Modelling Concentrated Slurry Pipeline Flows

A numerical investigation of two-phase solid-liquid (slurry) flow in horizontal pipes has been carried out. Simulations of concentrated slurry flows in pipes 0.0515 m and 0.15 m in diameter were performed using the two-fluid approach implemented in the commercial CFD code, ANSYS CFX. Mixtures of monosized and bimodal particle sizes were tested. Several test cases were investigated to predict particle velocity- and concentration-distributions and frictional pressure gradients. The effects of turbulence model selection, dispersed phase wall boundary conditions, and interphase force terms on model performance were evaluated. The selection of turbulence model had a significant impact on the dispersed phase velocity and concentration distributions. Comparison of simulations with benchmark experimental data shows clearly that for the relatively small particle sizes (∼100 microns), poor solids concentration profile predictions are obtained if the turbulent dispersion force is not included. In general, very good agreement between numerical and experimental results was observed.