Computational method for coal slurry pipelines with heterogeneous size distribution

Abstract Design of industrial slurry pipelines is usually performed by applying semi-empirical procedures, requiring a significant experimental study for each project. This paper presents a new computational technique for coal slurry pipelines based on a two-phase flow analysis. The calculation model gives numerical solutions for the concentration, velocity and particle size distributions in the pipeline cross-section, which can be integrated to provide mean velocities and flowrates, delivered concentration, etc. Design calculations for headlosses can be performed using this approach for any set of given conditions: the properties of the transported material, carrier liquid and pipeline. The computational technique was developed using data for uniform sand—water mixtures flowing in pipelines of 51.5 mm, 263 mm and 495 mm diameter. The approach is extended to coal—water mixtures with heterogeneous size distribution of particles, and tested with experimental measurements in pipelines of 158 mm and 495 mm diameter. The model is shown to be a useful vehicle for generalizing experimental measurements and scale-up to headloss predictions.