Study of wear characteristics and solid distribution in constant area and erosion-resistant long-radius pipe bends for the flow of multisized particulate slurries

The wear characteristics of three types of long radius pipe bends in the flow of multisized particulate slurries have been extensively studied. Conventional long radius bend, and two types of diverging-converging bends are investigated. Measurements have been made over a range of solid concentrations and flow velocities. The results have shown that diverging-converging bend with an area ratio 2 exhibits reduced wear. and in fact can even be expected to have a longer life than a straight pipe. Further, measurement of solid distribution in the three bends has given some insight into the causes for the reduced wear in these modified bends. It has also been demonstrated taht the diverging-converging bends even with enlarged cross-sections are not prone to choking when the pipeline is operating near critical deposition velocity.