Numerical and Experimental Investigations of Horizontal Turbulent Particle-Liquid Pipe Flow.

Abstract

A Eulerian–Eulerian computational fluid dynamics approach is used in conjunction with appropriate auxiliary models for turbulence and solid dynamic properties to study the complex turbulent flow of particle–liquid suspensions in a horizontal pipe. Numerical simulations of the detailed flow field are fully and successfully validated using a unique experimental technique of positron emission particle tracking. The study includes nearly neutrally buoyant as well as dense particles, ranging from small to large at low to high concentrations, conveyed by a Newtonian liquid. Results are analyzed in terms of radial particle and liquid velocity profiles as well as particle distribution in the pipe. The approach provides predictions with a high degree of accuracy. Particle behavior can be classified into three categories depending on their size and particle–liquid density ratio. An analysis of the forces governing the two-phase flow is used to interpret the phenomena observed.