Applications of the phenomenological theory to several published experimental cases of sedimentation processes

Abstract

In one space dimension, the phenomenological theory of sedimentation predicts the sedimentation–consolidation behavior of a flocculated suspension in dependence of two constitutive functions describing its material behavior, the solids flux density (or hindered settling function) and the solid effective stress. These functions are assumed to depend only on the local volumetric solids concentration. In this contribution, we review several experimental and theoretical studies of sedimentation in settling columns. We first resume the theories that have been employed to interpret the experimental measurements and then apply the phenomenological model to the available data. The two constitutive functions involved are determined from the published concentration, permeability and effective stress data. The mathematical model is then solved numerically using these functions, and the resulting predictions of settling behavior are compared with the respective authors’ experimental findings and interpretations. In one case, the information obtained from a batch settling experiment is used to simulate continuous sedimentation.