Characterisation of pneumatic conveying systems using the Euler/Lagrange approach

Abstract

This paper deals with the transport of solid particles in pneumatic conveying systems, namely a 5 m horizontal pipe, a 90° bend and 5 m a vertical pipe. The pipe diameter is 150 mm in all cases and the average conveying velocity is 27 m/s. Three-dimensional stationary numerical computations were performed by the Euler/Lagrange approach in connection with the k–ε turbulence model accounting for full two-way coupling. Particle transport is calculated by considering all the relevant forces (including drag, gravity and transverse lift forces) and dispersion due to turbulence. Particle–wall collisions and wall roughness are modelled according to Sommerfeld and Huber [1] and inter-particle collisions are described by the stochastic modelling approach of Sommerfeld [2]. The objective of the present contribution is to demonstrate the capability of this computational approach for accurately predicting more complex pneumatic conveying systems where the transported powder has a rather wide size distribution. In particular the effect of inter-particle collisions will be demonstrated