Modeling Dense-Phase Pneumatic Conveying of Powders Using Suspension Density

This article presents results of an investigation into the modeling of pressure drop in horizontal straight pipe section for fluidized dense-phase pneumatic conveying of powders. Suspension density and superficial air velocity have been used to model pressure drop for two-phase solids-gas flow. Two applicable models formats (developed by other researchers using two different definitions of suspension density) were used to represent the pressure drop due to solids-gas flow through straight pipe sections. Models were generated based on the test data of conveying power-station fly ash and electrostatic precipitator (ESP) dust (median particle diameter: 30 and 7 µm; particle density: 2300 and 3637 kg m^?3; loose-poured bulk density: 700 and 610 kg m^?3, respectively) through a relatively short length of a smaller diameter pipeline. The developed models were evaluated for their scale-up accuracy and stability by using them to predict the total pipeline pressure drop (with appropriate bend model) for 69 mm I.D. × 168 m; 105 mm I.D. × 168 m and 69 mm I.D. × 554 m pipes and comparing the predicted versus with experimental data. Results show that both the models with suspension density and air velocity generally provide relatively better prediction compared to the conventional use of solids loading ratio and Froude number. For fly ash, the two formats result in considerable different predictions, whereas they provide relatively similar results for ESP dust.