Screen Intake Device for Shallow Water
A screen intake apparatus has a concrete platform resting on a water source floor. A screen intake anchors on the platform and forms a half cylinder thereon. A barrier at one end of the platform in divides the flow of water. The screen intake has a half-cylindrical body and half-cylindrical screens. Transition walls in the screen intake divide the body's hollow and the screens' interiors, and at least one flow modifier communicates the interior with the hollow. These flow modifiers also form a half cylinder with the platform. A manifold in the screens receives a supply of air to clear debris. Forming a half-cylinder, the screen intake on the platform can have a much lower profile for the water source than the normal cylindrical screens, which require half of its diameter in clearance above and below.
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This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/951,217, filed 22 Nov. 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUNDDrinking water plants, manufacturing plants, irrigation systems, and power generation facilities use large quantities of water for their operation. To collect the water, screen intakes are used in various bodies of water. As shown in
The screen intake 10 must be designed to protect aquatic life and to prevent buildup of debris along the length of the intake's screens 12A-B. To do this, the flow velocity through the screens should be kept below a maximum peak level, which may be about 0.5 f/s. One way to reduce the flow resistance and control the flow velocity evenly across the screen's surface is to use flow modifiers inside the screen intake. For example, Johnson Screens—the assignee of the present disclosure—improves flow uniformity using flow modifiers as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,051,131 and 6,712,959, which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
When used in a source waterway, the screen intakes 10 must be arranged with no less than a minimum amount of distance surrounding it. As shown in
Available source waters for intake systems are becoming shallower. For shallow applications, flat screens, velocity caps, or cribbing has been used in the past to intake source water. These traditional approaches sit flat on the bottom of the source water. Being flat, however, these types of screens can have problems with deflection and strength when subjected to flow and debris. In addition, these types of screens can be difficult to keep clear of debris. Finally, flat screens can have uneven flow distribution over the screen's surface area, which can be problematic during operation.
The subject matter of the present disclosure is directed to overcoming, or at least reducing the effects of, one or more of the problems set forth above.
SUMMARYA screen intake apparatus has a base that disposes on a floor of a water source. The base can be a concrete slab or platform resting on the floor and having a top surface. A screen intake disposes on the base and forms a half cylinder thereon. Anchors can affix edges of the screen intake to the top surface of the base. In a river or application with strong currents, the base would preferably have a barrier disposed at one end thereof in a path of flow of the source water to deflect debris and silt from the screen intake.
The screen intake has a body with first and second screens on its ends. Each of the screens forms a half cylinder on the base and defines an interior therein. The interiors communicate with the hollow of the body so the source water entering the screen passes to the body and out a common outlet.
The first and second screens each have a screen sidewall, a closed distal end, and an open proximal end. The open proximal end attaches to the body, while the closed distal ends have end walls that define a half circle. Preferably, the screen intake has transition walls disposed between the hollow of the body and the interiors of the screens. At least one flow modifier disposes in each of the transition walls. The flow modifier has one open end communicating with the interior of the screen and has another open end communicating with the hollow of the body. The flow modifier can have two or more flow modifiers nested inside one another, and these flow modifiers also form a half cylinder with the base.
The screen intake can also have a manifold disposed in the screens for receiving a supply of air used to clear the screens of debris. Construction of the screens can use ribs disposed along a length of the screen and can have wires disposed across the ribs. Overall, the half cylinder screen intake mounted on the top surface of the base can provide all the attributes of a normal intake screen but provide a very low profile for shallower applications.
The foregoing summary is not intended to summarize each potential embodiment or every aspect of the present disclosure.
A screen intake system 50 in
In a river or other application where a current is present, the front end of each platform 60 has a profiled barrier 62 to cut the water flow ahead of the screen intake 100. The profiled barrier 62 is preferably angled at its front face and divides the passage of water, debris, and silt. In addition as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Alternatively, the intake 100 may lack an overall flat bottom component that affixes to the edges of the connected components (110, 115, 120). Instead, free edges of the interconnected body 120, screen sections 110A-B, and end walls 115A-B can fit directly against the platform 60 and can attach thereto using the anchor bolts 64 or the like. For example, the platform 60 can have a width and a length that is slightly larger than the screen intake 100 by about 3-in. or so. The platform 60 can have holes defined all around its perimeter for concrete anchor bolts 64 that hold the screen intake 100 onto the platform 60.
In yet another arrangement, the screen intake 100 can be a cylindrical (or at least partial cylindrical) screen intake partially embedded in the material of the platform 60. In this arrangment, the full or partial cylindrical screen intake 100 can be embedded in the concrete of the platform's slab when constructing the platform 60 using techniques available in the art.
In assembly, the screen intake 100 can be preconstructed on the platform 60 on land, and both components 60/100 can be sunk to the floor of the water source. Alternatively, the screen intake 100 and platform 60 can be separately constructed. The platform 60 can be placed on the water source's floor, and the screen intake 100 can be affixed to the top surface of the platform 60 with the anchors 64. These and other forms of construction can be used for the screen intake system 50.
As shown in
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As shown in
Another example of a screen intake 100 is shown in
In addition to these features, the screen intake 100 has an air backwash pipe 140 and a header 142 provided for backwashing the screen intake 100 with an air burst to clear debris. The air backwash header 142 connects to the air backwash pipe 140 and disposes inside the screen sections 110A-B and the body 120. When used, the pipe 140 and header 142 allow the screen intake 100 to be backwashed with an airburst to clear debris. These features can be based on Johnson Screen's Hydroburst System. In general, the Hydroburst system uses a compressor, a tank, valves, and controls to generate a blast of air in the screen sections 110A-B. Done periodically, the air blast flushes debris away from the screen's surfaces.
In addition to the backwash system, the intake 100 of the present disclosure can include flow modifiers disposed internally in the screen sections 110A-B. The flow modifiers can be used with the backwash system or alone. Further details of the flow modifiers are provided below with reference to
The screen intake 100 illustrated in
Both screen sections 110A-B have open ends connected to the body's transition walls 126A-B and have closed ends walls 115A-B that may or may not be shaped to deflect debris. Each of the screen sections 110A-B defines a half cylinder and defines a plurality of slots for entry of water into the screen sections 110A-B as described previously. Again, the slots can be either transverse or parallel to the axis of the screen section 110A-B. Preferably, spaced wraps of profiled wire 112 form the slots of the screens 110A-B, although the screens 110A-B can also be a solid pipe member with slots formed therein.
The central passages 128 in the transition walls 126A-B may be sufficient to control the flow velocity at the screen's surfaces to maintain a preferred surface flow velocity. However, each transition wall 126A-B preferably has a flow modifier 150 disposed in its central opening 128 to further control the flow velocity. In general, the screen intake 100 can use flow modifiers 150 having one or more pipes disposed in the openings 128 and partially inside the hollows of the screen sections 110A-B to communicate fluid from inside the screen sections 110A-B, through the openings 128, and into the hollow 122 of the central body 120.
The screen intake 100 embodied in
The screen intake 100 and flow modifiers 150 of
As used herein and in the claims, terms such as cylinder and cylindrical are meant to be generic and refer to a general geometric shape known by that name. Terms such as half cylinder and half-cylindrical refer to a division of such a general geometric shape along a longitudinal axis and need not be precisely half. Thus, the sidewall of the cylinder and half cylinder as used herein can be defined by a radius as in the standard geometric shape. However, the sidewall of the cylinder and half cylinder as used herein can be defined by multiple angled surfaces, a cycloidal surface, an elliptical surface, an oval surface, a parabolic surface, or any other curved surface. The foregoing description of preferred and other embodiments is not intended to limit or restrict the scope or applicability of the inventive concepts conceived of by the Applicants. In exchange for disclosing the inventive concepts contained herein, the Applicants desire all patent rights afforded by the appended claims. Therefore, it is intended that the appended claims include all modifications and alterations to the full extent that they come within the scope of the following claims or the equivalents thereof.
Claims
1. A screen intake apparatus for a flat surface in a water source, comprising:
- a body mounted on the flat surface in the water source, the body defining a hollow therein and having an outlet; and
- a first curved screen mounted on the flat surface and defining a first interior therein, a first end of the first curved screen connected to the body and placing the first interior of the first curved screen in communication with the hollow of the body.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first curved screen comprises a half-cylindrical screen sidewall, an open proximal end at the first end, and a closed distal end at a second end, the open proximal end connected to the body and placing the first interior in communication with the hollow.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the closed distal end comprises an end wall defining a half circle.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
- a transition wall disposed between the first interior of the first curved screen and the hollow of the body; and
- at least one first flow modifier disposed in the transition wall and placing the interior of the first curved screen in communication with the hollow of the body.
5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one first flow modifier comprises at least two first flow modifiers nested inside one another.
6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one first flow modifier comprises a half cylinder mounted on the flat surface.
7. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a second curved screen mounted on the flat surface and defining a second interior therein, a first end of the second curved screen connected to an opposing end of the body from the first curved screen and placing the second interior of the second curved screen in communication with the hollow of the body.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, further comprising:
- at least one first flow modifier disposed between the first curved screen and the body and communicating the first interior with the hollow; and
- at least one second flow modifier disposed between the second curved screen and the body and communicating the second interior with the hollow.
9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a manifold disposed in the at least one curved screen for receiving a supply of air.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one curved screen comprises:
- a plurality of ribs disposed along a length of the at least one curved screen; and
- a plurality of wires disposed across the ribs.
11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the body comprises a half cylinder mounted on the flat surface.
12. A screen intake apparatus for a floor of a water source, comprising:
- a base resting on the floor of the water source and having a top surface;
- a body mounted on the top surface of the base, the body defining a hollow therein and having an outlet; and
- at least one curved screen mounted on the top surface of the base and defining an interior therein, a first end of the at least one curved screen connected to the body and placing the interior of the at least one curved screen in communication with the hollow of the body.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one curved screen comprises first and second curved screens mounted on the base adjacent opposing ends of the body.
14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one curved screen comprises a half cylinder screen sidewall, an open proximal end for the first end, and a closed distal end for a second end, the open proximal end connected to the body.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the closed distal end comprises an end wall defining a half circle.
16. The apparatus of claim 14, further comprising:
- a transition wall disposed between the hollow of the body and the interior of the at least one curved screen; and
- at least one flow modifier disposed in the transition wall and placing the interior of the at least one curved screen in communication with the hollow of the body.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one flow modifier comprises at least two flow modifiers nested inside one another.
18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the at least one flow modifier comprises a half cylinder mounted on the top surface of the base.
19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the base comprises a concrete slab resting on the floor of the water source and having the body and the at least one curved screen mounted thereon.
20. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a plurality of anchors affix edges of the body and the at least one curved screen to the base.
21. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one curved screen comprises a cylindrical screen partially embedded in the base.
22. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the base comprises a barrier disposed at one end thereof in a flow path of the water source.
23. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the barrier extends to a height of the body disposed on the base.
24. The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising a manifold disposed in the at least one curved screen for receiving a supply of air.
25. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one curved screen comprises:
- a plurality of ribs disposed along a length of the at least one curved screen; and
- a plurality of wires disposed across the ribs.
26. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the body comprises a half cylinder mounted on the top surface of the base.
27. A screen intake method, comprising:
- constructing a platform having a top surface;
- mounting a body on the top surface of the platform;
- mounting at least one curved screen on the top surface of the platform adjacent the body such that an interior of the at least one curved screen communicates with a hollow of the body;
- disposing the platform, the body, and the at least one curved screen in a water source; and
- connecting an outlet of the body to piping.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 23, 2012
Publication Date: Feb 21, 2013
Applicant: Johnson Screens, Inc. (Houston, TX)
Inventor: Johnson Screens, Inc. (Houston, TX)
Application Number: 13/658,716
International Classification: B01D 29/13 (20060101); B01D 29/66 (20060101); B23P 11/00 (20060101); B01D 29/00 (20060101);