Numerical simulation on transportation behavior of dense coarse particles in vertical pipe with an optimized Eulerian–Lagrangian method

Solid–liquid two-phase flow with dense coarse particles in the pipeline exists widely in energy and resources engineering, especially in the prospective hydraulic lifting scenario of deep-sea mining. In this paper, the coarse particles' transportation behavior in a vertical pipe is investigated based on an optimized Eulerian–Lagrangian method proposed in our previous work. The coarse particle transportation in the vertical pipe is characterized as multi-processes and multi-physical effects and is not fully captured due to the limitations on experimental apparatus, experimental measurement techniques, and numerical simulation techniques. Little research has been done on the local characteristics of the flow and their effect on the hydraulic lifting performance. The characteristics of the internal flow field, particle retention, and hydraulic lifting efficiency are disturbed under the condition of the continuous supply with the constant inlet two-phase concentration and velocity. The simulation results illustrate that particle transportation process can be roughly divided into three stages, single phase flow stage, mixing stage, and stable transportation stage, and shows a dilute-dense non-continuous flow pattern due to particle retention. Based on parametric studies, the retention phenomenon is alleviated by the increase in the water inlet velocity and almost disappears at approximately 12 000 of the Reynolds number, where the flow pattern transition occurs. Finally, the hydraulic lifting performance, such as a critical lifting condition and the friction loss, is analyzed and the transition of flow pattern is discussed.