POWD

ELSEVIER

Powder Technology 95 ~ 1998 i 7-14

A simulation system for pneumatic conveying systems

David J. Mason *, Predrag Marjanovic, Avi Levy
Centre,lot huhi.~trial Bulk Solids Ham//in,e. Deparlm('lll of Physical S('iem'es. Ghlsgmr Caledonian Unir,'rsity, Cow('(uhh,ns Road. Gkzsgow G4 I)BA. UK
Received 30 August 1996: revised 28 April 1997

Abstract
Pneurnai,ic conveying sysi,erns provide a highly flexible means of transporting dry hulk particuhite materials, The main prahlerri encountered

when designing, optimising, or uprating these systems ix the deterrnination of tile air supply necessary to achieve a particular duty ( solids
mass ttow rate ). Many correlations exist i,o predict the pressure drop llecessary to drive the flow, arid Ihe gas velocities necessary fi)r successful
openltion. Unforturiately. i,l'iedesign methods th:lt incorponite these correlatioris are limited in terms of their Ilexibilitv. The developnlent of
this siiriulation resulted fi'orrl the desire to increase the Itexibilii,y of i,he design method, and the need to employ rnore than one pressure drop
con'elai,ion. As a i'e~ult of Ihese i,~o requirerneni,stile prohlen'i of simulating the Ol'~erationof a pneunlati conveying system was re-evaluated.
~;>I t)91.,lElsevier Scielice S.A.
Ko'word,~: PIl~illllalJl" COllte$in~: ('Oil%'e.Vill~{ (ias--solid~ flow: Pil)clinc design

I. Introduction
Pneunmli conveying systems provide a highly flexible
nleans of Iransporlin t dry hi.ilk particulate nlaleril.ils. The
main problem cncoulllercd when designing, optimising, or
upralhig Illcsc ~ystenls is the determination of the air supply
ilcccssary to Itch Jure li partieLihir duly ( solJd~ mass flow i'ille ),
Miul)' orr hititin,,, exist to i'q'cdiet the I'lres~urc drol'l necessary
Io dl'iVc the Ilow, lind till.; Ills velocities ilt2l~.~.,,ilil'yfor slit'
ee~sl'i,iI el)trilliOn, Linforllnlalely, the design nletlll'lds Ihai
hiorpoi'ale Illc~e correhiiioils are linlilcd hi tel'mS ill' their
Ilcxibiliiy, "[lie devclopnlerli of illis SJilluliilion rcstilied fronl
il'le dc~ii'c io increase the tlcxibilily of tl'le desigil i'rieihod, and
the ileed to enlploy nlore than one pi'eSSUl'O drop correlation,
?is li rcstill of IllesC IWo requirements the problem of shnuhiring the operation of :i rmeumalic conveying system was i'eevaluated.
This task was divided into two parts: the prediction of the
system openiling point: and the prediction of the inlhienee of
individual pipeline components orl the llow. This paper discusses the development o1' the algorithm used to predict the
system operating point that is able to answer a nunlber of
system design problems, such as:
I must :i,dlieve It solids throughput of 50 tonne/ll, what
kind of air-mover is necessary?
* Corresponding :luther, Tel.: +44 141 331 3713: fax: +44 141 3448:
e-mail: d,j,mason @gcal,a,Lik
0032-5910/98/$19,00 ~.C>1998 Elsevier Science S.A, All rights reserved
P L I S 0 0 3 2 - 5 9 1 0 ( 9 7 )033 IO-X

! have a Roots type blower ( P ...... < 1.0 bare), what diameter of pipeline do i need to achieve 50 lonne/h':
With a screw compressor(/'.l,,,, < 3.5 bar~ ), what solids
throughput can be achieved in a fl inch i'fipeline?
Models were developed for incot'l'~oratiotl into the simulation to predict the irtiluetlce of individual pipelirie onlpon;2ills,,, These illod~.qs wet' developed to describe a V~,II'Jt21~/()J'
Illod~.',~ of ~y,M~lll ojlertllJoll, sucJl [IS:
low velocity transport, wllcre the solids Ilow is in a nonsuspension mode ( often called dense-phase Ilow )'
the use of ~lcppcd pipclhlcs to comrol the velocity of the
flow:
flows where heat ti'anM'~r is signiliciml.

2. System design algorithm

2. !. De linition ~:l'lhe olwratin~' point of a svs,,m

The operating point of a rmeumatic on,.,eyhlg system can
be specilied by three parameters:
i the mass flow rate of solids Illrough the pipeline:
the mass llow rate of gas used to transport the solids:
the pressure 0top necessary to drive the tlow.
The lirst parameter ::i,ecilies the duly point of the sy stem.
while the other two parameters specify the operating point of
the air-mover ( usually the most expensive component in the
system). Using these three parameter.~, a surface can be

D.,I. M.son <'l al. / l'+,w&'." l'erh.ol,+,,qv ~5 ~ It~tj,+j 7.+.14

Okmlclum Pholphlto
35

Solids loading
ratio [-1
60

Pressure arop [bar]

20

3O
25

40
20
15
10

5
0
0 O0

004
008
Gas mass flow ~te {k~$]

0 12

016

varying between 8 and 20 rn Ibr a single conveying system

and btdk material combination. This variation is due to the
fact that the effect of a bend is proportional to the flow velocity into the bend. which increases along the pipeline as the
conveying gas expands. Thus a sectionwise approach is preferable when modelling the pipeline of a pneumatic conveying
system. Unfortunately. the majority of data available for validation of models lbr pneumatic conveying system (from
bc;rh laboratory and lield systems) is global in nature.
Due to its greater flexibility a sectionwise approach was
used in the development of this sinlulation system.
2.3.

Cah'ulation algorithm

t:i~. I. A t)pical m~eying chanlcteri,,tic.

delined which represents the range of possible operating conditions that can be achieved by a bulk material in a particular
system. This surhlce is COlnmonly referred to as tile conveying ch:mtcteristic for the bulk material I I I.
Fig. I shows a typical conveying ch:lracteristic for dicalcium phosphate 121. in addition to the three variables representing the operating point t'or the system, lines ot'constant
solids loading ratio are shown. The solids loading ratio is the
ratio ol" solids mass flow rate to gas nliiss Ilow rate. and is
used to indicate tile change in solids concentration across tile
conveying characteristic.
The conveying clmracteristic is constrained by:
The conveying ph|nt:
The ~|ir-nlover limits the nlaxitllttnl i'q'e~,ur aild nlaxiIlltll|l Lilt' flow t'Iile,
Tilt' m~litls I'eetl device limit.,, tl, I|l{l~inltll|l ~olitl~ IllIlS'.~
Ilt~W rI|le,
The gasoonly i~re,,,,tire drop Ibr tile i~ipelilw dline,, Ihc
niini|mtt|l pressure drop ft,' Ihe s~ ~,letll.
The ht|lk material:
The properties ol the bulk Imtterial ct,llrol the mini|uu|u

cottve)'ingvelocity,
For the conveyi.g chan|ck'ristic shown ill Fig. I, convey
~n~ phml ct,.ponenls limit the h~wcr, right, and upper extent
.1' the co, veying chan|ctt,ri~lic. The Icli*hand limit is due to
the bulk material and nlarks the boundary bclxveen Ilow ( to
the righl I ~md no flow ( to the lel/).
2.2. I)ilr,lim. (h.wril,i..
There are two conlmo, methods for describing tile pipeline

t~l'a pneumatic cmweying system:

I Glob:,l' Will ~ this method tilt, pipeline is modelled as a
single element, usually by c~ aluating the toni o r tile t,tluivalenl horizontal lengths Ibr each component.
Sectit)nwise: With this method the flow conditions in each
p i ~ l i , e c.mp~ment ure calculated. Thus the el't~.,ct of a
comic)hen| is based ut;on the flow conditions at its
h~ati.n.
Global ex~rimental data obtained in test pn}granmles such
as 131 have fimnd values lbr the equivalent length of a bend

With either of the pipeline descriplions a calculation direclion IllUsl he delennint,d. Since the most COlllnlon requirement is to deterlnint, tile prt,ssure drop necessary to drive tile
llow. calcuhltions often start ill the end of the pipeline where
the pressure is known 141. Thus for a system operating in"
pressure mode. tile outlet pressure is known (approximately ambient ) and the calculation is counter-current:
vactnum mode, tile inlet pressure is kntmn (approximately
ambient ) and tile calculation is co-current.
Tile advanla~v,e of this method is thai i1(i tier|ilion is
required. An alternativt, is always to talc||late in the direction
of Ilow. This .'alternative method provides two n lain benelits:
tilt, Ilow velocity into a pipe conlponent is always known.
which allows tile el'feet o1" bends It1 be motlelled more
accunltely;
tile lenlperalur of tile gas lind solids ill the solids feed
pot|It call be spe~. |lied. which permil.s situations to be nmdelled where the ga,. from the air-nlover is not cooled, or
hol tnlllel'ial honl a process enters tile pipeline.
"rhi~ incthtld tloe~ iV|ill|re MIIII iteration ill order tO achieve
tilt, correct I'~ahlllCI'~elwcen lilt' gas and ,,olitls Ilow rates, mid
tile pl'cssure drop.
The ol~ieclive for the talc||hilton algorithm in the silnulalion system was to be able It) answer cmnmon design prohIt,ills ,~tlch i1~:

What pressure drop is neccssat S to transport 5(1tolme/h

()1"cement Ihmttgh a I110 innl diameter pipeline. 250 m
long?
How nlany toline/h (if l'bolycthylene pellets can be convcycd through a 250 rain diameter pipeline. I(11)nl long
when a Roots type air-lnover is used?
I~ tile existing air-mover for a system capable o1"maintaining a conveying velocity of 15 In/s when tile solids Ilow
rate is increased tO 35 tonne/h and tile pipeline is stepped
I'rl)nl 2111}I11 2511 lllnl?
What diameter of pipe is required to transport pulverised
ftlel ash 31)0 m at I00 t(mne/h?
I:"or the lirst three types o1"design problem the pressure, or
one o1"tile flow rates, can be adjusted by the iteration nlethod
to delemline the required point on the conveying characteristic. The linal problem requires a two-stage process, lirslly
to lind the most suiiable conveying characteristic and, sec-

D.,I. Ma.sou et al. I Powch'r l'ech,,,Ioy

~tit)St 7 14

95

START )

,~

'

II1,..m,v. =

'J

__

i,,,

,,

'
t .... ,.,e......

'j

Specify the system oper,~ting point:

solids flow rate; gas flow rate and
pressure drop.
()no of tl~ese must be estimated,

,1

(4)

P,+ut.ptcdiclcd ~---P,,t,..glx c.

Select the first pipe component

l"/~':...... =/[1,.,,Id(!
\

tlolal

1.
Calculate die pressure drop lbr the

...... +"

tt"u~:td

P,,,, pr,'dic,~.-d < P,,t,, ,,,,t.n

/"

"

"~

(5)

.~,,~

Is,~e~

()<c~,_<_1

;h........ =ooh,i~...... + ( l-a),h,.,,,,~:

[ cmpnent"I

(6)

No_~...."~press=trc at the outlet of t h e ~ ......

~"-..~ompon,..-nt greater than t h e . f ~"

/ No

3. Modelling component effects

3. !.

Overview

Tile calculation algorithm has been designed so that a variety of models lbr the effect of pipeline components can be
employed. In order to determine whether a model is suitable.
the experimentally observed behaviour of various pipeline
components will be examined. A model may be classified as
either an:
Inside nlethod: This is a model for the physical phenomena
that occur in the flow. The gas-solids flow through the
pipeline is modelled by solving the equations for the con-

F i g . .~, The s.vslem design algorilhm,

o f mass n l o n l e r l l u n l a l l d e n e l ' g y .

servation

ondly, to lind tile required operating point. Fig. 2 shows the

system design alg.orithm.
The method used to update the estimate of the operational
parameter is the key to the success of the design algoritluu.
The folh~wing scheme b, employed when iterating to determine tile inlet pressure:
,,,.,,,,,, ~ ! ) ,,,.,,D,, .........( I ).... ,.,,,,.d,,,,.,I

]1',I~

....

I',,,,,.~,,,

i'll

Outside method: This is a rnodel for tile behaviour of the

pipeline components. The effect of each pipeline component is modelled by a resistance term which is a function
of the geometry of the component and type of bulk
material.
!11 this paper a nl(}tlel o1' the I'~wnlertYl~e is described.
.'L2. 77r'

helun'io.r

o/',s'ys/em (,,mtl)Om'nl,~

p::',.,,,.,, =l',,,.,,,,,

I+

/',,,1'it == I'.I,.IL']

,:

/'~,...t.L'di,.'wd < ! .., ~,~e.

(2)

Tills sectioll exatllillfas the tnlhlcnee of the ('~nlpont~lltS that

conlpris tile ilipeline on the ~,wet'all systelll pcrfortllatlCe,
Figs. 3-6 sl'low how itldividual I~il'~eline t.'ot11p(~ntllS iniluetlCC tile gas-solids ilow. This infot'nlati()n is pre,,.icnted hi ;I
sirnilar t11allller tO tile OIIVeyJll~ cllaracteristic, with the flow
2s

P,,.,, .... = crPi~,;,.,,~.,, + ( I - ~r) P,,,.,,~d:

(1 < o~ < I

(3)

For cases where tile predicted oulle| pressure is el'eater

than the specilied outlet pressure the inlet pt'essur,: is modilied
,iccording to the ditTerence between the two oLttlel values.
Certain initial conditions will result in the pre,,,sure falling
below tile specilied outlet pressure heft)re tile calculatiorl
reaches the end of the pipelirle. In tills case tile inlet pressure
is modilied according to the fractional lerlgtll of pipeline
completed ....,'Lieto the rmnlinear n,iture ot"the pmblerrl, urlderrelaxation is usually required in order to obtain onvergellCe.
When iteratirlg to determine one o1" the llow rates the following modilied scheme is used:

r s - ; i ~

............

.Z-L.L~,oo

2o i

oo!

_/-

10

CO

~........................

0012
Pressure
gradient
[bar/m]
. . . . . .

0.00

~. . . . . . . . . . .

- /

.~.~

,,,,,,,-,,-"--

0 008
4

0.02

........

-I .........

0.04

"~ . . . . . . . . . . .

~............ ~

0.06

..........

~' . . . . . . . . . . .

0.08

~ .............

0 10

Gas mass flow rate [kg/s]

I:i~. 3. The I','e~ure gradit.'tit Ibr I}ar.vlcs Ihw, ing I lrtl;I,.'h a 53 rant 12 inclt ~
horizontal pipe.

D..I. ~th~.~'one." aL / Powder Teclmology 95 199~) 7-14

10

10
"o

0
0.130

0.02
0.04
0.06
Gas mass flow rate [kg/s]

0.08

0.10

|'=g, 4. Th~ prc.,,,,ure gradicnl for PF Ash flowing through a 53 mm ( ..2 inch )
,,~cnic~lly-,p pipe.

~"

2s

so,,o,,o,o,o

ratio['1

ta

.0 010 ,,

:~

Pressure
[~uml

======--~

000

-~'-=-=='+'-

.....

,~, -'---'-"~'=----

0,02
0,04
0,06
Gas mass flow rate [kg/s]

0.08

0.10

Fig. 5. The preview ~radicnt for PF A~h Ilo~i,g through a 53 mm ~2 inch )

~crlicallyodo~,.n pipe.

25

rates shown on the axes and contours of a variable related to

the pressure drop.
The first three figures show the influence of the orientation
of a straight pipe on the gas-solids flow. In each case the
pressure gradient along a straight section of pipe was measured. The results show that, irrespective of the pipe orientation, as the gas flow rate increases the pressure gradient
necessary to drive a constant solids mass flow ratef t//s.
This is the opposite of what would be predicted from a
knowledge of fluid-only flows. The reason tbr this is that the
mode of gas-solids flow is changing from non-suspension to
suspension flow: hence, the frictional force between the solids
and the wall is reducing and the pressure falls.
At the highest gas flow rate shown, 0. I kg/s, this would
correspond to an outlet gas velocity o1" 38.8 n)/s. Thus, tile
full range of velocities that are likely to be used in a pneumatic
conveying system are shown. At higher velocities than this
the gas-only pressure drop becomes significant and the pressure gradient begins to rise for a fixed solids mass flow rate.
The final figure shows the influence of bends. This graph
shows that the pressure loss due to a bend in the pipeline rises
as the gas flow rate increases for a constant solids mass flow
rate. This is the opposite [rend to that Ibr straight pipes. This
effect is due to the momentum loss caused by the bend and
the re-acceleration of the solids alter the bend. As the mode
of flow changes from non-suspension to suspension flow.
with increasing gas flow rate. this loss is more severe and the
re-acceleration is greater.
Thus, the overall shape of the conveying characteristic for
a hulk material can be seen to he a balance between:
tile influence of the bends, which is tile major effect at high
gas velocities:
the inlhlenCe of the straights, vdlich are the main co111ribo
utors It) the total pressure drop when the gas vclocily is
Io~v.
Any calcuhltion Inethod should also be .j~,J~ed against
these system phenolllena. If tile method does nut :,,!qbit this
behaviour then it will not work in the general case. but only
in a very limited range of applications.

3.3. E~aml)le of a, i , si(h' moth,I

0
000

0.02
004
0.06
Gas mass flow rate [kg/s]

0.08

0 10

Fig. h. The prcnsurc Io~ for Bar~'te~ tlowing around a 53 nun 12 inch)
diameter pipe with a curvature ratio of 24.

. . . . . ....t.,. . ... . ....t-....................

.. ... . ....,;....
..................................................

Ww

L,. . . .

~ ............... J

'

Centreof a scalarcontrolvolume
Centre of a vectorcontrolvolume
1 Faceof a scalarcontrolvolume
Face of a vectorcontrolvolume
Lelle~ denote the subscripts used
to idenhfy the locationof a value

Fig. 7. ('~mtrol volume I'~r the evaluation of the conservation equations.

3,3. I. Or('rview
A one-dimensional model for the llow of a gas-solids
mixlure through a pipe is presented, The conservalion equalions are l'orn)uh~ted for the gas phase. The effects of the
solids phase are modelled as sources in the gas phase conservation equations. This model is based upon the one-dimensional model Ibr gas-solids Ilow in a duct developed in 15 I.
The original method was only concerned with very dilute
flows, and was Ibrmulated using Ihe superlicial gas velocity
instead ol'the actual gas velocity. In order to model the higher
concentration flows that are found in pneumatic conveying
systems the t'onnulation was modilied. The following shows
the derivation of the conservation equations for the control
volume, shown in Fig. 7.

D.,I. Mason el .I. / Pou'd,.r Terhm,logy 95 t 199,'j 7 14

3.3.2. Conservation of nlass

Trle conservation of mass principle for the gas Ilowing
through a control vohime may he expressed iis:

I1"t._.~.=/h.~,, + S,;
p,~.,.r,~eA3r,._.,~= p,~,, r,.~A~dr,~,, + S,.

(7)

where the term S~ is the source of mass for the gas in the
control volume. This can be due to such phenomena as buming. or evaporation of one of the other phases in the control

volunle.

II

tO calculate tile source terms:

to evaluate the primitive variables from the conservation
variables at the outlet from the control volume.
This is tin iterative procedure since many of the source
terms are dependent upon the average conditions inside the
control volume.
Assuming that the gas is an ideal gas and re-arranging the
conservation equations in terms of the gas-phase velocity, u,..
the primitive variables (tt+. i'~. p and h+) can be recovered
from the conservation variables. X. Y and Z:

3.3.3. Consela'athm of numlenmnl

u,,

Applying Newton's second law ( force = rate of change of

nlOlllelltUnl ) to the llow. the cor|serva,tion of illOnlenlunl prJ no;pie for a control volume may be expressed as:

where the negative sign on the radical applies to sub-sonic

I+

!+2

~ ~

(16)

Itow.

I1"1.

p,.r:_.~A~.+ ih:._~.i~,.= p,, r~,,A,, + lh~,,lt.~,, + S,,:

Ibr:_.,A~. + p~l~.~Jl~tt~,.'- = p,, I..,,A,, + p~,, rv,,A,, u.., " + S,,

"},+iX

(8 )

where the tern1 St, is the source o1" rnornenturn lbr the gas in
the control volume. This can be due to ~ucl'| phenomena as
friction between the gas and walls: and momentum transfer
between the gas and other phases in the control volume.

1".~= I - r . = i - ~
//,/it/,

(171

Y Xtt,.,
-

(18)

"~A

Z
ll,.,"
11~ . . . .

(19)

"~

3.3.4. Conser|'aqo, of'energy

Using the steady

Ilow energy equation the conservation of

energy i,,'inciple for a control volunle nlay be expressed ;is:

, + q'u.~,,-" + S,,:

.'~..'/.6. SoH/'c'(' l(,rm.s'

For this v,,ork it was assumed that there was no mass
Iransfer between the phases, hence:
S, = ()

( 2O )

'rite nlol|leiittinl lrilnsl'cr was evaluated fronl:

( t)l

S,,=(

1,).,,,,,,,- ,h.,.,,.,.)+(~)(

,',,,.A,. -,';,,A,,)-I",,.,,,
(31).

where tile term SI, is the sotlrc o1' energy for the gas in the

coi|lrol volume.

where
~h.,. ....~h,,, - S ,

3.3..% Sol,;ion o flh(' ('olts(,rvatioll ('qtlOlJolls

The conservation equations may he simplified hy the use
O1' coilservation variables:
X = p,r~.A,~

(I0)

)'= prvl + Xtfi.

( II )

in order to evaluate this source term the solids veh',cily at

the outlet li'om the control volume must he e~ aluated. Applying Newton's third law ( force = mass acceleration) to a
single particle in the pipe:
du. = El",

HIp d-'7

Z = /b + ~ ' t q X

'

't

123)

112)
l:or a one-dimension:d steady Ih)w Ihis may be expres~etl

Thus. the COllServalioll equ;itions ma~~be expressed as:

X,.=X, +S,

( 22 )

(13)

,. = Y. + S.

I 14 )

Z,.=Z,, + Sh

(15)

The Ibllowing solution procedure i~i used:

to evaluate the conservation variables fi'om the primitive
variables at the inlet to the control volume:

as:

dll.

~/-',

It~ (.L1f

mp

124)

This may be integrated with respect to the axial distance.

x. to determine the required solids velocily. In 151 an aH'q'ox;mate analytical solution was presented for this integral, it
has been found i,y the authors that this analytical solution is
only suitable for regions of the pipe where the itow is fully

12

I)..I.M..~o. ('t al. /P+m'+h,.r 7"(,('hm,,h,,,qy t)511008) 7-14

Pressure

;m

Bend location
Developingflow

~"~'~'~,~A"
T Pressuredrop

,~

I:::o::d

3.55m

Fullydevelopedflow
2.

l due to straight

Distance
Fig. 8. The ~,ariation of pressure Ibr a ga~-.~olid~ tlow through a pipeline.

I~ "l"uI
.

Retum to
Hopper
BlowTank
Discharge

Dog Leg Bend

L=40m
D=53mm
9 bends, De/D=24

Pipa

Pressuredrop measuredfor pipe indicatedby

Fi~. 9, I.ayout of lilt: Ic.,,t pipeline.

developed, as illustrated in Fig. 8. In order to calculate the

flow in all parts of the pipeline a numerical integration method
was employed. A second-order Euler method was employed
since ill was reported ! 6 ! that this provides reasonable accu-

racy for minimum computational effort for this type of differential equation. The use of a numerical method also
provides a simple mechanism for relining tile model by
adding forces that act on the particle. In this case:
mp " { "rap ~p~ I u. = u, I1 u~ - u, )

r.,

1)

,1

, ,..,,

~,vhere tile tt,rins on tile ri,~,hl=hand ~ide ;~rc lilt, forces dut.' t~:
aerotlyttanlic drag, whew tile drag coet'ticient, ('t~, i,, for a
,d,gle sphere;
gravity, v,'llere 0 is the angle of inclinatitm al~o~e the hor~
iontal plane:
wttll friction 171.
Similarly tile energy traust'cr was e~,alttated I'rom:

==

S.~';(dt,,,u.,,:dt,,.,,,. '~) + (ffL,,h,,, =ni,,.h,,.) +~#

t2f~)

'l'he change in tilt.' enthalpy of tile particles was evaluated

using tile heal balance equation fur a particle, assuming that
the temperature Ihrought)ut tile i~article ~u~ unil'orm.

,,,,~-~ ~ h, tnl:

(,,:~, =

Table I
Material char;,cteristics of the cement used

Mean panicle .,,i,,e

Particle den~it.~
Bulk tlensity

1.1 I.tm
30(~Okg / m ~
1117(Ikg/m'

conveying system employed was a batch type system where

the material was conveyed from a pressure vessel through tile
conveying line into a receiving hopper mounted above tile
pressure ves~el. Tile receiving hopper also acted its a feed
hopper with the material being dropped through a double set
of valves into tile pressure ves~el fur recirculalion. Using this
n)ethod a number o1" operating points could be detern)ined
using a siltgle batch of material.
The on~eying pipeline used ~.ith this system ~as made
from mild steel with an ills)tic diameter of 53 nlm. The maleo
rim was discharged Irom the top el'the Mov. tank via a vertical
i)ipe, alld IIowed t h r o u g h 41) nt o1' slrai~2hl I~ipe alld n i n e q()"
bends beliu' a short vertical lifl It) return the material It) the
hopper. The pl't:s~til'O drop was measured fro" tile horizont|tl
sections of the pipeline, i.e.. bclv.'een lhc blow tank discharge
pipe and Ihe hopper return leg. Each bend had diameter of
curvature It) diameler of pipe ratio ( / ) , / D ) of 24. with the
sixth bend inct)rporaling a change in level t,l" 0.2 m. Fig. t)
displays the conveying pipeline layout.
The properties of Ihe cemenl used in the conveying trials
are shown ill TaMe I.

( 27 )

4.2. Vali&+ti+m ~!l'the in.~ich, mo~h'l

This wits solved in a similar ma,ncr to Fq. ( "3 ) u.,,ing a
numerical method,

4. Validatkm

4. I. I':~periw.esatul~hlu
Ex~rimetltal data were obtained for the transport of"
centent over a wide ra,ge of" Ilow conditions. Tile pneumatic

The in.~i(h, modt.,l described in the previous section has

been implemented it) a .,,oftware packagt.'. Pneu('AD I l. Data
validating thi.', model ~,'e presented in 181. H~. IO displays
the conveying characteristics of the material it) II'le system
pipeline with the predictions el" lhe inside model superimposed. In this diagram:
the solid lines represent pressure contours derived frtml
experimental data:
each point is the result of a calculation using the inside
model;

ILl. M,.mll rl al. /Iblv~kr '#h 'lm-I-=o 95 /I,~l.i<k'l7 14

Solids
20.0 ~--Ioading
ii ratio
! [kglkg]

15.o , ....

--, 10.0 t

'

ian-l.agranTian model. This llllldei wa.~ Iound to have gll~ltl

aTi'eenlenl with cxperllllenlal diilti for dilute-pha~,e 11o~,~.

Pressure drop [bar]

....... ~................................ ,
Ii
ti
t
]

--~

A
A !,
Cl~
Cr
d,
D

--

3o:

,..... ~. . . . . . . . 4..... ~ ,

0.00

IJst o f s y m b o l s

6.

~ ---!V

] -+-=-' " ----- Ti .....

~ +~ ~ 1 L 6T

5O !

0.0-t-+

...... --

I ~--+-+.................

0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
Gas mass flow rate [kg/s]

0.10

Fig. iO. ('onvl:ying ch,ii'acteri,~li.,, plotted a~aill.q Ihe inside model

ilh.'ul;,llion

I'-r ltnlltnl.

l.

two lines of constant solids loading ratio have also been

ih
Illp

added.

The inside model shows ,~ood a~,reernent with the experinlental data Ibr solids loading ratios less than 30. in order to
[irovide an esiinltile o1" tile nltilinlunl coilcenli'alion ill tile
llow ihal the nlodel can reliably predict, con.~ider a section of
pipe where the Ilow i,~ fully developed. The ratio el ~densities
is apl'lroxhllalely .tl)llll and the ~zlis and solids vehlcilie,~ nla)'
he aSsulned to I~e equ~il. Thus, for a solids Ioadin,~ ratio of
30:
.~h,. . 3(1
. . .i U. ' , A k - - .3()()()r,
---"
It'll,
p~,.l''lltt.,
I'!,

r, = li.()i

iI,

,II16()

W / ( m 2 K ) ) I M / L T ~f/]
length ( m ) I L I
mass Itow rate ~kg/s) I M / T I
mass of a particle ( kg ) I M I
pressure (Pa) [ M IT 2 L ]
heal transfer from tile pipe wall ( W )
I M I..2/T<I

( 21'I )

( -'li))

kg/ill'

i.e.. the model perl'orms well for low solids connlration.~.

Tile divergence lit higher concentrations ix due to the rlid that
the source iernls for solids el'l'ecis are ba.~ed tlpOn the ae,'odyn;unic I'orce oil a siil~le particle and do not lake account of
mulii-plu'iicle effects.

area ( m 2 ) [ k 2 I
projected area of a particle ( m 2 ) I L 2 ]
aerodynamic drag coefficient i - ]
specific heat capacity aL constani pressure
( J / ( k g K ) ) [L2/T 20]
particle dia~.,neter ( m ) [ L ]
pipe diameter ( m ) I L I
the ith force on a particle ( N ) [ M L / T 2 ]
wall rricl.ionl for gas phase ( N ) [ M L / T : ]
gravitational acceleration ( N / k g ) I L/T2 ]
enthalpy ( J / k g ) [L2/T 2]
heat transfer coefficient for a particle

voh.inle fraction ( n l ' / l l l ~) l - ]

,,4ottrce term fi~r etlel'~y c'onsel'X'tltiOll ( ~ )
I M/T.L-~/T" I
,,,iotirce term for rna~ coriservalion ( kg/,,,, ) I M / T I
~OLII'COLet'ill for IllOllle111Ll111CiillSel'IftllJOI1 ( N )
I MIT.I./TI
lime ( .~i I T I
velocii), (m/.,,) I i . / T I
ilXiill dJslanl.'e (ill) II. I
nliis,~ on.~l'VlilJon ,fiil'Jlihl~' i k~!~) I M / T I
Ill(llllelltLItll l~OliSel'Villillll vlirJal~le ( k~ un/+v: ) I M /
I",I,/TI
erlei'~zy onsel'vaii~rl varilll~le I M / I " , I : ; / T : i

The tllllxin~tinl solids volliln~,' fi'ilclion fllr ~i pipe fu!l ill'

nllileriill ix lililVoxinilill)':
r, i/ll-,~t ~ 1l)7(I kl"Z/ ill~ : ll,35

I~

(;o'eek h,tler,~

0
A:l,

relaxation factor" I - I
ratio of specilic heat capadtie~ ('v/C, I -I
an~le between pipe ~.|xis and horizontal I - I
solids wall frictioi~ oeflicienl I - I
thtllsily ( k T / n l ' ) I M / I . ' I

5. S u n m l a r y
An algorithm has been presented in this paper that allows
the performance (ll" i~ pneumtltic COllveyin~. system 1(i he simulated. This ,.llay be used as a Iool to determine the desig,i
p,'u'ameters for a pneumatic conveying system. The lllgorithm
enables a variety of design criteria to be exallfined. The alg.orithm was devised with the aim of tallowing any one or a
number o1" pressure drop calculations to be employed. In this
paper one method was pre,~ented: ,'~ one-dimensioned Euler-

rel'~rences
I I I I). Milk "rile deli:rnliniltil~n ,~I Ilrol.h.lct L'~n~,e.',,i%'Ll'i;ll:l~.'t~.'li'.,ti~.*",
for llllk'tlllllttk " ~.'OIl~%ht~

.~V~k'lll~,,

I}mc, hit. (.'ont,

Oil Illk'Ulllitti

('~lnw.%,intz.I.llni.hln. IlK. IgTkl. ()r~. P@,,,derA,.k is~l')('ntrl..,

121 I). Mills ~itld .I.~. l%'l;is~,l.The itlflLleno.' ~it o,tlw) in<~ di,,I;tnl:e on Iht'
I1L'rfoI'IlllIIIL'C

i.lnd ~,lJr l'LJLIh'lllell|~

Ill" IlllL'tlillillk'

~.'u11%'k'%Jtl~ ~%~l~.'111

I~ipeline.~.Prn. Rulial~le I:1o~ i~f Parlicuhlle .%lid~,. Bergen. N~lr~il.~.

loll5. I]I:CI'~Puhlication ~erie,, N~. 4~.

14

D.J, Ma,~ml el al, /Pmv~h,r Tec/moh)gy (75 ~!~98) 7-14

131 S.l~. Weslawav. An investigalion into the performance of venturi

eduelors for the transport o1"solid particles in pipelines, M,Phil. Thesis,
University ofGr~,enwich, L:~ndon, UK. 1987.
141 A,R. Reed and M.S.A Bradley, Bulk Solids Handling. i I ( 1991 ) 93,
151 M.P. Sharma and C.T. Crowe, ASME I. Fluids Eng., IO0 t 1978 ) 343~49.

161 D. Mazumdar and R,I.L. Guthrie, Appl. Math. Modelling, 12 (1988)

398-402.
171 E. Mnschelknautz and H. Wojahn, Chem. lng. Tech., 46 (1974) 223272,
181 PneuCAD II Pzmonstralion Package, Centre for Industrial Bulk Solids
Handling, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK.