Assessment of Rheological Characteristics of a Natural Bingham-Plastic Mixture in Turbulent Pipe Flow

Abstract

Estimating rheological parameters of a non-Newtonian fluid is performed with rheometers, but experiments are limited to fine sediments, in the absence of appreciable sedimentation. An approach based on pipe flow measurements may be more flexible and convenient. The aim of this paper is to experimentally verify the latter approach in order to assess the rheology of natural mixtures of heavy materials with high tendency toward sedimentation.