Influence of slug flow on sand dune transport in a 3.6° upward inclined pipeline

Abstract

Abstract This study presents an experimental investigation of sand conveying from a stationary flatbed through two‐phase liquid–gas flows as a function of the fluids flow rates and pipeline orientation (α = 0°, and α = +3.6°). The characteristics of sand particle transportation by saltation, sand dune formation process and morphologies are visualized using a transparent cylindrical acrylic pipeline and digital photography. It was observed that slug flow regime was the dominant mechanism to lift the sand particles for both horizontal and upward inclinations. It was also found that sand dunes deconstructed more quickly at an upward inclination than horizontal position. For the upward inclination, the conveying phenomenon is characterized by sand bed lifting, suspension, and backward entrainment below the air bubble in the water film. Due to the increased liquid flow rates, higher dune velocity is recorded for the inclined condition. The dune pitch length grew for the horizontal configuration after the transient phase, as a result of the gravitational force effect, while it remained constant for the inclined orientation. In both conditions the slip face angle decreased with time; however, for the inclined configuration, this angle was lower because of the higher upstream liquid flow rate. These results provide important insights into the effect of pipe inclination on bed‐load mode solid transport by two‐phase flow inside a closed circular conduit. The obtained experimental data can be used to validate future numerical investigations.

Keywords

• sand particle transport
• slug flow
• three‐phase flow
• upward inclined flow