Piping Wear Loop

Posted on February 13, 2017 Instrumentation & Equipment Design

Studying Slurry Pipe Wear

Coanda was contracted by the Alberta Research Council’s Advanced Materials Group, now part of Alberta Innovates, to design and build an experimental apparatus to study internal wear on a slurry pipeline.

The apparatus incorporates a flexible design that allows the pipeline to be changed from 4 inch to 8 inch diameter while maintaining sufficient development length to ensure a fully developed flow before entering the test section. The loop is designed to run on a continuous basis while maintaining a set slurry concentration level, temperature and velocity.

The apparatus also provides a loading and unloading particle transfer system designed to facilitate the inventory and de-inventory of the pipe loop as well as set concentration levels. The flow loop is monitored and controlled by a data acquisition system that is easily configurable to maximize the flexibility of the system.

Loop Specifications:

  • Velocity Range: 0.2m/s to 6.0m/s
  • Straight Pipe Section Length: L/D = 60
  • Concentration Level: 0 to 30% by Volume (Max)
  • Max Solid Diameter: 2mm
  • Temperature Range: 20 to 80 °C
  • Slurry Preparation Vessel: 2500L
  • Slurry Loading and Unloading Transfer System
  • Continuous PSD control
  • Complete Control System (sensors and shutdown procedures)

Alberta Tech Futures – slurry flow loop