Migration of particles suspended in yield stress fluids: Insights from numerical simulation of pipe flow of 3D printable concrete

In this work, we present a numerical model to analyse particle migration and its impact on local rheological properties when a high-yield stress suspension like 3D printable concrete is transported through a narrow circular pipe. The particle migration is studied through the lens of suspension rheology, where the effect of local particle concentration on rheological properties is accounted for using Krieger–Dougherty-type models. 3D printable mixtures with different aggregate-to-binder (a/b) ratios and flows at various discharge rates are evaluated. It is observed that, depending on the discharge rate and a/b ratio, the flow behaviour could deviate from that expected in a Poiseuille flow of Bingham fluid owing to shear-induced particle migration. Interestingly, as a consequence of particle migration, the formation of a local unsheared region close to the pipe wall is observed, apart from the plug zone at the pipe centre in the partially unsheared pipe flow of Bingham fluids. Often, for concrete pipe flow simulation, the particle size is not small enough to warrant local treatment since the finite size of the particle is not fully reflected in the flow domain. In this work, the developed numerical model is also extended to account for the finite particle size to study the transition between the sheared and unsheared regions and assess the effect of considering finite size in our simulation. Finally, the model’s capability to predict global pressure loss in pipe flow is assessed through comparisons with experimental results.