Assessment of numerical methods for estimating the wall shear stress in turbulent Herschel–Bulkley slurries in circular pipes

Dhruv Mehta*, Adithya Krishnan Thota Radhakrishnan, Jules B. van Lier, Francois H.L.R. Clemens

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)
167 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This article concerns the turbulent flow of Herschel–Bulkley slurries through circular horizontal pipes; in particular, that of concentrated domestic slurry obtained upon separation of domestic waste water and reduction in the use of water for domestic purposes. Experiments with a rheologically equivalent clay (kaolin) slurry indicated a non-Newtonian behaviour of the Herschel–Bulkley type. A modified wall function was developed to enable the Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes simulation of Herschel–Bulkley slurries to estimate the wall shear stress. Despite the accuracy achieved, the use of Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes models for an entire waste water system is impractical. Therefore, this article assesses the accuracy of semi-empirical models in estimating frictional losses. It also discusses possible modifications of existing models to encompass Herschel–Bulkley behaviour. An evaluation suggests that most existing models deliver estimates of comparable accuracy; however, the probability of these estimates being reliable, while accounting for experimental errors in quantifying the actual frictional losses, is rather low.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)196-213
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Hydraulic Research
Volume59 (2021)
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

Keywords

  • Domestic slurry
  • Herschel–Bulkley
  • non-Newtonian
  • pipe flow
  • Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes
  • urban hydraulics

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