Experimental Study of Pulp Suspension Flow in a Channel with Application to Papermaking

Abstract

In this study, the flow characteristics of a pulp suspension in a modeled headbox channel containing a screen-type circular cylinder were examined experimentally. The distributions of the pulp fiber concentration and the axial velocity of downstream wake of the cylinder were obtained using the transmitted light attenuation method and particle image velocimetry, respectively. The influence of flow velocity and the degree of pulp fiber dispersion were explained. From this information, we explored the feasibility of improving the efficiency of the hydraulic headbox of a papermaking machine.