Numerical Investigation of Slurry Pressure Drop at Different Pipe Roughness in a Straight Pipe Using CFD

Abstract

Slurry flow (water–glass beads) through a horizontal pipe of diameter, 0.0549 m and length, 3.8 m with two particle sizes, i.e., 125- and 440-micron, has been numerically modeled and investigated based on the kinetic theory of slurry transportation. The effect of particles interaction on the pipe flow characteristics such as velocity profile, wall shear stress, vector regime, granular pressure and temperature has been evaluated at different solid concentration and flow velocity range. It is well established that the pressure drop is the key parameter for the design of efficient slurry pipeline system, which is influenced by factors such as flow velocity, slurry viscosity, solid concentration, pipe material and pipe geometry. However, to best of our knowledge, the estimation of pressure drop at different pipe roughness height and a concentration range of 40–60% is not yet established. Therefore, in the present work, the numerical simulation is carried out for slurry flow through a horizontal pipeline at different roughness heights (Rh = 10–50 micron) and Prandtl numbers, i.e., 1.34, 2.14, 3.42 and 5.83. The kinetic parameters are calculated at a flow velocity (Vm) of 1–5 ms−1 and solid concentration (Cw) range of 40–60%. The results and procedure of the current simulation are validated against the available experimental results in the literature. The outcomes of the present work reveals that pressure drop increases with increase in pipe roughness height for the chosen velocity and solid concentration range. In addition, the larger particle is found to have more influence on the pressure, velocity, temperature distribution for the entire range of flow velocity and solid concentration. Furthermore, settling velocity and specific energy consumption are also predicted and discussed through the slurry pipeline. The findings show that the settling velocity of particle increases with increase in particle size at different Prandtl number. The energy efficiency for solid transportation through pipeline at different Prandtl numbers and particle size are also evaluated. Based on the results, it is concluded that specific energy efficiency varies with solid concentration and particle size, i.e., higher concentration and larger particle size demonstrates higher energy consumption. Furthermore, fluid at low Prandtl number exhibits higher energy consumptions. In order to design the efficient slurry pipeline system, it is recommended that the slurry must be transported at low velocity and high Prandtl number.