Numerical investigation on solids settling in a non-Newtonian slurry inside a horizontal flume

Abstract

Slurry transportation is always crucial for many industrial processes. This study numerically investigates the settling behavior of multisize solid particles in a non-Newtonian slurry inside a semicircular open channel (flume). The non-Newtonian slurry is modeled using a three-dimensional unsteady Eulerian–Eulerian (E–E) model coupled with the Hershel–Bulkley rheological model. A detailed sensitivity analysis of drag models is performed to establish the solid–fluid interaction in the slurry flow. The numerical model is validated with the experimental data from the literature and shows a fair agreement. The validated model is used to simulate the settling behavior of the slurry in the flume. The mean particle diameter of the solid particles in the slurry is in the range of 75–296 μm with a median diameter of 188 μm. The effect of particle size distributions (PSDs), flume inclination, bubble size, and bubble volume fraction on the particle settling inside the flume is investigated in the parametric study. The analysis of our results revealed that the settling of solids is significantly affected by PSDs in the open channel system. In particular, the increase in flume inclination progresses the settling and dissipation of fine and coarse particles, respectively. Additional simulations showed that the inception of bubbles influences the settling velocity of solids, which changes the settling behavior of multisize solids inside the flume. The presented study can be used as a valuable guideline for the optimization of intermediate exclusion of water from thickened slurry in order to ensure the stability of tailing storage facility.