Fundamental studies of plugging in multiphase flows with adhesive particles
When the sticky particles are dispersed in a pipe flow they may agglomerate and deposit on the walls. In many cases this leads to formation of plugs that block the pipe. The problem is crucial for the processing industry as technological plugs lead to unwanted environmental and financial loss. Even more dramatically, plugs in blood vessels disorder hemodynamics, increasing mortality risk. Although plugging is common in daily life (e.g. sink clogging), the process is driven by complex inter-related phenomena and therefore is not entirely understood. This project, first of its kind, aims to investigate plugging by means of numerical modeling. In contrast to previous studies, the model, based on a revisited CFD-DEM principle, will accurately simulate attractive particulate interactions on "particle-by-particle" principle while being computationally intensive to reproduce a real-scale plug. The model will implement collisional schemes already developed by the applicant. The accuracy of the model will be verified with the high-resolution positron emission particle tracking technique (PEPT). An important advantage of the project is to elucidate plugging with PEPT, that has never been done before. Globally the project will provide a fundamental understanding of the influence of dimensionless flow parameters on the kinetics of plugging. Flow maps of the plugging regime are among the most important deliverables of the planned study. They will provide the Norwegian industry with a valuable tool for avoiding plug formation already at the design stage. This project will establish a new direction at HVL, aiming to increase levels of environmental safety and production efficiency for the Norwegian processing industry. This activity connects to our recently launched PhD program in engineering computing and builds a new inter-disciplinary research group in Western Norway, collaborating with already established researchers in Norway and abroad.