Study on Flow Velocity during Wheeled Capsule Hydraulic Transportation in a Horizontal Pipe

• Main Authors: Yongye Li, Yuan Gao, Xihuan Sun, Xuelan Zhang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-04-01
• Series: Water
• Subjects: wheeled capsule; flow velocity; hydraulic transportation; pipeline
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/4/1181

As a clean, low-carbon, and green hydraulic transportation technology, wheeled capsule pipeline hydraulic transportation is a transportation mode conducive to the sustainable development of the social economy. Based on the method of a physical model experiment and hydraulic theory, the flow velocity characteristics in the pipeline when the wheeled capsule with a length–diameter ratio of 2.5 and 2.14, respectively, was transported in the straight pipe section with an inner diameter of 100 mm were studied in this paper. The results show that in the process of transporting materials, the flow velocity distribution of the cross section near the upstream and downstream section of the capsule was basically the same, and the axial velocity was smaller in the middle of the pipe and larger near the inner wall of the pipe. The radial velocity distribution was more thinly spread near the pipe wall and denser near the center of the pipe. The circumferential flow velocity was distributed in the vicinity of the support body of the wheeled capsule. For any annular gap section around the wheeled capsule, the radial velocity of annular gap flow was very small, and the average radial velocity of annular gap flow was about 1/30 of the average axial velocity of annular gap flow and about 0.7 of the average circumferential velocity of annular gap flow. The axial, circumferential, and radial flow velocities on the same radius measuring ring changed with the polar axis in a wave pattern of alternating peaks and troughs. These results can provide the theoretical basis for optimizing structural parameters of the wheeled capsule.