Multiphase Flow in Circular and Triangular Pipes: Examining Flow Characteristics, Sand Erosion and Heat Transfer Via CFD and Experimental Work
Authors: Vieira Ronald E. , Sedrez Thiana A. , Shirazi Siamack A. , Silva Gabriel 
Published: December 2021

Air-water two-phase flow in circular pipes has been studied by many investigators. However, investigations of multiphase flow in non-circular pipes are still very rare. Triangular pipes have found a number of applications, such as multiphase flow conditioning, erosion mitigation in elbows, compact heat exchanges, solar heat collectors, and electronic cooling systems. This work presents a survey of air-water and air-water-sand flow through circular and triangular pipes. The main objective of this investigation is to study the potential effects of triangular pipe geometry on flow patterns, slug frequency, sand erosion in elbows, and heat transfer in multiphase flow.

Firstly, twenty-three experiments were performed for horizontal air-water flow. Detailed videos and slug frequency measurements were collected through circular and triangular clear pipes to identify flow patterns and create a database for these pipe configurations. The effect of corners of the triangular pipe on the liquid distribution was investigated using two different orientations of triangular pipe: apex upward and downward and results of triangular pipes were compared to round tubes. Secondly, ultrasonic wall thickness erosion measurements, paint removal studies, and CFD simulations were carried out to investigate the erosion patterns and magnitudes for liquid-sand and liquid-gas-sand flows in circular and triangular elbows with the same radius of curvature and cross-sectional area. Thirdly, heat transfer rates for liquid flows were also simulated for both circular and triangular pipe cross-sections.

Although similar flow patterns are observed in circular and triangular pipe configurations, the orientation of the triangular pipes seems to have an effect on the liquid distribution and slug frequency. For higher liquid rates, slug frequencies are consistently lower in the triangular pipe as compared to the circular pipe. Similarly, the triangular elbow offers better flow behavior as compared to circular elbows when investigated numerically with similar flow rates for erosion patterns for both liquid-sand flow and liquid-gas-sand flows. Experimental and CFD results show that erosion in the circular elbow is about three times larger than in the triangular elbow. Paint studies results validated erosion patterns and their relations with particle impacts. Finally, heat transfer to/from triangular pipes is shown to be more efficient than in circular pipes, making them attractive for compact heat exchangers and heat collectors.

This paper represents a novel experimental work and CFD simulations to examine the effects of pipe geometries on multiphase flow in pipes with several practical applications. The present results will help to determine the efficiency of utilizing triangular pipes as compared to circular pipes for several important applications and field operations such as reducing slug frequencies of multiphase flow in pipes, and reducing solid particle erosion of elbows, and also increasing the efficiency of heat exchangers.