Case Study: Hydro International and the University of the West of England

Vortex technology has spiralling benefits

The environment is under pressure to cope with rising levels of wastewater and stormwater runoff. Every year, more land is covered by new housing and industrial estates, interfering with natural drainage. Also, new legislation insists that water companies meet the highest standards in wastewater treatment. Added to this, the need to alleviate flooding has been an ever-present phenomenon during recent warmer, wetter winters.

A company using innovative vortex technology to treat storm and wastewater, Hydro International, called on UWE’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences to help streamline its design processes. The cylindrical, underground structures, normally custom-designed for each client, vary in size from 0.5 metre to 20 metres in diameter. Once installed, the equipment relies on the natural forces of gravity and hydrodynamics, and is low-cost to operate.

UK Managing Director Chris Williams said that Hydro’s products differ from conventional technology due to their sustainable design, which does not rely on power or moving parts. "The project with UWE has been an important component in helping Hydro achieve efficiency gains and growth targets by streamlining our in-house processes with the use of concurrent engineering. The project is seen as a key element in helping the business meet its demanding capital programme."

Programme leader Dr John Lanham said that the University’s input focussed on investigating the company’s use of computer-aided design, and recommending an integrated design approach. Staff designing new installations can therefore take complex calculations from previous designs into account, shortening lead-times and reducing costs.

One of a growing number of Government-subsidised Knowledge Transfer Partnerships managed by UWE, the Hydro project has had important benefits for the University too. By acting as academic supervisors on the two-year project, UWE staff have been able to put their knowledge to work helping to ensure teaching and research is grounded in real-life situations. In a second Knowledge Transfer Partnership, staff from the Business School helped supervise the development of a marketing strategy for the company.