Modelling multiphase flow in vertical pipe using CFD method.

Investigations of gas-liquid-solid flows in large diameter vertical pipes are scarce and detailed three phase flow study is still required to understand the flow interactions. Further investigation using high fidelity modelling is thus necessary due to complex flow interactions of the phases. In this study, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method is used to investigate multiphase gas-liquid-solid flow in vertical pipe. Firstly, an appropriate validated numerical simulation scheme for two phase gas-liquid flow using ANSYS Fluent has been used to simulate possible flow regime transitions in vertical pipe. The scheme could predict the various flow regimes spanning bubbly to annular flow without prior knowledge of the flow patterns. The scheme was further extended to investigate the impact of solid particles in the flow field. More importantly the impact of solid concentration on the flow regime development and sand deposition was investigated. The results showed that the particulate deposition is greatly influenced by the particle concentration. In addition, the regime transitions and development in gas-liquid flows are different than that of gas-liquid-solid flows