Solid-liquid mixture flow through a slim hole annulus with rotating inner cylinder

An experimental study was conducted to study solid-liquid mixture upward hydraulic transport of solid particles in vertical and inclined annuli with rotating inner cylinder. Lift forces acting on a fluidized particle play a central role in many important applications, such as the removal of drill cuttings in horizontal drill holes, sand transport in fractured reservoirs and sediment transport, etc. Annular fluid velocities varied from 0.4 m/s to 1.2 m/s. Effect of annulus inclination and drill pipe rotation on the carrying capacity of drilling fluid, particle rising velocity, and pressure drop in the slim hole annulus have been measured for fully developed flows of water and of aqueous solutions of sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and bentonite, respectively. For higher particle feed concentration, the hydraulic pressure drop of mixture flow increases due to the friction between the wall and solids or among solids. This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor Gihun Son Sang-Mok Han received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Sung-kyunkwan University in 2001. He then went on to receive his M.S. degrees from Sungkyunkwan University in 2003. He is a candidate for Ph.D. from 2006 to the present at the School of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon, Korea. His research interests are in the area of Multi-phase flow and drilling. Nam-Sub Woo received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University in 1997. He then went on to receive his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Sunkyunkwan University in 1999 and 2007, respectively. Dr. Woo is currently a Senior Researcher at the Fire & Engineering Services Research Center at Korea Institute of Construction and Technology in Goyang, Korea. Dr. Woo’s research interests are in the area of fluid dynamics and plant engineering. Young-Kyu Hwang received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Sungkyunkwan University in 1977. He then went on to receive his M.S. from University of Wis-consin at Madison in 1980 and Ph.D. degrees from State Uni-versity of New York at Buffalo in 1984, respectively. Dr. Hwang has served as a Professor, from 1984 to the present at the School of Mechanical Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon, Korea. His research interests are in the area of drilling hydraulics, molecular gas flow and hydrodynamic instability.