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Volume 109
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Reducing particle aggregation and pressure drop in vertical hydraulic transport through swirling flow optimization
Lele Yang a, Xiaodong Chen a, Ke Zhang a, Yue Wu a, Peng Li b *, Jianhou Zhou c
a School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, China
b Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China
c Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey, Guangzhou, 510075, China
10.1016/j.partic.2025.12.010
Volume 109, February 2026, Pages 258-269
Received 9 June 2025, Revised 13 October 2025, Accepted 12 December 2025, Available online 2 January 2026, Version of Record 14 January 2026.
E-mail: lipeng@imech.ac.cn
Highlights

• A novel deflector vane-type swirl generator for deep-sea mining swirl flow transport is proposed.

• A horizontal dispersion coefficient is proposed to quantify lateral dispersion of particles.

• Vane angle significantly impacts particle dispersion and pressure drop, while vane count and radius have lesser effects.


Abstract

In vertical hydraulic conveyance for deep-sea mining, localized particle aggregation can occur due to multiple factors, resulting in increased concentration and degrade transport performance. To mitigate this issue, this study proposes a novel deflector vane-type swirl generator with a simple structure that generates swirling flow without additional operations. A combined computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM) has been used to numerically simulate liquid-solid swirling flow in a vertical pipe featuring the vane. Subsequently, an orthogonal design method was applied to evaluate the effects of vane number, vane angle, vane radius, and hub diameter on transport behavior, using the horizontal dispersion coefficient and pressure drop as performance indicators. The results demonstrate that the vane angle is the most influential factor for both particle dispersion and pressure loss, whereas vane number and vane radius have comparatively minor effects. Moreover, increasing the vane angle and hub diameter strengthens the swirl intensity, promotes particle accumulation near the pipe wall, and thereby increases the horizontal dispersion coefficient. The results offer insights that can inform the enhancement of the efficiency and safety of vertical hydraulic transport.

Graphical abstract
Keywords
Swirling flow; CFD-DEM; Particle dispersion; Pressure drop; Vertical pipe
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