TechMemo005-7RossumTester 000

Roscoe Moss Company Technical Memorandum 005-7
Monitoring Sand Content: The Rossum Tester

Introduction
The bane of many well operators is sand that is produced during pumping. While it is not
uncommon for a small quantity of sand to be discharged during start up, chronic sand
production will usually accelerate the normal wear of impellers and other pump parts and
clogs meters and valves. If left uncontrolled, sanding also increases the frequency of
equipment maintenance and replacements, and causes nuisance problems for pipelines and
water storage facilities. Whether the cause for sand production is design related or the result
of corrosion, it is important to monitor the quantity of sand that is discharged from the well on
a regular schedule.
Sand production is a key criterion of new wells and should be carefully monitored when the
well is developed and pump tested. During the early stage of well development, the quantity
of sand discharged often exceeds 50 milligrams per liter (mg/l). Such concentrations are
expected and even desirable. Precise measurements of sand content during this phase of
well completion can be made with an Imhoff cone or other suitable device. However, in the
later stage of well development and during performance testing, accurate sand content
measurements are needed. In fact, most operators cite a specific criterion in well
construction specifications that defines the upper limit of sand production that is acceptable.
Generally, this can range from 15 mg/L to less than 1 mg/L.
During a well’s life, sand production may increase for various reasons. For example,
corrosion of casing and/or screen may allow for passage of sand into the well. Or, a poorly
selected gravel pack might be unable to filter fine sand from passing through the well screen.
In either case, if routine sand monitoring were conducted, the change in sand content could
signal the problem to the well owner.
For monitoring sand content during a pump test or at regular intervals during a well’s life,
American Water Works Association (AWWA) Standard A-100 suggests the use of the
Rossum Sand Tester (RST). An RST is easy to operate, low in cost, reliable, and widely
used in the water industry.
Theory and Design of the Rossum Sand Tester
The RST functions like a centrifugal sand separator and is used to measure the quantity of
sand in milligrams per liter (mg/L). The recommended setup of the RST is to connect it to ¼-
inch diameter pipe at the midline of the discharge line, as shown below on Figure 1. By
opening the gate valve on the ¼-inch line, water from the well is directed into the centrifugal
cylinder. A constant flow of water should be maintained by a control valve rated at 0.5
gallons per minute (gpm) (Rossum, 1954). Water entering the tester circulates at high speed
and spins the sand up against the side of the chamber. As the sand settles out, it collects in
a graduated tube that is attached to the bottom of the tester.
Figure 1
Sand Content Monitoring
The RST is an effective device for measuring sand content at concentrations less than 50
mg/L. This makes it very useful to monitor sand content while pumping a well at a high rate
of discharge during development and production testing. The tester can be used to measure
sand content in any water system; however the water sample for sand determination must be
carefully obtained. A sample connected from a horizontal pipe at a low velocity is
unacceptable. The sample may be obtained from a vertical pipe or a horizontal pipe with
highly turbulent flow. Samples taken immediately downstream from elbows, tees, and other
fittings that create turbulence are generally satisfactory if the water velocity is 5 feet per
second or more. Readings taken close to the pump discharge head will have required
turbulence.
The sampling procedure is as follows:
1. Install the RST as shown in Figure 1. The inlet should be located on the horizontal
centerline of the discharge pipe and positioned as close to the discharge head or
other turbulent flow area as possible.
2. Open the inlet valve to the tester wide open. Adjust the outlet valve to 0.5 gpm. A
flow of 0.5 gpm will fill a 1 quart container in 30 seconds or 1 gallon container in 2
minutes.
3. Close the inlet valve, remove, clean, and replace the glass tube.
4. When ready to start the sand content test, open the inlet valve wide open and note
the time.
2
5. After 5 minutes, record the accumulated sand. The sand rate is the accumulated
sand divided by the time it took to accumulate. The test can be repeated or run for
longer periods of time. To see the effects of surging a well, the test is often run
following surging and after a period of steady discharge.
6. Check the flow rate through the tester during each run. If the flow rate is not 0.5 gpm,
repeat the test.
7. Record the pump discharge rate (in gpm) during each sand test and note whether
any surging was done prior to the test.
Calculations
The sand rate in milliliters per minute (ml/min) is used with the flow rate of 0.5 gpm to
determine the rate of sand production per unit of water, as shown in Calculation 1. The
answer will be milliliters of sand per milliliters of water (ml of sand/mil of water), as shown in
Calculation 2. This answer is converted to parts per million (ppm), as shown in Calculation 3.
Sand (ml)_ = Sand rate (ml/min) (1)

Time (min)
Sand rate (ml/min)______ = ml of sand/ml of water (2)

0.5 gpm x 231 in3 x 16.387 ml/in3
Conversion to parts per million (ppm) = ml of sand/ml of water x 1,000,000 (3)
Example:
Measured sand = 0.1 ml
Time of test or accumulation = 10 minutes
Sand rate = 0.1 ml = 0.01 ml/min

10 min
ppm = 0.1 ml/min____________ x 1,000,000

0.5 gpm x 231 in3 x 16.387 ml/in3
= 5.28 ppm
Summary
The RST makes accurate sand content measurements an easy, straightforward and low cost
task. The device can be used for monitoring during later stage of development when sand
content is below 50 mg/l, during production testing, and in routine monitoring events
conducted during the well’s regular operation. The real value of the RST is that it makes it
easy to track changes in sand production whenever such data are needed. Noticeable
increases in sand production often indicate that further investigation of the well is needed,
particularly if the sand content approaches or exceeds the operator’s upper limit of tolerance.
3
References
American Water Works Association, 1997, Standard for Water Wells, A100-97.
California Department of Water Resources, 1981, Water Well Standards: State of California,
Bulletin 74-81.
Handbook of Ground Water Development, 1990, Roscoe Moss Company, John Wiley and
Sons, New York, NY
Rossum, John R., 1954, Control of Sand in Water Systems, reprinted from Journal American
Water Works Association, Vol. 26, No. 2, February 1954.
The Engineer’s Manual for Water Well Design, 1985, Roscoe Moss Company.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1975, Manual of Water Well Construction Practices,
EPA-570-75-001.
About the Author

Robert Turnbull is the Chief Hydrogeologist of Roscoe Moss Company. In this capacity he
provides technical support, as needed, to consultants, municipalities, and water districts to plan
and design water supply wells. He can be contacted for such information or to answer inquires
regarding this technical memorandum via email at rturnbull@roscoemoss.com. His website is
www.blthydro.com. The corporate website for Roscoe Moss Company is
www.roscoemoss.com.

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Roscoe Moss Company Technical Memorandum 005-7

Monitoring Sand Content: The Rossum Tester

Theory and Design of the Rossum Sand Tester

Sand Content Monitoring

The sampling procedure is as follows:

Sand (ml)_ = Sand rate (ml/min) (1)

Sand rate (ml/min)______ = ml of sand/ml of water (2)

Conversion to parts per million (ppm) = ml of sand/ml of water x 1,000,000 (3)

Measured sand = 0.1 ml

Time of test or accumulation = 10 minutes

Sand rate = 0.1 ml = 0.01 ml/min

ppm = 0.1 ml/min____________ x 1,000,000

About the Author

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