Hydraulic transport of solids in pipes: a simple method for the prediction of pressure drop

Abstract

Suspensions such as grouting slurries, concrete and dredge muds exhibit a complex flow behaviour in pipes which is not fully understood. This flow in cement systems is often complicated by the time-dependent behaviour of the material and the apparent slippage at the wall of the pipe. Most of the methods which have been developed to predict the flow behaviour of thick suspensions are very complex and are frequently inaccurate. In this paper a simple method is discussed which can be used to predict the pressure drop in pipes for time-dependent or time-independent materials with a yield stress. The method is based on the assumption that the sheared layer in the pipe can be simulated by a similar layer in the coasial cylinder viscometer, and the properties of the layer are only dependent on plug speed in both systems. The implication of this assumption is that the shear stresses at the surface of the pipe and at the surface of the inner cylinder of the coaxial viscometer are independent of the pipe diameter and the diameter of the cylinders. The method was tested against the authors’ own data and by other data from the literature.