Reduced Membrane Fouling Potential by Tailored Fluid/Structure Interaction. Desalination and Water Purification Research and Development Program Report No. 143; Rept. for Oct 05-Jun 07

摘要

Vibratory elements within the feed spacer of a spiral-wound element can be beneficial to reduce the membrane fouling potential and can disrupt the concentration polarization layer. The desired result is longer life for the membrane and increased permeate flux and purity. Using the feed spacer geometry of a commercially available spiral-wound reverse osmosis cartridge, we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to assess what change in the surface shear stress and concentration could be effected by the incorporation of a dynamic element within the current feed spacer design. The simulation results from several designs showed that a cantilevered ribbon with a fluttering motion caused an increase in the salt concentration and surface shear stress of 1 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Further promotion of the concept requires investigation of the fluid-structure response via coupled CFD/finite element structural analysis and then a confirmatory experiment.