Booster pump interaction and control for long dredging and mining pipelines: a study using multiphase 1D-CFD
Type:
Presented during:
CEDA Dredging Days 2026
Authors:
E. de Hoog, B. Nieuwboer and V. Toet
Abstract
In dredging and mining, long pipelines that require multiple pumps are commonly used to transport soils, ores and tailings. Pipelines with booster stations can be considered complex. Special design is required to ensure correct positioning of the booster pumps. The outlet pressure of the booster is limited to the maximum pressure rating of the pump casing. The inlet pressure of a booster is designed to be above +100 kPa gauge pressure to avoid cavitation and water hammer, a rule of thumb. What are the options when the +100 kPa inlet pressure design rule cannot be met? Current literature does not tackle this issue and does not explain the origin on the +100 kPa design rule. Can the pipeline still be functional when applying more advance pump feedback control systems? Pumps in a pipeline influence each other. Often boosters are equipped with a safety control system to ensure that the pump does not cavitate, by reducing the pump speed. However, that means that other pumps need capacity to compensate, possibly causing a cascading scenario leading to cavitation of other pumps, or causing the pipeline mixture velocity to drop below the critical velocity. Understanding booster interaction is key to designing a safe pipeline with many boosters, and especially at high mixture densities, or when the +100 kPa design guideline cannot be met. In this article, booster interaction is studied using transient 1D-CFD, which is well equipped to study the complex dynamic interaction between the pumps. The following scenarios are simulated: start- and shutdown procedures, a calamity in the form of a large density wave, booster vacuum control and mixture flow control. The results show how the boosters interact, and the article shows how inlet pressure and flow feedback control can enable a pipeline that does not meet the +100 kPa design rule.