Flow pattern maps for particle-fluid mixture transport in a horizontal pipe - application of a three-layer model

A modified three-layer model was applied to model particle-fluid mixture flow in a horizontal pipe, the viscoelastic properties of carrier polymer solution were taken into consideration, and the Deborah number was used to calculate solid-fluid friction factor. An energy equation was applied to determine temperature distribution of carrier fluid along a horizontal pipe to accurately represent the rheological properties of carrier fluid. During the transport process, particles quickly settle out of carrier fluid and accumulate on pipe bottom forming a particle bed, so a particle bed load flow is observed. The transport mechanisms of particles in moving particle bed are govern by fluidization, which causes the height of this layer to be small and equal to 2～5 times of particle diameter. In addition, the pressure drop is composed of solid-fluid and solid-solid friction loss, which dominate the hydrodynamic performance at different stages.