Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of three-phase non-Newtonian slurry flows in industrial horizontal pipelines

TL;DR

This study uses CFD simulations to analyze three-phase non-Newtonian slurry flows in horizontal pipelines, providing insights for waste management and bitumen separation with high accuracy compared to field data.

Contribution

It introduces a coupled mixture multiphase and granular flow model for simulating complex slurry transport in industrial pipelines, validated against real-world data.

Findings

Simulation accuracy with <3.5% velocity error

Pressure drop predictions within 15% of field data

Bitumen droplets tend to accumulate at the top of the pipe

Abstract

Understanding the flow behavior of complex concentrated slurries is of tremendous importance for industrial waste management. In this study, the transport of three-phase oil sands tailings in a horizontal pipeline is simulated via the mixture multiphase model coupled with the kinetic theory of granular flow. The solid particles and bitumen droplets are conveyed via a non-Newtonian carrier fluid in a turbulent regime inside an industrial-scale pipeline. The simulation results showed exceptional agreement with the field data, with errors of <3.5% for velocity distribution and <15% for the pressure drop. A systematic parametric investigation was performed for a wide range of flow conditions, showing that the majority of bitumen droplets reside at the top region of the pipe. Our findings may help design an effective process for the separation of bitumen residues during pipeline transport.