Physical modeling, numerical simulations and experimental investigations of Non-Newtonian ice slurry flows

This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation of the flow of ice slurry, composed of monopropylene glycol (MPG) as an additive. The objective is to demonstrate the influence of initial concentrations of this additive and the ice fraction on the rheological behavior of the corresponding ice slurry. The ice slurry flow was modeled in a continuous approach, where the fluid is assumed to behave like a single-phase fluid. Complex fluid behavior is treated by an effective kinematic viscosity, which depends on several parameters. In the present study the rheological model of Ostwald-de Waele is applied. The results – which concern mainly the effect of velocity, ice mass fraction and solute concentration on the pressure drop – show an overall close agreement between the experimental and the numerical and analytical results.