Experimental Study of Low Concentration Sand Transport in Multiphase Air–Water Horizontal Pipelines

Abstract

The ultimate goal of this work is to determine the minimum flow rates necessary for effective transport of sand in a pipeline carrying multiphase flow. In order to achieve this goal, an experimental study is performed in a horizontal pipeline using water and air as carrier fluids. In this study, successful transport of sand is defined as the minimum flow rates of water and air at which all sand grains continue to move along in the pipe. The obtained data cover a wide range of liquid and gas flow rates including stratified and intermittent flow regimes. The effect of physical parameters such as sand size, sand shape, and sand concentration is experimentally investigated in 0.05 and 0.1 m internal diameter pipes. The comparisons of the obtained data with previous studies show good agreement. It is concluded that the minimum flow rates required to continuously move the sand increases with increasing sand size in the range examined and particle shape does not significantly affect sand transport. Additionally, the data show the minimum required flow rates increase by increasing sand concentration for the low concentrations considered, and this effect should be taken into account in the modeling of multiphase sand transport.