Isothermal Transport of Ice Slurry Flow in 90° Vertical Elbows

This paper numerically investigates the isothermal transport of ice slurry through 90° vertical elbows. A series of two -phase CFD simulations is performed using an Eulerian-Eulerian framework coupled with the Kinetic Theory of Granular Flow (KTGF) to repre sent the rheology and stresses of the particulate phase. The carrier fluid is a water-ethanol solution (10.3 wt.% ethanol) , and the dispersed phase is composed of monodisperse spherical ice particles. The study examines the influence of bulk mixture velocity ( Uin=0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2 m/s), particle diameter ( dice=0.27, 0.40, and 1.00 mm), and elbow curvature (R/d=3, 6, and 9) on pressure drop and ice volume -fraction distribution within the elbow. The model is favorably validated against (1) an ethanol-water ice -slurry experiment in a straight pipe and (2) additional glass -bead slurry data for concentration profiles. The results show that increasing velocity consistently increases pressure drop, while larger bend ratios reduce losses by providing a gentler turn to the flow. Additionally, particle size has a limited impact on pressure drop but strongly affects phase distribution, with larger particles producing pronounced segregation and near -wall depleted regions.