Theoretical approach for a pressure drop in two-phase particle-laden flows

The purpose of this research is to develop an analytical model for a pressure drop per unit pipe length due to the turbulence modulations of a carrier phase which results from the presence of a dispersed phase in various types of diluted two-phase flows. The wake behind a particle, a particle size, the loading ratio and the density difference between two phases of a particle-laden flow were considered as significant parameters, which have an influence on the turbulence of a particle-laden flow, and the relative velocity of the laden particles was calculated by using a terminal velocity. The frictional pressure drop was formulated by using the force balance in the control volume by considering the shear stresses due to the presence of particles and an analogy of the shear stresses in the solid surfaces. The numerical results show a good agreement with the available experimental data and the model successfully predicted the mechanism of the pressure drop in the particle-laden flows.