Planned to be a compendium of AguaClara research and design methods, the “AguaClara textbook” titled The Physics of Water Treatment Design has become an indispensable resource of AguaClara design. Over the past several years, many individuals have contributed their time and knowledge in developing what the textbook has become.
Not simply a narrative of how designs come to be, the textbook also includes design challenges for students taking the Safe Water on Tap course. These challenges are supported by direct links to Onshape 3D Models, the derivations of key principles, a glossary, parameter convention list, and links to interactive code snippets where users can see directly how changes will affect the design.
The homepage of the textbook
The recent additions mentioned above supplement most chapters, allowing students to have nearly all course documents in one place, as well as a straightforward means to edit the design challenges. Within most chapters, the structure follows a pattern: the introduction to the component followed by derivations, then design, then the Design Challenge, ending with design solutions and future work. This structure allows readers to understand the big picture before working on the design and solving the design challenge.
The design challenges are incorporated into the text to make it easy for students to connect the design challenges to course concepts.
Another feature, designed specifically with readers in mind, is the labeling and tagging of each equation, image, heading, and reference. This allows these features to be linked within the text and can send the reader directly back to where the equation or image was first cited. The tagged headings allow important portions of the text to be cited specifically. This is helpful in guiding students towards the cited concepts in place of page numbers, which are not present in the website version of the text.
This equation is named and is automatically linked when you refer to its name elsewhere in the text. This makes it simple to refer back to other concepts.
Another unique feature of the textbook is the publishing rate of new versions. With a typical textbook, years go by before edits can be made and published. However, in our textbook, once an edit is made, a new version can be available in a few minutes. This rapid turnover means that the information is rarely out of date. The rapid changes also ensure that the textbook is never finished.
The version number can be found in the upper left-hand part of the webpage, it is updated every time a new version is pushed.
Every design change made, and each insight gained, leads to a better, more thorough version. We know that it is a short walk to the edge of knowledge and this textbook lets that be true, in a way impossible through traditional methods. Every set of reviewers makes changes to make the material easier for students and others to understand, and this allows the text to be something that can change depending on the needs of users. Some plans for the future are to simplify the way in which edits are proposed, as well as adding additional sections on plant operation and troubleshooting challenges, along with the tentative completion of several additional sections. Though it will never be truly complete, The Physics of Water Treatment Design is an incredible resource for anyone interested in learning about the AguaClara design philosophy and treatment technology.
Check out the textbook and let us know what you think!
Blog post author: Clare O’Connors