The Fluid Mechanics of Capsule Pipelines : 5th Report, Analysis of the Capsule Velocity, Drag Coefficient and Design Optimization

Abstract

The most important problem in the study on a flow of capsule transport is to clarify the characteristics of pressure loss and capsule velocity in the turbulent flow regimen. In this capsule pipelining series, the authors have mainly reported fundamental work on the pressure loss of cylindrical capsule flow. The present paper describes the theoretical prediction of capsule velocity and discusses the optimum situation of transport. The capsule velocity is determined after consideration of the agreement between the pressure loss formed by geometric capsule conditions and the pressure drop required to move capsules steadily. The predicted velocities are in good agreement with reliable experimental data. In the following, through a numerical calculation simulating various capsule-flow conditions, the optimum velocities for minimizing power consumption and pressure loss respectively become evident. Furthermore, the characteristics of the formed pressure loss are reconsidered in terms of drag coefficient.