the screen then its foot
D is diameter of the sewer
print can be >2 times the channel width
Width of the screen chamber can be (3 times its width) or (channel width +1.0
m), whichever is larger
Access to the screen should be ensured
Provision for temporary storage of screenings should be made
For mechanically cleaned screens additional space for the facility and
associated machinery should be provided
 Bar screen specifications
Decide on the bars thickness and depth and on the spacing
between the bars and find the number of bars needed
Width of the channel
Number of Bars  1
Thicknessbar .Spacingbetween bars
Decide the inclination angle and find out length of the bars
– D/sin(ө) + grouting requirements
(ө is inclination angle from horizontal)
Decide on the spacer bars (number, size and length)
Decide on the bar rack grouting requirements
Decide on the perforated drain plate to be used behind the
screen
– Width can be 0.2m plus width of the channel
– Length can be > 2 times the width
 Head loss across the screen
Head loss through a coarse screen can be estimated by

1 V  v 2 2

hL   
C is discharge coefficient C  2g 
(taken as 0.7 for clean screen and 0.6 for clogged screen)
V is velocity through the screen
v is approach veolocity
g is acceleration due to gravity
For 50% clogged screens velocity through the screen can be taken as 0.9 m/sec.
Drop provided downstream to screen may be greater than the head
loss across it when clogged for peak flow conditions
>150 mm for manually cleaned screens
 Screenings
• Screenings are discharged directly into a hopper or
container or into a screening press
• When multiple screens are used, a conveyor/a pneumatic
ejector system is used to transport screenings to the
screenings storage hopper
• Screenings grinder may be used to grind and shred the
screenings and return to the wastewater
 Screens
Controls
• Raking mechanisms
– based on differential head loss through the screen or by a
time clock (15 min. time cycle)
– headloss is determined by measuring water level both
before and after the screen
– Often done at predetermined time intervals as well as at a
maximum head differential
• Flow control/regulation
– Slide gates or recesses are provided in the channel, both
ahead of and behind to facilitate the dewatering
– Flow is diverted through a bypass channels in larger
installations with the help of slide or sluice gates