Effects of injection mechanism on air-water air lift pump performance

The pump performance of a small air-lift system for conveying solid particles is investigated experimentally. The total length of the vertical lifting pipe is 3200 mm, and the inner diameter of the pipe is 18 mm. The gas injector is set at a certain point of the pipe. The flows in the lifting pipe are water/solid two-phase mixtures below the gas injection point, and air/water/solid three-phase mixtures above it. The time-averaged characteristics of the flows are examined for various experimental conditions. The effects of particle diameter, particle density, the gas-injection point, and the volume flux of air on the pump performance are studied systematically. The critical boundary at which the particles can be lifted is discussed in detail based upon one-dimensional mixture model.

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Effect of local pipe bends on pump performance of a small air-lift system in transporting solid particles

International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow ◽

10.1016/j.ijheatfluidflow.2004.02.025 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 25 (6) ◽

pp. 996-1005 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Hitoshi Fujimoto ◽

Shio Murakami ◽

Ayumu Omura ◽

Hirohiko Takuda

Keyword(s):

Solid Particles ◽

Pump Performance ◽

Air Lift

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Discussion: “An Analytical and Experimental Study of Air-Lift Pump Performance” (Stenning, A. H., and Martin, C. B., 1968, ASME J. Eng. Power, 90, pp. 106–110)

Journal of Engineering for Power ◽

10.1115/1.3609144 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 90 (2) ◽

pp. 110-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

P. Griffith

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Pump Performance ◽

Air Lift

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On the Performance of Air-Lift Pumps: From Analytical Models to Large Eddy Simulation

Journal of Fluids Engineering ◽

10.1115/1.4027473 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 136 (11) ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

E. M. Wahba ◽

M. A. Gadalla ◽

D. Abueidda ◽

A. Dalaq ◽

H. Hafiz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Large Eddy Simulation ◽

Flow Patterns ◽

Quantitative Agreement ◽

Analytical Models ◽

Pump Performance ◽

One Dimensional ◽

Eddy Simulation ◽

Riser Pipe ◽

Large Eddy ◽

Air Lift

The present study investigates a hierarchy of models for predicting the performance of air-lift pumps. Investigated models range from simplified one-dimensional analytical models to large eddy simulation (LES). Numerical results from LES and from two different analytical models are validated against experimental data available from the air-lift pump research program at Alexandria University. Present LES employs the volume of fluid (VOF) method to model the multiphase flow in the riser pipe. In general, LES is shown to provide fairly accurate predictions for the air-lift pump performance. Moreover, numerical flow patterns in the riser pipe are in good qualitative and quantitative agreement with their corresponding experimental patterns and with flow pattern maps available in the literature. On the other hand, analytical models are shown to provide results that are of surprisingly comparable accuracy to LES in terms of predicting the pump performance curve. However, due to the steady one-dimensional nature of these models, they are incapable of providing information about the different flow patterns developing in the riser pipe and the transient nature of the pumping process.

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An Analytical and Experimental Study of Air-Lift Pump Performance

Journal of Engineering for Power ◽

10.1115/1.3609143 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 90 (2) ◽

pp. 106-110 ◽

Cited By ~ 48

Author(s):

A. H. Stenning ◽

C. B. Martin

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Shallow Water ◽

Dimensional Analysis ◽

Performance Characteristics ◽

Design Rules ◽

Pump Performance ◽

One Dimensional ◽

Air Lift ◽

Empirical Design

A one-dimensional analysis of air-lift pump performance in shallow water has been developed which includes the effects of friction and slip between the gas and the liquid. The theory predicts the performance characteristics of these devices successfully, and explains the empirical design rules recommended in earlier publications.

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