Prediction of Erosion Wear in Multi-Size Particulate Flow through a Rotating Channel

Abstract

The objective of the present work is to predict erosive wear in multi- size denseslurry flow in a rotatingchannel. The methodologycomprises numerical prediction of two-phase flow which is accomplished using the Galerkin finite ele- ment method. The wear models for both slidingwear and impact wear mechanisms account for the particle size dependence. The effect of various operating parame- ters such as rotation rate, solids concentration, flow rate, particle size distribution and so forth has been studied. Results indicate that wear rate in general increases along the pressure-side of the channel with rotation rate, overall solids concentra- tion, flow rates etc. The wear models in the present study are able to capture the particle size distribution fairly well. It is concluded that accurate wear prediction could be obtained by characterizing the particle size distributioninto suitablenum- ber of size classes, and accounting for the particle-size dependence in the wear