要約

Pipeline transportation of solid particles finds a unique place in industrial applications and is characterized with cost effectiveness for long distances, reliability, low maintenance, low air- and noise pollution, and more importantly eco-friendly. Many industrially important minerals and ores such as coal, iron ore concentrate, phosphate concentrate, copper concentrate, zinc concentrate, and limestone can be transported successfully over long distances. The rheological behavior of limestone–water slurry samples was investigated in slurry concentration range of 40–70% by weight. The slurry showed Newtonian behavior up to a solids concentration of 62.5% by weight, beyond which the slurry was non-Newtonian in nature and fitted quite well to the power-law model. Based on the flow characteristics and rheological data generated, appropriate Newtonian and non-Newtonian head-loss models were employed to compute the head loss of limestone slurry in the studied range of solid concentrations. The specific power consumption (SPC) data evaluated with respect to slurry concentration for four different pipe sizes (150 NB, 200 NB, 250 NB, and 300 NB pipes) indicated that the SPC is minimum at C_W = 65%. Therefore, for limestone slurry to be transported economically, the pipelines should operate around this concentration.