Numerical prediction of fully-suspended slurry flow in horizontal pipes

Turbulent solid–liquid slurry flows in horizontal pipes are encountered in many engineering fields, such as mining, chemical and petroleum. In many applications, turbulence is effective in keeping all the solids suspended, preventing particle accumulation. A two-fluid model for predicting the main features of fully-suspended slurry flows, namely pressure gradient, solid–volume-fraction distribution, and velocity profile, is presented. The model is robust and numerically stable, and requires relatively low computer time to provide converged steady-state solutions. The novelty of the proposed model and its better performance compared to similar ones resides in the method of accounting for some key physical mechanisms governing these flows, namely turbulent dispersion, interphase friction, and the mechanical contribution to friction. The performance of the model is checked by comparison with experimental data available in the literature over a wide range of operating conditions: pipe diameter between 50 and 150 mm; particle size between 90 and 520 μm; mean delivered solid concentration up to 40% by volume; and slurry superficial velocity between 1 and 7 m/s. The dispersed phase consists of either sand or spherical glass beads.