PHYSICAL MODELING, NUMERICAL SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF NON-NEWTONIAN ICE SLURRY FLOWS

This paper presents an experimental and numerical investigation of ice slurry flows, composed of Monopropylene glycol (MPG) as an additive. The concentration of this additive varies between 5 % and 25 % leading to a freezing temperatures laying between of -15 degrees C to 0 degrees C which correspond to ice mass fractions in the range of 5 % and 25 %. The ice slurry flow was modelled in a continuous approach, where the fluid is assumed to behave like a single phase fluid. Complex fluid behaviour is treated by an effective kinematic viscosity, which depends on several parameters. The rheological model of Ostwald-de Waele is applied in the present study. The results which concern mainly the effect of the velocity, ice mass fraction and solute concentration on the pressure drop show an overall close agreement between the experimental results and the numerical and analytical results, and enable to determine the nature of the ice slurry.