Simulation of a vertical hydraulic transport system with a submerged capsule

Abstract

The system of hydraulic transport in underwater mining of solid minerals, which consists of two parts: - a horizontal pipeline; - a vertical pipeline is considered. The most complicated section of vertical hydraulic transport is also presented. Operation of the vertical hydraulic transport system consists in the two-stage process of lifting the hydro-mixture of the mineral from the bottom sump to the vessel. At the first segment, from the sump to the immersion capsule, the lift is carried out due to the difference between the hydrostatic pressure at the immersion depth of the capsule and the atmospheric pressure. The calculation formulas for determining the optimal submersion depth of the capsule depending on the depth of the underwater deposit, concentration of the solid material in the volume of the hydro-mixture, system capacity and other characteristics are presented. Adequacy of theoretical formulas should be confirmed by experimental results, which is the subject of further research.