Intake screen systems

Intake screen systems

A different form of stationary water intake from surface water sources, such as submerged intakes for power, pulp and paper, or petrochemical industries, uses cylindrical screens at the inlet of the intake pipe, in single or multiple designs, as
shown in Figure 3.9. These can usually be optimized to accommodate any set of conditions. In river systems, the screen cylinders are normally placed parallel to

the river flow to take advantage of that flow. In reservoirs or where severe seasonal changes in water depth are possible, an array of intake screens can be used to allow extraction from selected levels.

Biofouling can be a problem in marine intake systems, to which one solution is the use of copper-nickel materials to discourage potential encrusting life. On occasions it will be necessary to position screens where access is either difficult or
limited, or in conditions where there is a high concentration of debris, so that cleaning of the screens is necessary if the system is to continue to function effectively. A normally used method is by air flushing, where a measured burst of air is released inside the screens, so as to force accumulated debris to break away from the screen, to be carried away by the ambient flow.