Suspension dynamics in transitional pipe flow

Abstract

Suspension flows are abundantly present in nature and industry. Typical examples include volcanic ash clouds, sediment transport in rivers, blood flow through human capillaries and the dredging industries. Accurate models of suspension flows are of key importance for prediction, optimization and control of particle-laden flows, especially in industrial applications. However, accurate experimental reference data is hardly available for the development and validation of these models. The opaque nature of suspension flows precludes the acquisition of quantitative flow information by means of established optical measurement techniques. Therefore, in this dissertation measurements are performed using state-of-the-art measurement techniques, which provide insight in particle-laden flows. These measurement techniques include ultrasound, magnetic resonance and optical imaging. The high-quality data, obtained using these measurement modalities, will subsequently be used for the modeling of suspension flows. The aim of this dissertation is to study the effect of the particle size and concentration on the behavior of pipe flow, in particular in the laminar-turbulent transition region.