Simulation of dilute horizontal pneumatic conveying with experimental validation (PARDEM Project 8)

The main focus of this study is on the experimental and numerical investigation of a dilute horizontal pneumatic conveying. Experiments were performed utilising a 6.5m long, 0.075m diameter horizontal pipe in conjunction with a Laser-Doppler anemometry (LDA) system. Simulations were carried out using the commercial software EDEM and FLUENT. Experimental results illustrated that, for different solid loading ratios, the higher the particle diameter and solid loading ratio, the lower the particle velocity. Additionally, turbulence modulation caused by the addition of spherical particles was measured in the horizontal pneumatic conveying. Results showed that the carrier phase turbulence intensity was augmented by adding particles and the higher the solid loading ratio, the higher the turbulence intensity.In the simulations, it was found that the inclusion of the Magnus lift force and the precise specification of the inlet conditions had a crucial influence on the simulation’s accuracy.