Modeling of slurry flow: The effect of particle size

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Abstract
A system of differential equations to obtain concentration and velocity distributions for quasi‐uniform particle slurry flows is presented. Numerical solutions for various flow conditions have been obtained using an explicit algorithm. A “supported load” concept is proposed to explain the type of interaction through contact between solid particles in neighboring layers or between particles and the pipe wall. In the analysis, the relative contributions of terms describing turbulent shear stresses, particle interactions, and mixing effects vary with the dimensions of solid particles.The approach is tested for four kinds of sand of narrow size distributions (d = .65 mm, .48 mm, .52 mm and 13 mm), flowing with water in pipelines of various diameters (between 50 and 500 mm), at concentrations below 40% by volume. The coefficients used to estimate local parametes of the two‐phase model are related to particle diameter. A comparison of numerical predictions and measurements of concentrations, velocities and headlosses shows the applicability of the model and the possibility of extrapolating available experimental results.

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