ESTIMATION OF EMPIRICAL COEFFICIENTS OF A GRANULAR FILTRATION MODEL

In this paper a methodology comprising a non-linear least-squares algo rithm for determining the empirical parameters of a filtration model i s presented and is rested against literature data. Through the case st udy it is found that incorporation of a multiplication factor for the sum of the square of errors associated with effluent quality could lea d to a more balanced estimation of parameters, while achieving a bette r fit for both effluent quality and headless. In the case study it is found that the shape of the fitted effluent quality curve has signific ant impact on the values of the model parameters. The proposed algorit hm appears to be well suited for obtaining the best fit for both efflu ent quality and headless, simultaneously. The value of the multiplicat ion factor should be fixed based on the accuracy required under both e ffluent quality and headless predictions. The model parameters predict ed under each of the case studies, correlated well with the experiment al observations. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.