Analysis and Design for Hydraulic Pipeline Carrying Capsule Train

Abstract

The hydraulic capsule pipeline (HCP) is regarded as the third-generation pipeline, first and second generation being fluid and slurry pipelines, respectively. For increasing the performance of these pipelines, capsule numbers in the pipeline must be increased, thereby increasing solid throughput. In the present study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling of a three-dimensional (3D) concentric capsule train was carried out. The focus of this work was to study the effects of intercapsule spacing (S), diameter ratio (k), and aspect ratio (a) on the performance of the pipeline in amount of energy consumption. Results show that for k=0.8, a=1.25, and S=0.75 times of capsule length, the capsule train requires minimum power to move ahead. A detailed optimal cost analysis was also carried out, which revealed that total cost of the pipeline is first reduced then increased with the enlargement in pipeline diameter. Hence, optimizing the diameter of a hydraulic pipeline transporting capsule was the subject of this study.