Study of the gas-solid flow characteristics of ice particles in helically coiled tubes

Abstract

Efficient drilling operations in polar regions are crucial given their unique climate and surface conditions. To improve drilling efficiency, a novel technology utilizing helically coiled tubes (HCT) for transporting ice particles has been proposed. This study focuses on the gas-solid flow characteristics of ice particles within the HCT employing the Eulerian-Eulerian models of Ansys-Fluent 2022 R2. Numerical simulations were validated against experimental data, showing good agreement with a maximum error of merely 11.27%. Three distinct flow regions perpendicular to the flow direction were observed, influenced by centrifugal force and secondary flow. The inlet gas velocity, tube inner diameter, coil diameter, particle diameter, and penetration rate all affected the ice particle transport ratio (ITR) and the pressure drop in the HCT. Notably, increasing the tube inner diameter from 30 mm to 75 mm led to a remarkable 398.7% rise in the ITR, while particle diameter changes minimally affected ITR.