The project involves the construction of package C2 of the water transmission system from Al Khobar to Al Hofuf.The project is a portable water pumping station & elevated water storage tank located at the Al Hofuf site, in Saudi Arabia. The portable water storage tank consists of two identical compartments of size 19100 cubic meters each. Each compartment will have one inlet pipe connected to a common header to pump the water into the tank and one outlet pipe connected to a common header with two pumps to supply the water to the network.

Mechartes carried out steady-state multiphase CFD analysis for a typical compartment to verify the water flow profiles in the reservoir as well as in the sump where the pump intake opening is located. The study was carried out for the given baffle arrangement, flow rate & water level conditions.

CFD analysis was carried out for the reservoir to study the flow profiles in the compartment for the given baffle arrangement to estimate the residence time and to verify if there are any recirculation regions observed in the compartment for the given flow rate, water level & baffle arrangement conditions.

The objective of the CFD analysis for the reservoir sump where the pump intake opening is located is to assess and anticipate adverse hydraulic conditions that could negatively impact the pump performance near the pump intake.

The flow characteristics in the immediate vicinity of the pump intake for the formation of surface & submerged vortices were also assessed with verification of the pre-swirl angles along with axial velocity variations immediately upstream of the pump intake opening.

The study was carried out based on the relevant ANSI/HI 9.8 guidelines which specify acceptable hydraulic conditions at pump intakes such as acceptable velocity variations & swirl angles at intake of the pumps and type of free surface & submerged vortices that shall be avoided.