Performance of Slurry Flow Models in Pressure Pipe Tests

Abstract

New experimental data on pressure-pipe flow of slurries, together with some literature data, are used to evaluate the performance of four resistance models based on different interpretations of the process. The experiments were performed on a mixture of water and uniform sediment showing a shear-thinning rheological behavior. The literature datasets refer to a Bingham plastic mixture and to a shear-thickening mixture. Two of the tested models assume a fully stratified flow and express the total resistances as the sum of the bed and of the vehicle contribution. The third and the fourth models are based on a rheological approach that considers an equivalent homogenous fluid.