Inclined and step screens — mechanically-cleaned inclined bar and movable-lamella step screens that lift debris up and out of the flow, common at river and headworks intakes.
Intake Screening for Water & Desalination Plants
Inclined screens set the bars or mesh at an angle, with a rake or moving lamellae that step captured debris up the face to a discharge point. Step screens use alternating fixed and moving lamellae to “walk” debris upward — an efficient, compact, low-carryover way to capture fine debris between coarse racks and fine screens.
Mechanically-raked inclined bar screens evolved through the early-to-mid twentieth century to automate debris removal at intakes and headworks. The step (movable-lamella) screen was introduced in the 1980s, using interleaved fixed and moving plates to lift fine debris efficiently with no carryover — quickly adopted at water and wastewater inlets worldwide.
Configurations in service
Interleaved fixed/moving lamellae walk debris up the face; 1–6 mm.
Angled bars with a reciprocating or continuous rake.
Several rakes on a chain for deep, high-debris channels.
Inclined perforated/mesh panels for finer capture.
An honest engineering assessment
Typical applications
Inclined and step screens suit river and headworks intakes, pump-station inlets and combined coarse-to-fine duty where efficient debris lifting in a compact channel is needed.
The full intake-screen series
A companion intake-screen type — design, history and trade-offs.
Read MoreA companion intake-screen type — design, history and trade-offs.
Read MoreA companion intake-screen type — design, history and trade-offs.
Read MoreA companion intake-screen type — design, history and trade-offs.
Read MoreA companion intake-screen type — design, history and trade-offs.
Read MoreA companion intake-screen type — design, history and trade-offs.
Read MoreA companion intake-screen type — design, history and trade-offs.
Read MoreA companion intake-screen type — design, history and trade-offs.
Read MoreA companion intake-screen type — design, history and trade-offs.
Read MoreThe screening stage of the seawater intake series.
Read MoreIntake design integrated with SWRO pre-treatment.
Read MoreThe full seawater intake hub — structures, fouling, materials.
Read MoreBar, band and drum screens across our range.
Read MoreOur engineers select and size intake screening — inclined & step and the full train — matched to your debris load, fish-protection duty and downstream process.
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