An Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics to Optimize Municipal Sewage Networks; A Case of Tororo Municipality, Eastern Uganda.

Abstract

Two-phase pipe flow is a common occurrence in many industrial applications such as sewage, water, oil, and gas transportation. Accurate prediction of liquid velocity, holdup and pressure drop is of vast importance to ensure effective design and operation of fluid transport systems. This paper aimed at the simulation of a twophase flow of air and sewage (water) using an open source software OpenFOAM. Numerical Simulations have been performed using varying dimensions of pipes as well as their inclinations. Specifically, a Standard k-𝜀 turbulence model and the Volume of Fluid (VOF) free water surface model is used to solve the turbulent mixture flow of air and sewage (water). A two dimensional, 0.5m diameter pipe of 20m length is used for the CFD approach based on the Navier-Stokes equations. Results showed that the flow pattern behaviour is influenced by the pipe diameters as well as their inclination. It is concluded that the most effective way to optimize a sewer network system for Tororo Municipality conditions and other similar situations, is by adjusting sewer diameters and slope gradients and expanding the number of sewer network connections of household and industries from 535 (i.e., 31.2% of total) to at least 1,200 (70% of total).