A generalized gas-liquid two-phase flow analysis for efficient operation of airlift pump

Airlift pumps are finding increasing use where pump reliability and low maintenance are required, where corrosive, abrasive, or radioactive fluids must be handled and when a compressor is readily available. The objective of the present study is to evaluate the performance of a pump under predetermined operating conditions and to optimize the per related parameters The effects of design parameters viz. mass flow rate of air, immersion ratio, diameter of rising main etc. on the performance of airlift pump are presented. The larger diameter of rising main is found to be suitable for high low rate of water. The injecting device used in the system has considerable effect on the performance of the pump. The paper is focused on the general mathematical expression to determine the effective diameter of nozzle applicable to air lift pump installations in the diameter range of 25.4 mm <= d <= 101.6 mm. The various types of flows are visualized in the rising main of a pump and the corresponding airlift pump performance is analyzed. It is observed that the slug flow is more predominant for improving the performance of the pump.