Effect of Loading on Stiffener Configurations for an Actiflo Clarifier

This report presents a study of an Actiflo Clarifier designed by Veolla Water Solutions in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Actiflo is a water purification system which can handle 10 ML of water per day. The current system is over designed. The tank is relatively large and made of thin plates; hence it has to be reinforced with stiffeners. The stiffener design requires that less material be used than the existing design but not to compromise the structural integrity of the system. It is also required to reduce the cost of production by using fewer materials. Using AutoCAD Invertor 2016, a basic model of the Actiflo is developed. Three different stiffeners configurations for the model are simulated against a predicted hydraulic pressure. Stress and deflection results are obtained for each stiffener configuration. The simulations and costing matrix indicate that Configuration 3 is most suited for this design. Configuration 3 uses 200x75 mm parallel flange channels that are setup longitudinally and transversely on the outer surfaces of the clarifier. This configuration produced the smallest deflection during simulation making it an effective stiffener. The configurations and test results are presented herein.