WAVELIKE MOTION OF PARTICULATE SLUGS IN A HORIZONTAL PNEUMATIC PIPELINE

Abstract In the pneumatic transport of polyethylene pellets in the horizontal pipeline, wavelike slugs which resemble solitary waves in an open channel are observed in a settled layer of the particles when a superficial air velocity is smaller than the saltation velocity by Zenz and those transport characteristics such as travelling velocity, length, period of appearance and pressure drop are measured. It is found that the pressure drop by the wavelike slug is estimated by the Ergun equation for the fixed bed.