Journal of the Brazilian Society of

Mechanical Sciences
Print ISSN 0100-7386
J. Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. vol.23 no.3 Rio de Janeiro 2001
doi 10!1"#0$S0100-7386%001000300007
Two-Phase (Solid-Liquid) Flow
in Inclined Pipes

Evaldo Miranda Coiado
Victor Eanuel M! "! #ini$
&ni'ersidade (stadual de )a*+inas
,aculdade de (n-enharia )i'il
)idade &ni'ersit ria ./eferino 0az.
1istrito de Bar o 2eraldo
)ai3a Postal 60%1
13083-#70 )a*+inas4 SP! Brazil
coiado5fec!unica*+!6r4 diniz5fec!unica*+!6r


This paper presents an experimental
research about the behavior of two-
phase flows in inclined pipes. The
inclination angle varied from 5 to 45
and the slurry solid concentration
varied up to 15%. It was concluded that
the head losses of the downward
sloping pipe flow are always lower than
the head losses of the horiontal flow
and these are always lower than the
head losses of the upward sloping pipe
flow! regardless the concentration and
inclination angle. It was possible to
develop empirical e"uations to calculate
the head losses of the horiontal flow
and the upward and downward sloping
pipe flows.
Keywords# $ead loss! settling
mixtures! inclined pipes


Introduction
Most of the a++lications of hydraulic trans+ort in the
+ast ha'e 6een in the *inerals industries!
,re7uently4 such industrial acti'ities are located in
re*ote locations 8ith insufficient road or rail
infrastructure4 and the use of +i+eline trans+ort has
6een the +referred and *ost econo*ic *ethod of
trans+ortin- lar-e 7uantities of *inerals o'er lon-
distances and throu-h difficult terrain! 9l*ost
in'aria6ly the solid +articles are denser than the
con'eyin- li7uid! :herefore in horizontal +i+elines
the solid +articles tra'el in the lo8er +art of the
cross-section4 8ith li7uid a6o'e it! :his 6eha'ior
6eco*es a s+ecial su6;ect of study!
:he desi-n of a lon--distance installation re7uires
the <no8led-e of the t8o-+hase =solid-li7uid> flo8
6eha'ior in horizontal +i+e and in inclined +i+e!
Most +u6lished *aterial a6out t8o-+hase =solid-
li7uid> flo8 are related to horizontal +i+e flo8!
:here are a li*ited nu*6er of studies concernin-
the effect of +i+e inclination on t8o-+hase flo8
ener-y loss! &sually4 for the desi-n of these
trans+orts lines4 the head loss e'aluation of the
inclined +i+eline +ortion is 6ased u+on a
co*+osition 6et8een the horizontal head losses and
the 'ertical head losses! 9 tri-ono*etric
deco*+osition of the head losses concernin- the
'ertical len-th to the desired +lan can also 6e
*ade! &sually4 the desi-ners do not ta<e into
account the +i+e inclination! :hey consider the
8hole trans+ort line as horizontal!
:he *ain o6;ecti'e of the +resent study is to study
the flo8 head losses in u+8ard and do8n8ard
slo+in- len-ths! :he influence of flo8 'elocity4
slurry concentration and the slo+in- +i+e inclination
an-le in the head loss 8as in'esti-ated! :he head
losses deter*ined for the horizontal +ortion of the
+i+eline 8ere co*+ared 8ith a'aila6le correlations
found in the literature
9 +i+e loo+ syste* 8as 6uilt! :his loo+ syste*
allo8s an easy 'ariation of the flo8 'elocity4 the
slurry concentration and the +i+e inclination!

No*enclature
) ? slurry
concentration in
'olu*e =@>
dr ? relati'e density
of solid
d
A
? density of li7uid
+hase =<-$*
3
>
e ? = B100!=J
author
C
J
e7!
> $ J
e7!
B >

$ N ?
relati'e error =@>
J ? head loss of the
li7uid +hase =*$*>
Ja ? head loss of the
slurry u+8ard slo+in-
flo8 =*$*>
Jd ? head loss of the
slurry do8n8ard
slo+in- flo8 =*$*>
Jh ? head loss of the
slurry horizontal flo8
=*$*>
J* ? head loss of the
slurry =*$*>
Js ? head loss of the
solid +hase =*$*>
N ? nu*6er of
*easure*ents
0 ? flo8 a'era-e
'elocity =*$s>
? +i+e inclination
an-le =rad>
? standard
de'iation!

Bi6lio-ra+hic Deferences
:he flo8 of solid-li7uid slurries in +i+es differs fro*
the flo8 of ho*o-eneous li7uids in a nu*6er of
8ays! Eith li7uids the co*+lete ran-e of 'elocities
is +ossi6le4 and the nature of the flo8 =i!e!4 la*inar4
transition4 or tur6ulent> can 6e characterized fro* a
<no8led-e of the +hysical +ro+erties of the fluid
and the +i+e syste*! )haracterization of slurry flo8
is not as si*+le as for li7uid flo8 for t8o reasons!
,irstly4 there are4 su+eri*+osed on the +ro+erties of
the li7uid4 the +ro+erties of the solid +articles to 6e
accounted for and also the effect of the +articles on
the *i3ture +ro+erties! Secondly4 de+endin- on the
+articular conditions4 a ran-e of slurry 6eha'ior is
+ossi6le4 this latter +oint 6ein- 6est illustrated 6y
consideration of the t8o e3tre*es of slurry flo8
8hich can 6e identified4 Eas+ et al!4 1###!
Fo*o-eneous flo8 is the ter* -i'en to syste* in
8hich the solids are unifor*ly distri6uted
throu-hout the li7uid *ediu*! Fo*o-eneous flo84
or a close a++ro3i*ation to it4 is encountered in
slurries of hi-h solids concentrations and fine
+article sizes! :he +resence of the solids can ha'e a
si-nificant effect on the syste* +ro+erties4 usually
resultin- in a shar+ increase in 'iscosity as
co*+ared to that of the carrier fluid! In
hetero-eneous flo8 syste*s4 solids are not e'enly
distri6uted and in horizontal flo84 +ronounced
concentration -radient e3ist alon- the 'ertical a3is
of the +i+e4 e'en at hi-h 'elocities! Particle inertial
effects are si-nificant4 i!e!4 the fluid and solid
+hases to a lar-e e3tent retain their se+arate
identities4 and the increase in the syste* 'iscosity
o'er that of the carrier li7uid is usually 7uite s*all!
Fetero-eneous slurries tend to 6e of lo8er solids
concentrations and ha'e lar-er +articles sizes than
ho*o-eneous slurries4 Dichardson4 et al!4 1###!
:he hetero-eneous sus+ension re-i*e is the *ost
i*+ortant *ode of trans+ort of -ranular *aterials
6y +i+elines4 6ecause the *a3i*u* a*ount of
solids is trans+orted +er unit ener-y in+ut! :here is
in the literature a considera6le nu*6er of
+u6lications a6out hetero-eneous sus+ension
re-i*e in horizontal +i+e! Gn the other hand4 the
nu*6er of articles concernin- hetero-eneous
re-i*e in non-horizontal +i+eline is reduced4 and
there is a lac< of infor*ation a6out the use of the
e7uations 8hich +er*it to co*+ute the head loss!
In 'ertical +i+es the 'elocity of solids for u+8ard
flo8 is less than the fluid 'elocity and it is -reater
for do8n8ard flo8! :he difference is a++ro3i*ately
the 'alue of the settlin- 'elocity4 a++ro3i*ately4
Daud<i'i4 1#8#!
:he head loss of the solid-li7uid slurries in inclined
+i+es accordin- to Eorster and 1enny4 1#"" is
(instein and 2raf4 1#664 considerin- flo8 in riser4
su--ested to calculate the head loss in 'ertical
+i+es 6y the follo8in- relation
2raf4 1#7%4 has *odified (7! =%> to a++ly for
inclined conduits4 6y
9ccordin- to 1urand H 2i6ert4 1#604 in Iao and
F8an-4 1#7#4 the effect of solid +resence in the
head loss -radient in an inclined +i+e in relation to
a horizontal +i+e is -i'en 6y
It 8as not found4 in the literature4 e3+eri*ental
in'esti-ation 'alidatin- e7uations =1>4 =%>4 =3>4 and
=J>4 so further discussion a6out they4 it is not
rele'ant at the +resent *o*ent!
So*e researchers studied t8o-+hase =solid-li7uid>
flo8 in inclined +i+es4 6ut they did not de'elo+ed
e7uations! :hey are Eilson and :se4 1#8J4
Bri-ha* et al!4 in Streeter4 1#614 Iao and F8an-4
1#7#4 and Na<ae4 1##0!

Materials and Methods
:o reach the o6;ecti'es +ro+osed in this research4 a
+i+e loo+ syste*4 as sho8n in ,i-ure 14 8as
constructed in the la6oratory of the 1e+art*ent of
Fydric Desources4 )i'il (n-ineerin-4 &ni'ersity of
)a*+inas!
:he head loss *easure*ents for the sand-8ater
slurry flo8 8ere carried out in +i+elines of 1?7"
**! It 8as used an unifor* sand 8ith
d
"0
?0!%0**K dr?%!684 the concentrations 8ere u+
1" +ercent in 'olu*e! :he +i+e inclination an-le
used 8as 'aried fro* "!"
o
to J"
o
!
Fead loss 8as *easured in a horizontal +i+eline
allo8in- to 'erify the effect of +i+e inclination on
slurry trans+ort and ener-y loss!
:he slurries =*i3ture of sand-8ater> 8ere +re+ared
in the *ain reser'oir4 sho8ed in ,i-ure 1! :he
*i3ture 8as *aintained ho*o-eneous in the *ain
reser'oir 6y the use of an au3iliary +u*+! :hen4 the
ho*o-eneous *i3ture 8as +u*+ed4 throu-h the
+i+eline4 6y the *ain +u*+! :he +i+eline 8as *ade
u+ of horizontal and inclined +i+es!
1urin- the slurry flo8 throu-h the +i+eline4 for
different 'elocities and concentrations of the
*i3ture4 the follo8in- +ara*eters 8ere *easured
a> the head losses in the horizontal4 u+8ard4 and
do8n8ard slo+in- len-thsK 6> the dischar-eK c> the
concentration of the *i3ture!
:he dischar-e 8as *easured 6y a *a-netic flo8
trans*itter =*eter flo8>! :he concentration of the
*i3ture 8as deter*ined usin- a reser'oir to
*easure the 'olu*e and one 6alance! :o this
+ur+ose4 the *i3ture flo8 8as de'iated to the
*ensuration reser'oir!
:he head losses in the horizontal4 u+8ard4 and
do8n8ard slo+in- len-ths 8ere *easured 6y
different +ressure trans*itters!

Mathe*atical 1escri+tion
:hree e*+irical e7uations 8ere de'elo+ed to
calculate the head losses of the 8ater-sand slurry in
function of the flo8 a'era-e 'elocity4 the sand
concentration and the inclination an-le of u+8ard
and do8n8ard flo8s in inclined +i+es!
:he e7uations 8ere o6tained 6y se'eral cur'e
fittin-s! :o illustrate the +rocedure4 the flo8
throu-h a horizontal +i+eline and the u+8ard
slo+in- +art of a +i+eline 8ill 6e used! :he sa*e
+rocedure 8as used 8ith the do8n8ard slo+in-
+i+e!


&+8ard Slo+in- Aen-th ,lo8
It is +resented the fitted functions to +oints J* 3 0
for the 8ater-sand slurry flo8s 8ith concentrations
of "@4 10@ and 1"@ in the u+8ard and do8n8ard
slo+in- len-ths for inclination an-les of "!" 4 11 4
%%!" 4 3J and J" !
,it 1 J* 3 0 for fi'e inclination an-les 14 %4 34
J4 and " and three concentrations 8ith 'alues
)14 )% and )3!
Ji;4 8here i? an-le and ;? concentration
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )1
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )%
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )3
:he coefficients of the first set of cur'es 8ere
o6tained! :hat is4 6y <ee+in- the concentration
constant4 for a -i'en concentration4 for e3a*+le
"@4 fitted functions 8ere o6tained for each
coefficient 'ersus the inclination an-le! :his
+rocedure 8as re+eated for the concentrations of
10@ and 1"@!
Fit % the coefficients ai;4 6i; and ci; 8ere fitted as
function of the an-les 14 %4 34 J and " for
each concentration!
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )1
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )%
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )3
Desults fro* fittin-s 1 and %
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )1
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )%
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )3
)oefficients of the second set of cur'es 8ere
o6tained and fitted functions 8ere deter*ined for
these coefficients 'ersus the concentrations!
,it 3 the coefficients di;4 ei; and fi; 8ere fitted in
function of the concentrations!
Desults fro* fittin-s 14 % and 3

Forizontal Aen-th ,lo8
Ne3t4 the fitted functions to +oints J* 3 0 for the
8ater-sand slurry flo8s 8ith concentrations of "@4
10@ and 1"@ in the horizontal len-th is +resented!
,it 1 J* 3 0 for three concentrations 8ith 'alues
)14 )% and )3!
J;4 8here ; ? concentration
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )1
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )%
,or concentration 8ith 'alue )3
:he coefficients of the first fittin-s 8ere deter*ined
and fitted functions 8ere o6tained for these
coefficients 'ersus the concentrations!
,it % the coefficients a;4 6; and c; 8ere fitted in
function of the concentrations!
Desults fro* fittin-s 1 and %

Desults and 9nalysis
9fter all fittin-s 8ere done4 the follo8in- three
e7uations 8ere de'elo+ed to calculate the head
losses of the 8ater-sand slurry for concentrations
fro* "@ to 1"@4 inclinations fro* "!" to J" and
flo8 a'era-e 'elocity fro* %!0 *$s to "!" *$s
a> Forizontal len-th flo8
6> &+8ard slo+in- len-th flo8
c> 1o8n8ard slo+in- len-th flo8
:o 'alidate the de'elo+ed e7uations4 they 8ere
co*+ared to the e3+eri*ental collected data!
,i-ures fro* % to10 illustrate the results for the
u+8ard and do8n8ard slo+in- flo8 and horizontal
flo8 for 8ater-sand slurries 8ith concentrations of
"@4 10@ and 1"@! 9 cur'e fa*ily 8as o6tained for
each -ra+h 'aryin- the inclination an-le! (ach cur'e
refers to an an-le! It 8as o6ser'ed that in a -eneral
8ay4 the de'elo+ed e7uations fit 8ell to the
e3+eri*ental collected data!


















,ro* 2rafLs e7uation =1#7%>4 Eorster and 1ennyLs
e7uation =1#""> and the e7uations de'elo+ed in
this research4 t8o charts4 =)harts 14 and %>4 8ere
ela6orated 8ith the relati'e errors 6et8een the
head losses +ro'ided 6y the authorsL e7uations and
the head losses +ro'ided 6y the e7uations
de'elo+ed!
,or 8ater-sand slurry flo8 in the horizontal4 u+8ard
and do8n8ard len-ths4 it 8as o6ser'ed that the
authorsL e7uations +ro'ide 'alues of head losses
8hich de'iate considera6ly to the ones o6tained 6y
the +resent 8or<! Gne can o6ser'e that relati'e
errors increase if an-le and$or concentration
increase!
,or the do8n8ard slo+in- len-th flo84 the 'alues of
the head losses o6tained 6y the authorsL e7uations
are 'ery distant fro* those o6tained 6y the +resent
8or<! :his can 6e e3+lained 6y the fact that the
authorsL e7uations +ro'ide the sa*e 'alues of head
losses for the u+8ard and do8n8ard len-ths4 and
this 8as not o6ser'ed durin- the e3+eri*ental
tests! It 8as o6ser'ed in ,i-ures % to J that 'alues
of the head losses increase as the concentration
and the inclination an-le increase for the u+8ard
len-th flo8! Gn the other hand4 'alues of the head
losses decrease as the concentration and the
inclination an-le increase for the do8n8ard len-th
flo84 =,i-ures " to 7>!
)harts 14 and % +resent relati'e errors 6et8een the
authorsL e7uation and the e7uations de'elo+ed at
the +resent 8or<!
)hart 3 +resents relati'e errors 6et8een
e3+eri*ental data and co*+uted 'alues usin- the
e7uations de'elo+ed at +resent 8or<! It can 6e
seen that the de'elo+ed e7uations -i'e reasona6ly
results! :he relati'e errors are s*aller than t8o
+ercent!






Measure*ent &ncertainties and (rrors
)are 8as ta<en at the +resent 8or<4 so that lo8
*easure*ent errors of the +ara*eters 8ere
o6tained!
:he dischar-e 8as *easured 6y a *a-netic flo8
trans*itters =*eter flo8>! Syste* accuracy is
0!"@! De+eata6ility 0!1@ of readin-! Des+onse
ti*e 0!% seconds *a3i*u* res+onse to ste+
chan-e in in+ut! Sta6ility 0!1@ of rate o'er si3
*onths! 9*6ient te*+erature effect 1@ +er 37
0
)!
:he head losses 8ere *easured 6y differential
+ressure trans*itter4 8ith accuracy 0!%"@ for
cali6rated s+an! )o*6ined effects of linearity4
hysteresis4 and re+eata6ility 8ere included!
:e*+erature effect is less than 1!"@ of u++er
ran-e li*it +er ""
0
)! Static +ressure effect is less
than 0!"@!
(ach *easure*ent of dischar-e and head loss 8as
read4 a++ro3i*ately4 138 ti*es! )hart J and )hart
" illustrate an e3a*+le of *easure*ent of head
loss! :hese charts +resent the head losses and their
res+ecti'e standard de'iations => and confidence
inter'als!




It can 6e seen4 in )hart J4 that the 'alues of
standard de'iation increase if the dischar-e 'alues
and concentration 'alues also increase! :herefore4
lar-er 'alues of => corres+ond to cases in 8hich
the .scatter. in the *easure*ent 'alues is lar-er4
resultin- in lar-er +recision error!
)hart " illustrates that the de'iations fro* the
*ean head loss 'alues are 'ery s*all! :he results
are inde+endent of +ro6a6ility4 concentration4 and
dischar-e!

)onclusions
Based on the collected e3+eri*ental data4 the
ado+ted *ethods and the e3+eri*ental conditions
in 8hich the tests 8ere *ade4 the follo8in-
conclusions can 6e *ade
:he head losses 'alues for the do8n8ard slo+in-
+i+es are al8ays lo8er than the head losses for the
horizontal +i+e4 and these are al8ays lo8er than
the head losses for the u+8ard slo+in- +i+es4
re-ardless the inclination an-les and
concentrations!
,or the do8n8ard slo+in- len-th 8ater-sand slurry
flo84 the +resence of sand decreases the head
losses 'alues as the inclination an-le and
concentration increase! Ne-ati'e +ressure 'alues
8ere o6tained for the three tested concentrations4
8ith inclination an-les of %%!" 4 3J and J" !
,or the 8ater-sand slurry flo8 in the horizontal
+i+e4 the +resence of sand increases the 'alues of
the head losses as the concentration increases!
,or the u+8ard slo+in- len-th 8ater-sand slurry
flo84 the +resence of sand increases the 'alues of
the head losses as the inclination an-le and
concentration increase!
,or the horizontal4 u+8ard4 and do8n8ard 8ater-
sand slurry flo8s4 it 8as o6ser'ed that 2rafLs
e7uation =1#7%> and Eorster and 1ennyLs e7uation
=1#""> +ro'ide 'alues of head losses 8hich de'iate
considera6ly to the ones o6tained 6y the e7uations
de'elo+ed in the +resent 8or<!
:he de'elo+ed e7uations -i'e reasona6ly results!
:he relati'e errors are s*aller than t8o +ercent!

Deferences
(instein4 F! 9! and 2raf4 E! F!4 1#66! Ao++ Syste*
for Measurin- Sand-Eater Mi3ture! Proc! 9*! Soc!
)i'il (n-rs!4 'ol! #%4 FM1! N Ain<s O
2raf4 E! F!41#7%4 .Fidraulic of Sedi*ent
:rans+ort.4 Mc2ra8-Fill Boo< )o*+any4 Ne8 Mor<4
&S94 "13+! N Ain<s O
Iao4 1! :! M! and F8an-4 A!M!41#7#4 .)ritical Slo+e
for Slurry Pi+eline :rans+ortin- )oal and Gther
Solid Particles.4 Proceedin-s of the 6th International
)onference on the Fydraulic :rans+ort of Solids in
Pi+es4 BFD9 ,luid (n-ineerin-4 )anter6ury4 &! I!4
++! "7-7J! N Ain<s O
Na<ae4 :!41##04 .Aoo+ Syste* to Study the ,lo8 of
Mi3tures =Sand and Eater> in Pi+es.4 =In
Portu-uese>4 Master :hesis4 State &ni'ersity of S o
Paulo4 S o Paulo4 S!P!4 Brazil4 1"%+! N Ain<s O
Daud<i'i4 9! J!4 1#8# C Aoose Boundary Fydraulics!
Per-a*on Press4 Ne8 Mor<! N Ain<s O
Dichardson4 J! ,!4 )hha6ra4 D! P!4 Ihan4 9! D!4 1###
C Multi+hase flo8 ou non-Ne3tonian fluids in
horizontal +i+es! Slurry Fandlin- and Pi+eline
:rans+ort! Fidrotrans+ort 1J! Maastrich!
Netherlands! N Ain<s O
Streeter40!A! 1#614 .Fand6oo< of ,luid 1yna*ics.4
Mc2ra8CFill BooI )o*+any4 Ne8 Mor<4 &!S!94
1%1"+! N Ain<s O
Eas+4 (! J!K Ienny4 J! P!K 2andhi4 D! A! 1###!
.Solid-Ai7uid ,lo8 Slurry Pi+eline :rans+ortation.!
Series on Bul< Materials Fandlin-! International
Standard Boo< Nu*6er! :rans :ech Pu6lications!
2er*any! N Ain<s O
Eilson4 I! )! and :se4 J! I! P!4 1#8J! 1e+osition
Ai*it for )oarse-Particle :rans+ort in Inclined Pi+es!
#th International )onference on Fydraulic :rans+ort
of Solids in Pi+es! Do*e4 Italy 17-1#! N Ain<s O
Eorster4 D! )! and 1enny4 1! ,!41#""4 . :he
Fydraulic :rans+ort of Solid Material in Pi+es.4
Proceedin-s of! Institute of Mechanical (n-innerin-!
0ol! 16#$3%! N Ain<s O


9rticle recei'ed Se+te*6er4 1##8! :echnical
(ditor 9tila P! Sil'a ,reire