Comparison of coarse slurry pipeline models

The most successful models for predicting the pressure drop for the flow of heterogeneous mixtures of solids and liquids in pipelines are based on for ce balances. The distribution of solids over the cross-section of the pipe must either be known or assumed and the most commonly used model for the in terpretation of experimental results is the two-layer model in which the pa rticles in the upper layer are in suspended flow and those in the lower lay er are (at least partially) supported by forces arising from the interactio ns between the particles and the pipe wall. The model is being progressivel y developed and experimental results for transport of solids in a small (38 mm) horizontal pipeline are compared with predictions from three versions of the model. In addition, experimental results for a large pipe (263 mm) h ave been compared with two of the models. A comparison with the experimenta l results, shown as points, shows a satisfactory agreement with both models (Richardson et al. [1996] and Modified Wilson Model [Gillies et al. 1991]) the former being a little closer for both small and large pipeline data.