Critical Review of Mechanistic and Empirical (Semimechanistic) Models for Particle Removal From Sandbed Deposits in Horizontal Annuli With Water

Abstract

Summary An experimental study was conducted to investigate turbulent flow of water over a cuttings bed by use of a large-scale horizontal-flow loop. A nonintrusive laser-based-imaging technique was used to determine instantaneous local velocity near the stationary sandbed/fluid interface in the horizontal annulus. The velocity measured directly at the sandbed/fluid interface was then used for critical evaluation of the accuracy of the assumptions and correlations commonly used for development of mechanistic and semimechanistic sediment-transport models. In particular, effects of turbulent velocity fluctuations on the magnitude of the hydrodynamic drag and lift forces and the interfacial (bed) shear stress are investigated.