Simulation of Coal-water Mixture Transportation in A Horizontal Pipeline

In order to solve the problem of selecting the model of conveying pump and the inner diameter of conveying pipeline in the process of underground coal-water mixture conveying, and to realize the best conveying effect of coal-water mixture. In this paper, the flow state of coal-water mixture in the pipeline is numerically simulated by CFD-DEM coupling method using EDEM and FLUENT software. The effects of different inlet flow rates and pipe diameters on the conveying effect of coal-water mixtures are investigated, and the conveying results of coal-water mixtures under different conditions are compared to determine the optimal pipe diameter and inlet velocity; under these conveying conditions, the concentration of the mixtures is changed to simulate the conveying process of coal-water mixtures with different concentrations. The results show that with the increase of the inlet flow rate, the mobility of the particles is significantly improved, and the settling speed is slowed down; with the increase of the pipe diameter, the precipitation phenomenon of the particles is more and more obvious, which determines the inlet flow rate of 2.1 m/s and the diameter of the pipe of 65 mm; in the simulation process, the coal-water mixtures with different concentrations show good conveying effects, with the increase of the concentration, the percentage of the coal particles in the upper part of the pipe increases, and the percentage of the particles in the lower part decreases. With the increase of concentration, the percentage of coal particles in the upper part of the pipe increases, and the percentage of particles in the lower part decreases, and no deposition trend occurs. The research in this paper provides a basis for the reasonable setting of the inlet flow rate and the selection of the inner diameter of the conveying pipeline in the actual conveying system, which can help to optimize the conveying parameters and ensure the good transportation effect of coal-water mixtures in the pipeline.