Critical Velocity of Transition from Laminar to Turbulent Flow in the Example of Coal-Water Mixture in Pipelines

Pipeline hydrotrarisport belongs to the most reliable and economically justified modes of transport. Due to its ecological and aesthetic values, it is also the preferred solution in environmental engineering. Transport of mixtures with significant amounts of suspensions requires determination of their Theological properties to adopt an appropriate rheological model. The rheological model determined on the basis of research allows then for the correct calculation of hydraulic losses during the flow of a given mixture through industrial installation. One of the major challenges regarding the flow of mixtures through pipelines is determination of transition point at which laminar traffic changes into turbulent, because transport under turbulent flow is characterized by significantly higher energy demand. The flow study results for the coal-water mixture (bituminous coal dust) with volume concentration of 43-53% and 1176-1217 kg/m(3) density in the pipelines of 21-47 mm diameter were presented. The rheological features of the mixture under testing were described by the Bingham two-parameter model. Results of the experiments were the basis for analyzing the behavior of the coal-water mixture with 43% volume concentration in 21 and 29 mm pipelines during transition from laminar to turbulent flow. For this purpose, a comparative analysis of several methods for determining critical velocity of the laminar-turbulent transition was carried out. In order to determine the critical velocity value, application of various definitions of Reynolds number was proposed. On this basis, the critical velocity value was calculated from the formulas by different authors and with the assumption that transition zone between laminar and turbulent flow was in the range of Reynolds number from Re = 2000 to Re = 4000.