Slurry Transport Using Centrifugal Pumps

Vast tonnages of solid-liquid mixtures are pumped every year in dredging operations, mining and water-disposal applications. Most of these systems use centrifugal pumps, and the resolution of problems encountered in pumping slurries requires both detailed scientific knowledge and judgement derived from practical experience. For many years the combination of up-to-date analysis and hands-on experimentation has been provided to interested engineers in a short course based at the GIW Hydraulic Laboratory. The lecturers in this course, representing a broad background of international expertise, have now prepared a revised edition of the book based on the course. As in the previous edition, the first part of the book concentrates on the behaviour of various sorts of slurry flow and the second part deals with centrifugal pumps and the interaction between pumps and slurries in pipeline transport systems. The first part includes material on non-Newtonian flows and slurries of settling granular particles as well as the combined type of heterogeneous flow. The second part provides information on pump selection, wear and attrition and gives examples of system operation and practical experience. Additional workloads are included and, as in the previous edition, all examples are presented in both S.I. units and customary US units.