Browsing by Author "Specklin, Mathieu"

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Comparative Assessment of Non-newtonian Single-Phase and Two-Phase Approaches for Numerical Studies of Centrifugal Pumps Handling Emulsion
(Springer Nature, 2024) Achour, Lila; Specklin, Mathieu; Asuaje, Miguel; Kouidri, Smaine; Belaidi, Idir
Computational Fluid Dynamics is commonly employed to assess the effect of oil-water emulsions on pump performance, usually using two-phase models. However, these models often neglect the emulsion’s non-Newtonian behavior, despite its known experimental significance in enhancing pump performance. This study attempts to evaluate both single-phase non-Newtonian and two-phase approaches to model emulsion flow within centrifugal pumps. The non-Newtonian single-phase and several two-phase models are evaluated by comparing the predicted pump heads with experimental data of a multistage pump from the literature. The findings show that the non-Newtonian single-phase model generally provides better agreement with experimental measurements, particularly for emulsions with low dispersed phase fractions. Nevertheless, for emulsions with a high dispersed phase fraction (≈ 50%), the difference between the two approaches is insignificant. Thus, due to the lack of a universal multiphase model for emulsion simulation, the non-Newtonian single-phase model can serve as a viable alternative, overcoming the limitations of two-phase approaches in simulating complex multiphase fluid systems.
Numerical assessment of the hydrodynamic behavior of a volute centrifugal pump handling emulsion
(MDPI, 2022) Achour, Lila; Specklin, Mathieu; Belaidi, Idir; Kouidri, Smaine
Although emulsion pumping is a subject of growing interest, a detailed analysis of the fluid dynamic phenomena occurring inside these machines is still lacking. Several computational investigations have been conducted to study centrifugal pumps carrying emulsion by analyzing their overall performance, but no studies involved the rheological behavior of such fluids. The purpose of this study is to perform a computational analysis of the performance and flow characteristics of a centrifugal pump with volute handling emulsions and oil–water mixtures at different water cuts modeled as a shear-thinning non-Newtonian fluid. The studied pump consists of a five-bladed backward curved impeller and a volute and has a specific speed of 32 (metric units). The rheological properties of the mixtures studied were measured experimentally under a shear rate ranging from 1 s−1 to 3000 s−1 and were fitted to conventional Cross and Carreau effective viscosity models. Numerical results showed the flow topology in the pump is directly related to the viscosity plateau of the pseudoplastic behavior of emulsions. The viscosity plateau governs pump performance by influencing the loss mechanisms that occur within the pump. The larger the ν∞, the less recirculation loss the fluid experiences, and conversely, the smaller the value of ν0, the less friction loss the fluid experiences
A review of emulsion flows, their characterization and their modeling in pumps
(Institution of Chemical Engineers, 2024) Achour, Lila; Specklin, Mathieu; Asuaje, Miguel; Kouidri, Smaine; Belaidi, Idir
In the engineering field, emulsions and liquid–liquid two-phase flows within centrifugal pumps are generally unwanted as emulsions will have negative effects on pump operation. Besides, emulsions are usually formed when the oil and water phases are brought together in a process called emulsification, which is enhanced by high shear rates. This topic has been extensively researched over the past decades, with sophisticated theories regarding the phenomena involved in emulsions formation and characterization in pumps. Besides, given the complexity of the physics governing emulsions, studies on their modeling within pumps, based on empirical correlations or computational fluid dynamics models, are insufficient and remain limited. This review aims to provide a complete overview of investigations on liquid–liquid flow in centrifugal pumps. Characteristics of these mixtures, such as stability, phase inversion, droplet size distribution and rheological behavior, are discussed. Current approaches and techniques for analyzing pump performance handling emulsion and two-phase liquid–liquid flow are reviewed thoroughly. The limitations of the existing models are studied, and potential future developments are proposed.