Improving efficiency of Archimedes screw pumps

阿基米德螺杆泵（ASP）是一种独特的高流量、低扬程泵。ASP可以为具有挑战性泵送要求的行业提供解决方案，包括移动食品级液体，生物危害材料，含有悬浮固体的液体或活鱼。虽然ASP已经存在了几千年，并广泛用于废水和排水应用，但几乎没有可用的研究或工程设计指导。ASP主要是一种经验技术。这使得为特定应用程序设计优化的ASP变得困难。我们相信，有很大的机会，以提高效率和性能的ASP应用知识，从不断增长的领域使用阿基米德螺杆发电，并应用现代模拟和实验技术。该项目是圭尔夫大学和安大略省Bluestreak设备公司之间的研究伙伴关系，他们两人在研究、设计和实施阿基米德螺旋生成器方面都有丰富的经验。该项目合作伙伴关系将利用过去的经验和为支持它而开发的研究基础设施（实验室和计算模拟），以填补ASP上重要的工程知识空白。具体而言，我们将完成现场和实验室实验，并开发计算流体动力学（CFD）模拟，以提供有关ASP最佳水位，配置和操作条件的新知识。这一新知识将被纳入一个半自动化的软件工具，将允许为特定的网站和应用程序设计优化的ASP。泵是工业和水处理中的重要能源消耗者。实际上，与其他工业技术相比，泵效率相对较低，特别是在泵送受污染或复杂流体时。ASP提供了在废水、水产养殖和食品加工等具有挑战性的应用中提供高效率（>85%）、高可靠性泵送的机会。目前加拿大没有ASP制造商，ASP是从外国生产商进口的：该项目将支持发展具有竞争力的加拿大ASP行业。

The Archimedes screw pump (ASP) is a unique form of high volume, low head pump. ASPs can provide solutions for industries with challenging pumping requirements, including moving food-grade liquids, biohazardous materials, liquids containing suspended solids, or live fish. Although ASPs have existed for millenia and are widely used in waste water and drainage applications, there is little available research or engineering design guidance. ASPs are mostly an empirical technology. This makes designing ASPs optimized for specific applications difficult. We believe that there is significant opportunity to improve the efficiency and performance of ASPs by applying knowledge from the growing field using Archimedes screws to generate electricity, and applying modern simulation and experimental techniques. This project is a research partnership between the University of Guelph, and Ontario-based Bluestreak Equipment Inc., both of whom have significant experience researching, designing and implementing Archimedes screw generators. This project partnership will leverage this past experience and the research infrastructure (laboratory and computational simulation) developed to support it, to fill important missing engineering knowledge gaps on ASPs. Specifically, we will complete field and laboratory experiments, and develop computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to provide new knowledge on the optimal water levels, configurations, and operating conditions for ASPs. This new knowledge will be incorporated into a semi-automated software tool that will allow design of optimized ASPs for specific sites and applications. Pumps are significant energy consumers in industry and water treatment. In practice, pump efficiency is relatively low compared to other industrial technologies, particularly when pumping contaminated or complex fluids. ASPs present an opportunity to provide high efficiency (>85%), high reliability pumping in challenging applications like waste water, aquaculture and food processing. There are currently no Canadian ASP manufacturers, and ASPs are imported from foreign producers: this project will support the development of a competitive, Canadian ASP industry.