Abstract

Airlift pumps use compressed gas to transport liquids and solid particles. Due to the lack of theoretical equations for airlift pump design and prediction of its flow regimes, numerical or experimental investigations must be carried out to find the best condition to operate it with high efficiency. For low volumetric fractions of small solid particles, the flow in airlift pumps may be simplified using a two phase approximation in which the solid phase is neglected. Then, the system corresponds to a liquid-gas mixture and its determining equations consist of the Navier-Stokes equation, continuity, energy conservation and the phase transport equation. This paper presents numerical studies on the optimization of air–water flow in an airlift pump. The studies were performed using a built-in OpenFOAM solver for the two-phase flow of two compressible fluids. The results of calculations are presented for different air mass-flow rates. The influence of gas mass flow rates on airlift efficiency was investigated.

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