Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical

Engineers
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Hydraulic Transport of Solid Material in Pipes

R. C. Worster and D. F. Denny
Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1955 169: 563
DOI: 10.1243/PIME_PROC_1955_169_064_02

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 563

Hydraulic Transport of Solid Material in Pipes

By R. C. Worster, B.Sc. (Eng.) (Graduate)*, and D. F. Denny, B.Sc. (Eng.), Ph.D.
(Associate Member)t
The growing interest in the hydraulic conveying of solid material in pipes has brought to light the
lack of data for the design of these systems. To meet this need extensive research work has been
undertaken both in Britain and overseas and the more important results are summarized.
The flow of mixtures in horizontal pipes is a complex phenomenon not very amenable to theoretical
study. It has been found possible to correlate data obtained over a fairly wide range of conditions
and the flow in vertical and sloping pipes is also mentioned.
The passage of solids through machines and pipes leads to breakage of the particles and wear of
the metal parts. Some test results and conjectures on this are given.
Because high pressures are required for long-distance hydraulic transport or for vertical lifting
through pipes, the practical problems of pumping solids are severe. These are discussed with special
reference to coal-feeding devices.

INTRODUCTION
For many years the hydraulic transport of solids in pipes has
been successfully applied in a few specialized fields such as
dredging, land reclamation, and the winning of some minerals.
One important installation is that at Copper Cliff, Ontario,
where 4 million tons a year of tailings are transported by pipeline
over a distance of 73 miles. Another pipeline 53 miles long is
being used to transport 1 million tons a year of fine coal to a
power station at Carling in France. This pipe is 15 inches in
diameter and is fed by five 400-h.p. centrifugal pumps. Even for
comparatively short distances, however, the power requirements
are large, especially when big solids are to be moved: as an
example, in the construction of the Beauharnois Power Canal
in Canada one 1,500-h.p., %inch pump was used to deliver
120 tons per hr. of rock crushed to 5 inches, through 2,000
feet.
Existing installations for hydraulic transport utilize special
centrifugal pumps whose impellers are capable of passing the
largest pieces likely to occur in the mixture. Sometimes the
solids and water in the desired proportions are fed to a hopper
connected to the suction branch of the pump. The pump then
delivers the mixture into the pipeline at a pressure sufficient to
overcome the friction resistance and any static head. Where the
solids are to be recovered, screening or other separating plant is
used at the delivery of the pipeline. In suction dredging, prior
mixing before the pump is not possible and it is necessary to rely
on the skill of the operator to keep the suction mouth-piece close flow of mixtures in pipes. In the 3-inch pipe system, the mixture
enough to the river bed to entrain a large quantity of material
without starving the pump of water.
There is considerable interest today in the possibilities of
hydraulic transport in other fields, such as the moving of coal
in bulk. Earth- and debris-moving plants are often required on
temporary sites and the simplicity of hydraulic transport is then
the major factor in determining its widespread use. For per-
manent installations, however, such as the feeding of coal to a
power station, reliability and economic factors are relatively
more important. For this reason more precise knowledge of the
mechanism of the flow in pipes is needed so that reliable
estimates can be made of the power consumption and the size
and cost of the plant required for major projects. Large-scale
laboratory and plant studies are now in progress to provide the
basic information on plant operation and the design of new
machinery.
The MS. of this paper was received at the Institution on 15th
October 1954. For a report of the meeting in London, on 25th March very useful. In this plant the solids are injected by the original
1955, at which this paper was presented, see p. 586.
1* Deputy Director of Research, British Hydromechanics Research I t iWhen
Association, Harfow, Essex.
t Research Engineer, British Hydromechanics Research Association, diaculties of measurement are considerably greater than with
Harlow, Essex.
Notation.
C Concentration by true volume in the mixture delivered.
CD Drag coefficient.
D Diameter of pipe.
d Solid particle diameter.
Ordinary water friction coefficient in hf = f jj, g
L 02
f
z Hydraulic gradient along pipe carrying solids, ft. of water
head per ft. of pipe.
Hydraulic gradient along pipe with water alone at same
speed.
4 Volumetric concentration in pipe.
S Specific gravity of solid particles referred to the density
of water.
Nominal velocity in pipe, ft. per sec.
Net velocity of solid particles, ft. per sec.
Free falling velocity of solid particles, ft. per sec.
Real speed of water in vertical flow.
, I
Density of solid particles.
yL Densky of liquid.
TJ
?;# Overall efficiencjr of pbmp.
--
Overall efficiencv of hvdraulic liftinz svstems.
E X P E R I M E N T A L TEST P L A N T S
Several experimental installations have been used to study the
was kept in suspension by agitation in a 700-gallon storage tank.
A centrifugal pump, driven by a 25-h.p. variable-speed motor,
was fed from this tank and the mixture delivered along the test
pipeline and returned to the storage tank. For flow measurement
the delivery was diverted into a weighing tank. Part of this
installation is shown in Fig. 1, Plate 1. With this test plant the
secondary methods of measuring flow and concentration, used in
a later 6-inch pipe system, were tested.
In the laboratory, it is advantageous to be able to work with
high concentrationsof solids and at low velocities in the unstable-
flow region. It has been found that experimental systems are
much more stable when a feeder is used to introduce the solids
into the pipeline after the water has been pumped up to pressure
separately. With such an arrangement it is easy to deliver, at
low speeds, mixtures of coal and water at concentrations up to
35 per cent by true volume through pipe systems similar to that
shown in Fig. lb, Plate 1.
A small installation using 13-inch transparent pipe has been
n c h reciprocating feeder made in 1952.
the flow of mixtures in pipelines is being studied the
water alone. Besides the flow rate, there is also the concentration

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564 HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S
to be controlled and measured, and it is difficult to know whether
steady conditions obtain throughout the system. Test results are
often not repeatable to better than f10 per cent.
P L O W O F SOLID-LIQUID MIXTURES IN PIPES
The behaviour of mixtures of solid particles and a liquid
flowing in a pipe differs from that of a simple liquid, especially
when the particles are denser than the liquid and their size is
greater than about inch.
In a horizontal pipe, gravity tends to stratify the mixture into
two distinct layers : a lower layer of solids and an upper one of
liquid (Fig. 2 , Plate 1). Re-mixing of these two layers may be
achieved by cross-turbulence in the liquid but this occurs only
at very high speeds or with relatively fine particles (less than
Q inch).
I n a vertical pipe, the flow conditions are simpler. Gravity
forces on the particles act in the same line as the pressure gradient
and average velocity : the separating effect is then easily over-
come and the solids are uniformly distributed across the pipe
section.
Flow in Horizontal Pipes. The variation of pressure drop
along the pipe with the mean velocity is shown in Fig. 3 for the
flow of coal-water mixtures along 3-inch and 6-inch pipes.
These results are from laboratory tests using coal whose maxi-
mum size was about one-quarter of the pipe bore in each instance.
The actual delivered concentration at each test point is marked
and the curves for constant concentration are interpolations. No
method has yet been discovered of feeding a closed-loop labora-
tory pipeline so that the concentration of solids is kept constant
over a large range of velocities.
At very high speeds, the pressure gradient along the pipe is
little more than that of water alone, flowing at the same mean
speed. If account is taken of the higher density of the delivered
mixture the difference is still less, but, contrary to earlier
suggestions (Durand and Condolios 1952*; Worster 1952;
O’Brien and Folsom 1937), does not seem to vanish completely
with solids above about 4 inch. In Fig. 4 the data from the

VELOCITY- FT. PER SEC.

a &-inchcoal; 3-inch pipe.

a
w
0.10
0.09
0-08

0.07
+-
:ONCENTRATION--
TRUE VOLUME,
Fig. 4. Curve of fi-iw)/c Plotted Against Velocity
$-inch coal flowing with water in a 3-inch pipe; the excess pressure
drop is proportional to concentration.

3-inch pipe are shown as the observed difference between the

E 0.06 pressure gradients (measured in ft. of water head per ft. of pipe)
5 with and without the coal; it seems fairly certain that the
g 0.05 difference does not fall to zero but to a constant value of O.lc,
a
rT
ui
but for practical purposes the increase in pressure gradient due
to the solids at high speeds is relatively small.
3 0’04 As the speed diminishes, the pressure gradient for the mixture
departs progressively from that for the liquid alone, until it
5
5 0.03
reaches a stage where it is not greatly dependent on speed but
-
u only on the concentration and specific gravity of the solids. Still
a further reduction in speed seems to cause a rise in the pressure
&
0 gradient. It is, however, difficult to obtain data in this region,
u where the pressure gradient (with a fixed solids concentration)
3 0.02 is rising with diminishing speed, because the system is unstable
e
d
(section on Stability and Safety below).
Correlation of data on flow of mixtures of large solids and
water. It will be noticed in Fig. 3 that the curves for a given
concentration of coal are similar : they deviate from the clear-
water curve at about the same pressure gradient, then fall to
about the same minimum and rise again. Although they are
0.01 similar to one another in regard to pressure gradient, they differ
OClTY
4 5
- FT. PER SEC
6 7 8 9 from one pipe to another i n the velocity at which these changes
take place. This suggests that similar velocities in pipes of
b 1)-inch coal; 6-inch pipe. different sizes should occur at equal pressure gradients : that is
Fig. 3. Pressure Gradients Along Pipes Carrying when i, or v2/gDare the same.
Coal-Water Mixtures Since it is possible to plot all the data for a particular solid
material and pipe on a single curve of (i-iw)/c against v*, as in
Actual concentrations in percentages are shown beside each test
point. * An alphabetical list of references is given in an Appendix.

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 H Y D R A U L I C TRANSPORT OF S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S 565
Fig. 4, and since the velocity scale of different pipes should be large solids in water alone. No quantitative information yet
as the roots of their diameters, data with different pipe sizes exists on this aspect.
should agree when (i-iw)/c is plotted against v2/D. Effect of solid and liquid densities. In some circumstances it
T o account for different densities of the solid material, it is may be practical to use a liquid of density greater than that of
necessary to divide both ordinate and abscissa by the submerged water. With a simple liquid such as brine, laboratory tests have
specific gravity of the solids (s- l), that is, to plot (i-iw)/c(s- 1) shown that marked reductions in velocities and pressure gradients
against zG‘/gD(s-1). The acceleration of gravity has been are possible. They still conform to the correlation shown in
introduced to make the abscissa dimensionless and to write it Fig. 5, if the pressure gradients are expressed in ft. of liquid
in the conventional form of a Froude number. Instead of v2/gD, head per ft. of pipe and the solids density correction (s-1) is
the hydraulic gradient of the water flow may be used, since referred to the liquid density, that is, (s-1) = (yS-yL)/yL.
i, = fv2/2gD, where f is the ordinary friction coefficient which Although the use of brine might be economically attractive for
does not vary very greatly. This last method of plotting pressure- transporting coal (it would reduce (s-1) from 0.4 to about 0.2
drop results is used in Fig. 5, which includes test data on the thus allowing a 1.4/1 reduction in velocity and a 2/1.2 reduction
in pressure gradient), it is not desirable because of the con-
tamination of the delivered coal. The suspension type of heavy
medium is commonly used in washeries today and the technique
of recovery of the medium exists. There seems no reason why
advantage cannot be taken of this kind of heavy medium in any
proposal for transporting large coal over long distances, with
considerable reductions in costs.
Solids of non-uniform densities have not been investigated
properly. It has been observed that, with a mixture of gravel
and coal, the gravel tends to collect together and travel in ‘dunes’
at the bottom of the pipe. In some circumstances this may be
dangerous but the overall pressure drop along the pipe is not
likely to be much greater than that for the mean density of the
solids.
Effect of the pipe surface. When the physical properties of the
pipe wall differ from those of steel, or when the solids trans-
ported differ from such materials as gravel or coal, significantly
different pressure drops may be observed. For instance, lining
&/(s-l) a pipe with polytetrafluorethylene (P.T.F.E.) reduces the
Fig. 5. Curve of (i-im)/c(s- 1) Plotted Against i&- 1) excess pressure by about 25 per cent. With rubber particles
3-inch pipe; &-inchcoal. small in comparison with the pipe, a reduction of pressure drop
A 4-inch pipe; &-inch gravel. below the normal also takes place (Durand 1953): however,
-t- 6-inch pipe; I-inch coal. large rubber particles tend to bridge across the pipe section
n 6-inch pipe; &-inch gravel. with consequent increase in the pressure drop. The roughness
of the pipe walls and aging effects will not usually be important
pressure drops in 3-, 4-, and 6-inch pipes, passing both gravel- because the presence of hard materials like sand or coal will
water and coal-water mixtures. smooth the pipe wall.
No satisfactory theory of the motion of mixtures of solids and
liquids in horizontal pipes has yet been advanced and the Flow in Vertical Pipes. I n upward flow the solid particles
correlation shown in Fig. 5 for the category of large solids is slip backwards at about their free settling velocity, vs (Fig. 6).
merely an empirical deduction from test data. Similar correla- The water consequently travels rather more quickly than the
tions have been published by the present author (Worster mean speed, and the solid particles rather more slowly, the
1952) and by others (Durand and Condolios 1952), but they are difference being dependent on the ratio of the slip velocity, v,,
all subject to the same qualification.
+
Effect of particle size. Above about inch or & inch, increas-
ing the size of the solids appears to have little direct effect on the
pressure drop. However, if solids below this size are to be trans-
ported, considerable diminutions in the pressure drop and
permissible velocity will be found until, with particles of the
order of 40 microns or thereabouts, no significant differences
between the mixture flow and the flow of a liquid of the same
density may be expected so long as the flow is turbulent. With
solid particles between this minimum size and & inch the
turbulence in the liquid is capable of holding particles in
suspension, and these will then contribute very little to the
pressure drop along the pipe. The proportion of particles in
suspension naturally increases with velocity or with diminishing
particle size or density. This type of flow has been dealt with in
an earlier publication (Worster 1952), and Durand and Condolios
(1952) have also taken account of this size effect in their correla-
tion.
Little is yet known about the effect of mixed sizes of solids.
When they are all above about 7; inch, experiments demonstrate
that there is little or no effect due to size grading so long as the
particles are all greater than Q inch. When the solids are made up
of a mixture of very large and very small particles it is not
possible to say what will take place. At low speeds the large solids
travel as a deep sliding bed and a great deal of the smaller
material is trapped in the interstices of the larger. At high speeds
the fine material may be completely suspended in the liquid, thus
making a ‘heavy medium’ in which the large solids are carried
along as if they were in a liquid of greater density; that is, with a
pressure gradient less than that corresponding to that of the Fig. 6. Vertical Flow Upwards

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566 HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F SOLID MATERIAL I N PIPES
to the mean velocity, v, and also on the concentration of solids centration actually present in the pipe is only increased to 20.3
being transported. Simple arithmetic leads to the relation shown per cent and the real water speed to 6.1 ft. per sec. These two
in Fig. 7 between the real water speed, vw, and the nominal slight increases correspond to a change in the pressure gradient
speed. shown by a water manometer from 0.120 to 0-128 ft. per ft. of
In upward flow in a vertical pipe the volumetric concentra- pipe. In view of the difficulties of measuring concentration, flow
tion in the pipe, q, is slightly higher than the delivered con- and pressure drop to this degree of accuracy, it is not surprising
centration, c: the ratio q [ c also depends on vs[v and on the that this small increase has not been distinguished in laboratory
tests. The pressure gradient in excess of the static lift in a
vertical pipe can therefore be taken to be i = i,+c(s-l).
Fiow in Sloping Pipes. Tests have been made with a 1)-inch
pipe system on the pressure drops in pipes inclined both up and
down, at several angles. They served to confirm that the excess
pressure drop caused by the solids in the sloping pipe was equal
to the sum of the excess pressure drops in the corresponding
horizontal and vertical pipes joining the same end points, as
shown in Fig. 8. This result has not been checked for larger

1.0 2-0 I
z1 /ns

4 On concentration, q, in pipe with vertical flow.

1.6
I .5 . t.m t d ih
I=
I.4
Fig. 8. Pressure Drops in Sloping Pipes
I.3

I .2 pipes. As in vertical pipes, the static lift in feet of water head

5 1.1
I .o
0.9
0.8
.O
v /us
b On real speed, vW,in vertical flow.
Fig. 7. Effect of Particle Slip
concentration delivered, and is shown in Fig. 7b. The weight
of the solids in the vertical pipe is taken by an additional
pressure gradient amounting to q(s-1). The part of q(s-1)
corresponding to the delivered concentration, that is, c(s - l),
is not wasted energy but useful work done in raising the solids,
and only the remainder &(q--c)(s-l) is actually wasted in
the slipping of the solids.relative to the water. (This term is
positive for upward flow when q >c, and negative for downward
flow when q<c.)
The pressure gradient due to the friction of water on the pipe
walls will be of the same order as that for water alone,
i = f(v*/2gD), but since the actual water speed slightly exceeds
v owing to the slipping of the solids, the water-friction gradient
ought to be increased slightly. There are therefore two apparent
sources of additional energy loss in vertical upward flow, the
excess density gradient (q-c)(s-1) and the slight extra water
friction. These two terms are, however, negligible at all ordinary
pipe speeds. For instance, with 20 per cent of $-inch coal
flowing in water up a 6-inch pipe at a nominal speed of 6 ft. per
+
sec., the slip velocity of the coal is about ft. per sec. ;the con-
should be taken into account in order to obtain the difference
in pressures as measured by gauges at the bottom and the top
of the pipeline.
Stability and Safety. Although it is desirable from the aspect
of power economy to work near the minimum in the pressure-drop
curves (Fig. 3), the system is not very stable when the ordinary
flat characteristic of a centrifugal pump is applicable: a slight
drop in pump speed or increase in the solids feed will make it
impossible for the two characteristics to meet and the flow will
diminish to zero, while at the same time the pipeline will fill
with solids. It is therefore necessary to work to the right (Fig. 3)
of this minimum by an amount which depends on the speed
variation to be expected of the pump and the expected variation
in solids feed. In a long pipeline the friction Characteristiccannot
change suddenly but only in a time of the same order as the
‘transit time’ of the solids through the pipeline. There is then
the possibility of measuring the pressure drop along about the
first 20 feet of the pipe near the feeding end, and of using this
to control either the solids feed rate or the pump speed. The con-
centration present in this pipe length would be an equally useful
control signal.
It can be a great help if the pump characteristic is steep near
its working point. As Durand and Condolios (1952) have pointed
out, a pump driven by an engine can be made more stable
by locking its governor : if the pipe resistance increases the flow
will diminish and the power taken by the pump will fall. The
engine would then speed up, increasing the pump head which
may then be sufficient to overcome the increased resistance. This
‘steepening’ of the pump characteristic can be estimated from
the head and torque characteristics of the pump and the torque
characteristics of the engine. A commutator motor can give a
similar drive characteristic.
The stability of the system obviously depends on whether the
solids feed is a constant mixture concentration or a constant
mass flow of solids. One curve for the latter is shown dotted in

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 HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT
Fig. 9a and it is clear that this condition is less stable than a
constant-concentration feed to the pipe system.
The stability of flow in a vertical pipe is not a serious problem
as may be seen in Fig. 9b. Naturally, it is desirable to empty the
system of solids before the flow is stopped, and provision should
be made for doing this in an emergency.
OF S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S 567
In an emergency it is possible for tightly packed solids to move
along a parallel straight pipe, but in flowing around a pipe bend
the packed bed must shear internally. In doing this there is a
dilatation and the solids are very likely to seize and stop the
flow. It is usually at a bend or restriction that a pipeline carrying
TABLE1. MINIMUMSPEEDS FOR REASONABLE
CONCENTRATIONS OF COAL OR GRAVEL

Pipe diameter, Minimum speed, ft. per sec.

inches
Gravel 1 Coal
1 3 13
7
3
6
9
10
13
266
12 15 76
18 17% 83

solids will choke and it may be desirable to provide means of

emptying the pipe at such danger spots.
Settling Velocity of Particles. The velocity at which a solid
particle falls in a liquid is an important factor and, in many ways,
is a good measure of the hydraulic effects of the size, shape, and
0 ;
3
j
4
I
5 6
I I
7
’ 9
I
10
I
II
I
12
~

13
;
14
I
15
116
density of the particle. For spheres it is easy to calculate the
settling velocity by equating the fluid drag to its submerged
VELOCITY-FT. PER SEC.
weight :
Q For flow in horizontal pipe.
046
0.14
where the drag coefficient cDis a known function of the Reynolds
number vsd/v.Graphs showing this function have been published
w
g 0.12 frequently, for example, by Durand and Condolios (1952) and
Worster (1952).
!
d
i
0.10 When the particles are not spherical but of irregular shape
Y their settling velocity is reduced, sometimes greatly. Particles of
a.
&
0.08 ordinary irregularity such as gravel or coal have a settling velocity
3
UJ

0.06
of about a half or a third that of a sphere of the same ‘sieve size’.
The presence of a pipe wall diminishes the settling velocity
c’ 0.04
Y
below that of a freely falling particle. A single particle falling in
a pipe three times its diameter has its settling velocity halved.
0.02 However, this effect does not seem to be present with swarms
of particles falling: tests on the effect of concentration on the
0 settling velocity of large particles indicate a linear reduction in
0 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1011
VELOCITY-FT. PER SEC.
settling velocity with increasing concentration: at 30 per cent
concentration by volume the settling velocity has fallen to about
b For flow in vertical pipe. 0.6 or 0.7 of the free falling velocity of single particles. This
reduction is greater with finer solids.
Fig. 9. System Characteristics In most instances the settling velocity of solids in water is
small, as may be seen in Table 2.
The maximum size of solids that can be passed through a pipe
is not easy to fix. At low concentrations and high velocities single
lumps almost as big as the pipe will even pass safely around pipe
bends. It seems that the essential requirement at moderate speeds
is that the sliding bed of solids should leave sufficient free space Screen Free fall, ft. per sec. Settling velocity at
above it for the largest particles to turn over freely. Clearly, size, 30 per cent concentration,
inches ft. per sec.
therefore, the maximum size of solids being transported depends,
at these speeds, on the concentration in the pipe. For instance,
in a 6-inch horizontal pipe a rather low speed for handling coal
1 Gravel 1 Coal I Gravel I ~

Coal
is about 5 ft. per sec. At this speed the concentration present in
the pipe is about 28 per cent when the delivered concentration
is 20 per cent. Since the voids of a closely packed bed of coal are
about 50 per cent, the coal bed occupies a depth of slightly more
than half the pipe diameter, leaving only 3 inches of clear space
above it. In this case the maximum safe size of coal would be
about 2 inches. At higher concentrations or lower speeds this As may be seen from Fig. 7 a a mean velocity of double the
would be reduced. The rule that the maximum size of solids is settling velocity would be quite adequate for transport up a
limited to one-third of the pipe diameter is only applicable at vertical pipe, that is, 3 ft. per sec. for 3-inch coal. But if a coal-
moderate concentrations if the speeds are low. raising system is made of the same pipe throughout then the
The speeds that correspond to the minimum in the friction velocities must be determined from the requirements of any
curves increase as the square root of pipe diameter and of the horizontal or sloping sections in the pipeline. These velocities
density under water (s-I). Approximate values are given in will always be large in comparison with those sufficient for safe
Table 1 for reasonable concentrations of 20 or 25 per cent of vertical lifting, but it hardlv seems worth increasinp: the size of
-
I

large coal or gravel. 1 the vertical $pe on this account.

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 HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F SOLID MATERIAL I N P I P E S Plate I
Mean speed
of mixture,
ft. per sec.
5.5

4.5

3,7

2.8

1.3

0.8

a Fig, 2. Flow of a Coal and Water Mixture at Different

Speeds in a Perspex Pipe of l+ inches Diameter
Delivered concentration about 13 per cent.

b
Fig. 1. Experimental 3-inch Pipe System at the British Hydromechanics Research Association (B.H.R.A.)
[I.Mech.E., 19551
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Plate 2 HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT OF SOLID MATERIAL I N PIPES

Fig. 18. Part of Ring Pipe Used for Measuring Coal Degradation Fig. 20. Wear on the 8-inch Hammersmith Coal Pipeline
Wall thicknesses of 0.25 inch and 0.15 inch at top and bottom
respectively.

SCREEN

SURFACE
PLANT CIRCULATING PUMP
w
SUMP
i

PRESSURE VESSELS

RETURN
WATER

DISCHARGE VESSEL

1 , WATER DISPLACED
B Y COAL

:
i:l
ANNULAR

PIT
BOTTOM

FEEDER Fig. 12. Lock-hopper Feeder IET

Fig. 10. Typical Closed-cycle System Employing a Feeder

[I.Mech.E., 19551

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568 HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F
For instance, if the horizontal pipes are chosen to be of 10-
inch bore with a mean speed of 9 ft. per sec., the water friction
losses in the vertical pipe would be about 0.03 ft. of water per
ft. of pipe. A change to 12-inch pipe for the vertical line only
would reduce the speed to about 6.25 ft. per sec. and the pres-
sure gradient to 0.012 ft. of water per ft. of pipe. In a 1,000-foot
lift this represents a saving of perhaps 12 feet of water friction,
which is hardly significant. Practice may show that other factors
such as pipe wear make the use of lower vertical-pipe velocities
desirable.
M E T H O D S OF P U M P I N G S O L I D S
Low-pressure Systems. The simplest method of pumping
solids is to mix them with the desired amount of water in a tank
and then pass them through a centrifugal pump the passages of
which are wide enough to take the largest particles. If the pump
speed and solids feed rate are constant there is no difficulty in
maintaining a uniform flow in the pipe.
This method is widely used for conveying fine material, and
one notable scheme is that at Carling, where five centrifugal
pumps in series convey colliery tailings to a power station over a
distance of 53 miles (Gibrat and Chenin 1954).
It is usual with solids pumps to pressure-grease the internal
bearings and to flush the glands continuously with clean water,
but the real problem is the erosion of the volute and impeller
and it is this factor which restricts their use. For instance, when
handling solids the pump speed is limited and the maximum
head available is about 150 ft. per stage, so that a single pump is
sufficient only for comparatively short-distance transport unless
staging is employed. Even with fine coal, erosion of high-speed
pumps may be serious.
High-pressure Systems. Long-distance horizontal transport
or vertical lifts from deep mines necessitate a very high pressure
at the entry to the pipe system, or boosters along its length. This
can be achieved by any of the following methods :
(1) The use of several centrifugal pumps in series.
(2) The solids and water may be passed together through a
positive-displacement pump. The problem of valves for such a
pump is a serious one, for their lift or opening must be sufficient
to allow the largest particles to pass freely through, and they are
also subject to damage by the particles on the sealing surfaces.
So far as is known this method has not been used for solids
+
larger than inch, but there is the possibility of a special valve
for a pump being designed to handle much larger solids than this
with an efficiency better than that of the corresponding centri-
fugal pump.
( 3 ) The solids may be fed mechanically into the pipeline after
the water has been raised to the necessary pressure. Several
designs of feeding machine have been tested and these will later
be described more fully. It is the essence of all such machines
that they release water to atmospheric pressure at the same
volume rate as the solids feed, and this, together with leakage
water, must be pumped back into the pipe. The pressure of the
system at this point is at its highest and the repumping of the
displaced water which may be heavily laden with fine material
presents a problem. Design of suitable centrifugal pumps for
this duty may be difficult and, in many instances, the size and
cost of cleaning plant for this purpose would be prohibitive. A
positive-displacement pump may often be a better solution.
System CjJcZes. Hydraulic transport systems may be divided
into two categories, closed cycle and open cycle, according to
whether the liquid conveying the solids is recirculated and used
again or not.
Open cycles are applicable only where there is ample supply of
liquid near the inlet end of the pipeline, and means of disposing
of the liquid at the discharge end of the pipe. The conveying
liquid will be contaminated by fine particles and, in an open-cycle
system, it may be difficult to dispose of, or uneconomic to clean.
A typical application of the open cycle is the lifting of coal from
a mine where water is available at the pit bottom.
In the closed cycle (Fig. 10, Plate 2) the water used to convey
the solids is returned, after separation at the discharge end, and
used again. I n this way, both the provision of a continuous supply
of water and its subsequent disposal after contamination are
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SOLID MATERIAL I N P I P E S
avoided. However, the fines that would otherwise accumulate in
the system must be withdrawn at a rate sufficient to keep their
concentration at an acceptable level.
A closed cycle would be essential for lifting coal or other
mineral from a dry mine, and for systems using liquid media
other than water.
Eficiency of a Hydraulic Lifting System. With a vertical
lifting system where work is done on the solids it is possible to
arrive at a conveying efficiency, and a typical closed-cycle
installation is analysed below.
The energy is provided partly by a circulating-water pump
used to overcome friction losses and the density difference of
the two water columns, and partly by a pump at the pit bottom
which returns the displaced water and feeder leakage back into
the system at the highest pressure point. From the practical
point of view, the obvious location for the circulating pump is at
the surface where the pressures are low.
The feeder does no useful work: it simply exchanges equal
volumes of solids at low pressure for water at high pressure.
The chief power loss in the system arises from the leakage of
high-pressure water to atmosphere through the feeder.
The effects of feeder leakage and of solids concentration on
system efficiency are shown in Fig. 11, an 80 per cent efficiency
1.0
0.8
0.6
c
F
> 0.4
a:
0
r b h - 0 20
SOLIDS CONCENTRATION-PER CENT
Fig. 11. Effect of Solids Concentration and Leakage on
Lifting Efficiency, 71, of a Closed-cycle Feeder System
Feeder power is neglected ;KLequals (feeder leakage)/(solids through-
put); rlp is the displaced-water pump efficiency.
being assumed for the circulating pump. It can be seen that the
efficiency of the cycle is greatly affected by the solids con-
centration when below 15 per cent, because power is required to
maintain the water circulation, and the friction component of
this power is independent of the solids delivery.
These calculations neglect the power to work the feeder which
is zero only in the ideal case. Power is required to overcome
mechanical friction and, where used, to suck the solids into the
feeder from the hopper. Both terms will depend largely on the
feeder design but may be expressed as a function of the solids
throughput.
If the feeder power consumption is 0.3 h.p. per ton per hr. of
solids, with a 1,000-foot lift, 50 per cent leakage, and 20 per cent
concentration, T / Q falls from 0.72 to 0.63 (if ~p equals 0.75)
when feeder power is taken into account.
Thus, the lifting-system efficiency would be about 48 per cent.
Types of Solids-feeding Machine. Feeders may be divided
into two categories, those in which the only moving parts of the
machine are valves, and those in which the moving parts them-
selves convey the solids from a region of low pressure (hopper)
to a region of high pressure (delivery line). In practice, however,
the problems of both types are almost identical. Except for the
lock-hopper feeder, machines for feeding solids other than coal
into high-pressure pipelines have not been developed.
 H Y D R A U L I C T R A N S P O R T O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N PIPES 569
One design of the first type, a lock-hopper feeder made by necessarily become damaged, should be relied on to seal the
a commercial company for the Ministry of Fuel and Power, leakage.
consists of two pressure vessels each communicating alternately There are many forms the feeder can take; two are illustrated
with a hopper and a discharge vessel as shown in Fig. 12, Plate 2. in Figs. 14 and 15.
As an indication of size the outer vessel is 8 feet in diameter, COAL
and 15 feet high; the main valves are elliptical and measure AND WATER
24 inches by 18 inches. The throughput of the machine will be
determined not so much by the time cycle of events as by the
rate at which coal can fall through the valves agajnst the up-
flowing displaced water. With 3-inch coal the particle velocity
through the valves is unlikely to exceed 1 ft. per sec., which
corresponds to a throughput of about 100 tons per hr.
The main point in favour of the lock-hopper feeder is that the
leakage from the pipe to the hopper can be very small. This is a
very important factor in the efficiency of the transport system.
The valves move only after the pressures on either side are
-e--
balanced, so that the power needed is small and erosion of the
surfaces is minimized. SUCTION
Very large vessels are unsuitable for high pressures, and it HIGH-PRESSURE
may be necessary to use small vessels with a correspondingly WATER
short time cycle. The control system is complex, there being four
coal valves and at least four water valves to be operated in their Fig. 14. Reciprocating Feeder (Double-acting)
correct sequence.
The feature common to feeders of the moving-pocket type
is that solids from the hopper are induced to fill a pocket within
the moving part of the machine, and this pocket then travels to
a position where water at high pressure drives the solids into the
delivery pipe. The throughput of such a machine is proportional
to the linear speed of the pocket, and to its volume, provided
that it completely fills and empties.
If the particles are merely allowed to fill the pockets by
gravity the speed and hence the throughput of the machine is
seriously restricted by the slow rate of filling and, in practice,
some inducement for the particles to move quickly is essential.
This can be achieved by circulating the solids and water through
the pocket, in one side and out the other, but this involves a
solids-handling pump and unnecessary degradation of the
particles. An alternative method is to circulate only the water, the
solids being restrained from leaving the pocket by a suitable
grating across the outlet, as shown in Fig. 13. SUCTION k I HIGH PRESSURE
WATER
AND
WATER

SECONDARY
Fig. 15. Disk Feeder
WATER FLOW

Fig. 13. Moving-pocket Feeder Reciprocating feeders. In the double-acting reciprocating

Provided that the grating forms part of the moving member
of the machine rather than part of the body, the grating is self-
cleaning, because flow through it is reversed when the solids are
discharged from the pocket. With this method of filling the
pocket, the throughput of the machine is now limited by the
rate of emptying the pocket, which is a function of the quantity
flow in the pipeline and thus normally beyond control.
The restriction of leakage from the high-pressure side to the
hopper is the major probIem for wherever seals may be fitted
they have at some time to pass over the rough edges either of the
pocket or of the hopper opening; this virtually eliminates the use
of deformable materials such as rubber.
The present solution is to rely on close clearances to restrain
leakage, but though this is satisfactory when the machine is
new, wear inevitably results in increased leakage.
With these feeders the moving parts must be capable of
chopping those particles which can neither squeeze into the
pocket nor climb from it at the moment of closing of the gap.
It is thus undesirable that these ‘chopping’ edges, which
feeder (Fig. 14) a plunger containing two rectangular pockets is
reciprocated so that at each end of the stroke one pocket lies
beneath a hopper and is filled with coal, whilst the other pocket
falls opposite the pipeline into which its load of coal is discharged.
The delivery from a single machine of this design is interrupted
for a short time during each stroke because of the lap necessary
to restrict axial leakage from the pressure pipe to the hopper. This
interruption can be avoided either by allowing a continuous
bypass of water round the feeder, which lowers the delivered
concentration, or by intermittent bypass of water through radial
holes in the plunger. The 50-ton-per-hr. prototype machine at
B.H.R.A. (details of which are given below) employs the latter
method, but the flow is not uniform and the best solution seems
to be to use two or more machines in parallel. A triple-plunger
feeder for 100 tons per hr. on these lines is being constructed for
installation in a pit.
Rotary feeders. From a design standpoint, continuous motion
is advantageous because the drive is so much simpler and the
inertia of the moving parts less than with the corresponding
reciprocating machine. T o minimize inertia is important in
regard to jamming of the machine by metal objects that may fall

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5 70 H Y D R A U L I C T R A N S P O R T OF S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S
in the hopper. On the other hand, from a hydraulic point of view,
the pockets have less chance to fill and empty when moving
continuously than when reversing at each end of a reciprocating
stroke.
The choice of arrangement of rotary feeders is wide, though in
practice many designs cannot be considered for high-pressure
applications on account of their inherently high leakage.
One form of rotary feeder, in which all the pipe and hopper
apertures lie in one end face is shown in Fig. 15. With duplicate
hopper and discharge pipes, the machine is symmetrical about
a diameter, and with five or more pockets in the rotor the dis-
charge is completely uniform. A small Perspex model has been
tested and has given promising results. The rotating disk must
be loaded against the body under all conditions so as to keep the
clearance small, but the force must not be allowed to cause
excessive wear. Control of the force under varying flow conditions
will probably be the main design problem.
Performance of Coal Feeders. Some performance data are
available for the reciprocating-plunger type and the rotating-
disk type, though no feeder has yet been in sustained operation
under full working conditions.
The first feeder built by B.H.R.A. was a small machine on the
lines of Fig. 14. The plunger was 2 inches in diameter and
18 inches long, containing two pockets each of 8 cu. in. in
capacity; the stroke was 73 inches, and the overall length of the
machine 32 inches excluding the drive. The pipe circuit was
arranged so that the feeder could deliver coal into a 1-f-inchpipe
at pressures up to 400 Ib. per sq. in. (1,000 feet of head). Leakage
was restricted by a close clearance between the plunger and the
body. Later a Perspex model of this feeder and also a model of
a disk-type feeder, each supplying $-inch pipes, were con-
structed so that the flow of coal into and out of the pockets could
be studied.
As originally designed there was no provision in this feeder
for secondary flow to assist the coal into the pockets, and the
coal delivery was less than one-quarter of the theoretical quantity
based on complete filling and emptying of the pockets. When the
feeder was tested under a pressure of 150 lb. per sq. in. these
deliveries were halved by the leakage flow into the hopper.
However, when the secondary suction flow was introduced the
coal delivery could be increased almost to the theoretical
quantity, and was then unaffected by leakage flow.
Fig. 16 shows the effect of secondary flow on coal delivery at
various speeds. In general, secondary flow needs to be of the
same order of magnitude as the main flow to ensure maximum
capacity of the feeder.
I t has been seen that the leakage through the feeder has an
important effect on the system efficiency, and for high-pressure
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applications the feeder will be chosen almost entirely on leakage
considerations.
It is clear that there is less to be gained by making the leakage
path very long than by reducing its cross-section, and a length
of 100 times the clearance is probably sufficient. Feeders having
leakage paths of small cross-sectional areas are thus to be
preferred to those having long leakage paths of larger area.
There are some results of leakage tests on reciprocating feeders
but no comparative results for other designs.
When new, the radial clearance between the mild-steel
plunger and cast-iron body of the 14-inch feeder (the size refers
to the diameter of the delivery pipe) was 0.0015 inch, and the
shortest leakage path 1 inch long. Leakage was proportional to
pressure and amounted to 5 gal. per min. at 400 lb. per sq. in.
(920 feet of head), equivalent to about 20 per cent of the main
flow for a pipe velocity of 6 ft. per sec.
After 40,000 strokes (12 hours) passing $-inch anthracite,
leakage was only very slightly increased. The machine was then
run for a further 12 hours on a coal-sand mixture designed to
accelerate wear; during this test, leakage increased to treble the
original amount and severe local wear occurred, though most of
the sliding surface was undamaged.
After the worn plunger had been replaced by a new one made
of brass, the feeder ran for about 500 hours on anthracite without
noticeable increase in leakage and without serious wear on the
plunger, the only visible damage being slight rounding of the
chopping edges. It is noteworthy that the Perspex model ran
on anthracite for 200 hours before wear was serious.
As originally constructed the 4-inch prototype feeder had a
hollow mild-steel plunger, 6 inches in diameter and 6 feet long,
supported in phosphor-bronze bearings. Leakage was restricted
by two brass piston rings, each 1 inch wide, having a radial
clearance of 0.003 inch on the plunger, and amounted to
12.5 gal. per min. at 1,000 feet of head (4.2 per cent of normal
water throughput) when the machine was new. After running
47 hours at a speed of 60 r.p.m., during which time the equiva-
lent of 900 tons of both graded and run-of-mine coal were passed
through the machine, the leakage had risen to 47 gal. per min.
(16 per cent of water throughput) at which figure it remained
until the test was stopped at 100 hours.
When dismantled, the plunger was found to be virtually un-
damaged and there was no measurable wear on the cylindrical
surfaces; the chopping edges on the pocket had become rounded.
The seal rings were scoured and worn to an oval shape with the
major diameter vertical as though coal had become trapped in
the clearance. At these places the clearance had increased to
0.010 inch compared with 0.005 inch on the horizontal diameter.
The bronze bearings were in perfect condition.
Power requirements of feeders, Since a feeder does no real
work, power is required only to overcome mechanical friction.
 HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT OF SOLID MATERIAL I N PIPES
This is small as may be seen from Fig. 17 which shows the
steady power requirements of four feeders at B.H.R.A. In
practice, a good margin must be allowed to overcome temporary
overloads, such as accompany the feed of a high proportion of
very fine coal.
Where secondary flow is used to suck the coal from the hopper,
power is required to drive the pump; this will be directly pro-
portional to the theoretical coal throughput and of the order of
0.02 water h.p. per ton per hr.
MEASUREMENTS
I n simple hydraulic-transport schemes such as those used in
gravel pits or for dredging, where the feed rate of solids is not
easily controlled it is common practice to operate at high speed
and low concentration because of the danger of blocking the
pipe. If suitable instruments to measure concentration and
velocity were available they might help greatly in increasing the
throughput of the system even though the power saving might
not be very important. I n a large and more steady system, such
as that envisaged for transport from a colliery to a power station,
considerable powers may be involved and the efficiency would
then be important. In general, efficiency and safety go in opposite
directions, so that the lower the velocity and the higher the con-
centration the greater is the need for precise knowledge of the
conditions in the pipeline.
Measurement of Flow or Velocity. In view of the relative ease
with which solids are accelerated in water, a Venturi-type nozzle
was tried in a vertical pipe on the 3-inch coal system. Handling
water alone it was found to have a discharge coefficient of 0.95
and, when handling coal-water mixtures at speeds down to 13ft.
per sec., the discharge coefficient fell to 0.93f2.6 per cent if the
head differential was measured in ft. of water. If, however, the
differential was measured in ft. of mixture density, the discharge
coefficient became 0.955 1 2 . 2 per cent. This suggests that
mixture density should be used rather than liquid density in
calculating the differential on the nozzle.
One company (Anon. 1953) has used a similar device com-
prising an eccentric nozzle in a horizontal pipe, which has been
shown to have the same discharge coefficient with solids as with
water if the differential head is measured in feet of water head.
With this arrangement there is a minimum speed (coyresponding
to the existence of an appreciable bed of solids) below which this
device must not be used.
Other devices at present available for the measurement of
velocity include one (based on electromagnetic induction) which
is manufactured in Holland for dredging applications, and
another where Coriolis forces on a curved rotating pipe are used
to measure the total mass flow.
Measurement of Concentration. Concentration can, of course,
be measured by sampling the delivery, but what is really wanted
is an instrument which can be fitted at any place in the pipeline
to indicate the concentration present there (which is greater than
the concentration delivered). As far back as 1948, one company
had developed electrical-conductivity methods of measuring the
proportion of air bubbles in a flowing air-water mixture and the
same technique was applied to the measurement of the concentra-
tion of gravel and sand present in a horizontal pipe (Durand
and Condolios 1952). A special shape of electrode was found to
make the instrument insensitive to the actual position of the
solids in the pipeline.
Very recently a commercial device working on this principle
has appeared in Holland. Such methods of measurement involve
difficulties due to the varying conductivity of the water itself.
Where the solids have an electrical conductivity of the same
order as the water the calibration of the device will depend on
the ratio of the two conductivities so that it is difficult to apply
the method to the measurement of coal concentration. The fine-
coal pipeline at Carling is fitted with a gamma-ray absorption
type of instrument which measures the total mass within the
pipe from which the mass concentration present in the pipe
can be deduced directly (Gibrat and Chenin 1954). This again
is a rather complicated installation.
In the section above on Flow in Vertical Pipes it was noticed
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57 1
that although the pressure drop should be somewhat more than
the sum of the water friction gradient, ,i and the density
gradient, c(s-1), this difference is not distinguishable in
practice. It is a simple matter to measure the difference in head
over 10 or 20 feet of vertical pipe, subtract the water friction
corresponding to the speed in the pipe (which can be obtained
from the nozzle flow measurement), and obtain the concentration
from c = (i-iw)/(s-l).
For instance, on 10 feet of 6-inch pipe, running at a speed of
6 ft. per sec., a water friction drop of about 2 inches of water
gauge would be expected, whilst the density-head difference
with coal at a concentration of 20 per cent would be about 9.6
inches of water gauge. Durand and Condolios (1953) have com-
bined a nozzle flow-meter with the vertical-flow concentration
measurement in the following way : at the bottom of the vertical
leg there is a nozzle whose contraction is chosen so that the
pressure recovery after it just balances the water friction in the
vertical test pipe; the pressure difference measured between
the throat of the nozzle and the top of the vertical pipe is then
directly proportional to the concentration in the pipe.
D E G R A D A T I O N O F COAL A N D WEAR O F P L A N T
Degradation of Coal Travelling Along Pipes. Most present-
day methods of moving coal do, to a certain extent, break it up.
I n hydraulic transport, the sliding of the layer of coal along the
bottom must do some damage both to the coal and to the pipe;
in particular, at bends or bad joints the whole layer of coal
suddenly turns over. The top layer of coal moves along in a
hopping motion at a speed which is little smaller than that of
the water, while the sliding layer underneath may be moving at
only a half or a third of this speed. Impacts must take place
between coal moving at different speeds and between coal and
the pipe walls. These shocks not only abrade the large coal and
reduce its market value but also produce very fine particles which
then create an effluent problem.
I n hydraulic-transport installations the coal would usually
pass once through a pump or feeder and then travel for perhaps
several miles along the pipeline. I t may be expected, therefore,
that the damage to the coal done in the pipeline would pre-
dominate over other damage except for very short pipe lengths.
I n laboratory installations the length of the pipe is limited to
one or two hundred feet, so that a large proportion of the damage
takes place in the pump and feeder and it is impossible to separate
the effect due to the pipeline. Recirculating the coal round an
experimental installation does not help in this problem because
of the many passes then made through the pump or feeder.
To measure degradation experimentally, relative motion
between coal, water, and pipe similar to that in hydraulic trans-
port along a horizontal pipe has been achieved with a toroidal
or ring pipe arranged at the periphery of a large wheel shown
in Fig. 18, Plate 2. The ring pipe is filled with water until it is
about three-quarters full with a 2-lb. or 3-lb. sample of coal in it :
when the ring is rotated the water and coal remain approximately
stationary while the pipe wall moves along. Water is carried
forward with the pipe near the walls, and since none is carried
over at the top of the wheel there is a return in the centre. When
this is combined with the velocity of the ring pipe, the resulting
velocity of water and coal relative to the pipe is very similar to
that in ordinary horizontal transport. Centrifugal force does not
arise as the pipe alone rotates. This ring pipe is of 4 feet diameter
and has a 6-inch square pipe section with the front face made of
Perspex so that the behaviour of the coal may be observed. The
front face is fitted with two flush-fitting doors through which the
samples of coal are introduced and withdrawn.
Several series of tests on degradation of 1-inch coal have been
made with this machine at speeds of 7 5 9 . 1 , and 11 ft. per sec.
for periods corresponding to distances up to 70 miles. The coal
samples to be tested were put in the machine, run for a specified
distance, and then removed: after drying, they were screened
and weighed. A particular set of results is shown in Fig. 19, from
which it willbe seen that the greater part of the attrition products
are well below 4inch. The degradation of this particular coal is
tolerable-about 1 per cent loss of weight in the first mile
followed by a gradually diminishing rate of loss with increasing
distance travelled.
572 HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT OF S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S
If degradation is defined as the attrition products below 8 inch tion loss of about 4 per cent. Great differences between one pump
it has been found that, very roughly, at each speed the total loss and another may be expected : for instance, when a rubber-lined
increases in about the same proportion as the square root of the pump was used for the same duty as the iron one referred to
distance travelled. This diminishing rate is reasonable because as above, the damage to the coal was reduced to about one half.
the coal becomes more rounded there are fewer corners to be Velocities in a coal feeder are low and independent of the head
knocked off. against which it works, so that damage caused by impact will
therefore be very slight. On the other hand, there is the chopping
I I I I I associated with the valve action of the machine. It has been
estimated that in one of the reciprocating machines only one
piece of coal in a hundred is broken by chopping, so that the
damage is quite slight.
Abrasion and Wear of Plant. In some instances where hard
particles have been transported pneumatically, a very short life
of only a few days has been reported for pipe bends. I n hydraulic
gravel-handling plant (where the velocities are about double
those required for coal transport) the pipe may last a year or
I more if it is rotated periodically so that the wear is distributed
20 around its periphery. Pipe bends may last four or six months
DISTANCE TRAVELLCD-MILES
before they require patching. Centrifugal-pump impellers made
Fig. 19. Degradation of 1-inch Coal in Hydraulic Transport of abrasion-resisting steel may need replacing in a year, even
at 9.1 ft. per sec. though their speeds are generally low. A rubber lining to a pump
or pipeline completely eliminates wear but it is liable to be cut
Over a range of speed from 7.5 to 11 ft. per sec. the loss rate by large sharp flints, or pieces of metal. The use of rubber lining
increased approximately as the cube of the speed. Within this is usually restricted to gravel no larger than about 2 inch and
range of conditions and for this particular coal the degradation precautions must be taken to keep out pieces of metal. Because
seems to be given approximately by : coal is less sharp and less dense the limiting size of coal for
Total loss cc(speed)3 x (distance)+ rubber-lined pumps might be raised to about 2 inches but there
is no experience on this point since the centrifugal pumps used
This speed relation suggests that most of the damage is not done in washeries are usually of low head, and of simple iron con-
by the dragging of the bottom layer along the pipe but by struction.
impacts between 'flying' pieces of coal and perhaps also between The damage to a pipeline when transporting coal will be much
flying coal and the side walls. This is another important reason less than when transporting gravel. The coal pipeline at Hammer-
for running a coal pipeline at the lowest safe speed. smith which was in use for more than ten years appeared to have
It was observed in the ring-pipe test apparatus that when the lost 0.1 inch of its wall thickness at the bottom (Fig. 20, Plate 2),
doors in the front Perspex face of the pipe were not replaced but it is not known how much coal was transported through this
exactly flush (causing a recess about 0.015 inch deep) the damage pipe or how often it was allowed to stand empty and corrode.
to the coal was greatly accelerated. This sort of irregularity is The pipe could have been turned round into two other positions
likely to happen at each pipe joint and it may be desirable, in a so that a real working life of at least ten years may be expected
long pipeline carrying large coal, to use special pipe joints. for a coal-transport pipe. Pipe bends are likely to have a shorter
life and there is the danger that erosion at misfitting pipe joints
Degradation by Machinery. It is more difficult to estimate the may be important.
damage done by other hydraulic devices such as centrifugal Other workers (Bergeron 1952) in t h i s field, all report a rapid
pumps or feeders. Centrifugal pumps used in the laboratory to increase in erosion with speed, usually as the cube of particle
circulate coal-water mixtures around pipe systems are presumed speed. The character of the wear depends on the angle of attack,
to be responsible for the greater part of the degradation occurring and with sliding or scraping the rate of wear increases almost in
in these tests. In two or three hours' testing with a pump head proportion as the particle size. It also increases with solids con-
of the order of 30-50 feet +-inch coal may be reduced to about centration. Naturally it also depends on the curvature of the wall
$-inch together with the production of a great quantity of fines. and on the density and hardness and irregularity of the particles.
During this time the coal would have made about 200 passes With normal impact the phenomena are rather different, for
through the pump so that it may be guessed that the degradation instance, particle size is said to have little effect.
for a single pass through a centrifugal pump is of the order of
fs or f per cent for a pump working at this speed. At higher pump
heads this would be greater, since the pump speed increases as CONCLUSIONS
the square root of head. If the relation between pump speed and The outstanding characteristics of hydraulic transport systems
coal degradation is also a cubic law it would seem that a similar are the large power required and the high capacity of pipes of
pump generating a head of about 200 feet might cause a degrada- quite modest sizes. For instance, as can be seen from Fig. 21,
1.200- 600

f
I 7

1,000- 500
500
400
400

300 f 600- 300

a
200 f 400- 200

i00 200 - I00

0 - 0 0
4 6 8 10 I2 14 16 4 6 8 10 I2 14 16 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
VELOCITY-FT. PER SEC. VELOCITY-FT. PER SEC. VELOCITY-FT. PER SEC.

a Pressure drop plotted against b Horsepower per mile plotted c Coal delivery plotted against
velocity. against velocity. velocity.
Fig. 21. Performance of a 12-inch Pipeline Transporting Coal

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 HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S
the pressure drop along a 12-inch pipe conveying coal may
exceed 300 ft. per mile but the capacity is of the order of 250-
300 tons per hr. of 3- or 4-inch coal.
The compactness of the conduit gives hydraulic transport
great advantages for conveying solids in confined spaces or
where there are obstructions making it impossible to route
directly. The ease of hydraulic ‘loading’ and ‘unloading’ is also
important.
The application of hydraulic transport to the lifting of coal
from the pit to the surface is now being considered for very deep
mines where the journey time of the cage and the weight of the
rope limit the lifting capacity of the shaft. The advantages of
hydraulic lifting, where 200 tons per hr. could be handled by a
12-inch pipe, may prove to outweigh the practical difficulties
involved in bringing the coal-water mixture to the very high
pressures at the bottom of the pipeline. In this connexion several
prototype feeders which have shown promise in the laboratory
are now to be tested under site conditions. Even for shallower
mines hydraulic lifting should be valuable, for the output of
many mines in Britain is limited by the winding capacity of the
shaft. This restriction on mine output could be relieved by
screening the coal (below the surface) to 3 inches and pumping
the smaller sizes through a pipe installed either in the shaft or
in a special borehole. Calculations indicate that the efficiency of
such a lifting system need be little less than that of the ordinary
winding method. Other advantages of colliery applications lie
in the possibility of greatly reduced health and fire hazards due
to dry coal dust.
Permanent pipelines working with reasonable prospect of
safety must be carefully designed and controlled to ensure
stability in operation. T o a large extent this depends on the
combined characteristics of the pump and the pipeline and on
the method of control of water and solids feed. Automatic control
by instruments measuring pressure, velocity or concentration
seems desirable for large-scale installations working continuously.
It seems clear that with soft solids such as coal a reasonable
life of machinery and pipes can be expected, but with hard
materials like sand abrasion is severe and fairly frequent replace-
ment of parts may be necessary.
Discussion
Mr. G. A. WAUCHOPE (Member), in opening the discussion, said
that he had followed the matter of the transportation of solids
with very great interest for a number of years. As the authors
had said, it was not a new subjecr. It was a very old one. I n
saying that it was more than half a century old, he thought the
authors were underestimating its age : it was probably much
older than that. He believed that suction dredgers had been used
for at least seventy-five years.
Suction-dredging in the past-probably what was being
discussed was more akin to that than any other form of the
hydraulic movement of solids-had been used as a tool by the
civil engineer. The most important concerns had been its
availability, the ease in getting it to the job, and its ease of use
on the job.
In the past there had not been a great effort to examine care-
fully what happened in the pump which was used in suction
dredging, or in the pipe. It had been found satisfactory to be
able to move a certain quantity of material in the simplest way
possible.
As the authors had mentioned, nearly forty years previously-
perhaps, rather more than that-Mr. C. C. Bell, electrical
engineer to the Hammersmith Council, had been farseeing
enough to install a coal-pumping system to pump coal from the
wharf by the Thames to the power station. It might be of interest
if he were to add one or two details to those in the paper. The
length of the pipeline had been, he believed, 2,035 feet, and the
pipe had been 8 inches in diameter. Two gravel pumps connected
in series had been employed, being supposed to pump 60,000 gal.
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573
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Acknowledgementsare due to the many members of the British
Hydromechanics Research Association who have shown interest
in this work and offered valuable advice, to colleagues for their
practical assistance and to the Council of that Association for
permission to publish the material contained in the paper.
APPENDIX
REFERENCES
ANON. 1953 La Houille Blanche, vol. 8, p. 58, ‘Debitmetre 8
Contraction pour les Melanges d’eau et de Materiaux’.
BERGERON,P. 1952 ‘SocikttC Hydrotechnique de France
Deuxikme JournCes d’Hydraulique’, June (published by
La Houille Blanche), ‘Factors Affecting Wear Caused by
Solids in Hydraulic Transport’.
DURAND, R. 1953 La Houille Blanche, vol. 8, p. 124, ‘Flow of
Mixtures in Vertical Pipes, etc.’
DURAND,R., and CONDOLIOS,E. 1952 ‘SociktC Hydro-
technique de France. Deuxikme Journkes d’Hydraulique’,
June (published by La Houille Blanche; also published
November 1952 in Proc. Colloquium on Hydraulic
Transport by National Coal Board), ‘Study of the
Transport of Solids in Pipes’.
1953 La Houille Blanche, vol. 8, p. 292, ‘A Device for
Measuring Concentration in a Mixture Flowing Along a
Pipe’.
GIBRAT,R., and CHENIN,F. 1954 Inst. E. Eng. paper S.1630,
24th February, ‘The Transport and Utilization of Colliery
Tailings at the Emile Huchet Power Station’.
O’BRIEN, M. P., and FOLSOM, R. G. 1937 University of
California Publications in Engineering, vol. 3, p. 343,
‘The Transportation of Sand in Pipelines’.
WORSTER,R. C. 1952 Proc. Colloquium on Hydraulic Trans-
port, November (National Coal Board, London),
Hydraulic Transport of Solids’.
per hr. of mixture containing 50 tons of coal. The system had
been driven by a 110-h.p. motor, and the scheme had worked
more or less satisfactorily for some time. It had been a very
large plant for the capacity in the light of the latest information.
Since that time until about 1951, as far as he was aware,
practically no interest had been taken in the subject. Then,
simultaneously, attention began to be given to it in the United
States, France, and Great Britain.
Coal pumping, which had been dormant, was not the only
type of transportation of solids which had been used. In the
meantime, developments in ash-handling had involved a con-
siderable amount of pumping of solids.
In the period 1951-52 thought began to be given to it; and
the Americans, the French, and the British had got to work;
and the authors had played a leading part in obtaining a much
more exact knowledge about what happened in the pipeline
than had ever been known previously. What the authors were
doing was finding out what were the correct velocities, the
correct concentrations, and the correct sizes of pipe to deal most
economically with transportation problems.
It was vital to have that information because with a pipeline
of a certain size it was most important to keep the concentration
as constant as possible. I n dredging, and in suction-dredging in
particular, it was extremely difficult to control the rate of con-
centration or, rather, to control the concentrations so that the
rate of flow of solids was constant. Therefore, everything had to
be done on a liberal scale. For example, it would perhaps be un-
reasonable to take as a base a higher percentage of concentration
574 DISCUSSION ON HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F SOLID MATERIAL I N PIPES
than 10 because 25-30 per cent might sometimes accidentally positive-acting pumping feeder with the bulk of water being
occur. If the thing was to be done economically the concentra- supplied from a centrifugal pump, which might be the solution.
tion had to be controlled within very fine limits. There was one minor criticism that he would like to make of
Then there was the question of the stability of the pump the paper, and that was that it laid a certain amount of stress
characteristics. The importance of that had been shown in the on experiments in the laboratory on wear and life of various
paper. It was important up to a point but another means of parts. He considered that caution should be exercised before
ensuring freedom from choking was to control the rate of flow taking too much notice of them because they appeared to him
and control the concentration. In that connexion, perhaps, it to relate to a short period, and that it was first necessary to wait
would be necessary to consider the use of servo-mechanisms until tests had been carried out in the field over much longer
connecting the various functions of the pumping plant, the speed periods.
of the pump, the amount of water that was pumped through it, In regard to degradation, he believed he was correct in saying
and the rate of flow of coal into the system, in order to make the that however much within reason the coal was degraded it did
mechanism stable and, at the same time, make it work with the not appreciably lose its calorific value. Therefore, if by pumping
highest possible concentration and the lowest safe velocity. it was possible to reduce the cost of coal to the user, then in
Reference had been made in the paper to the suggestion by the course of time there might be not such a great demand, and
Durand and Condolios (1952) that the engine governor might be not such a high price paid, for the larger lumps.
locked. In his opinion few would agreed that that was feasible, It was, in his opinion, an instance of an old engineering
but nevertheless it might be possible to introduce some form of practice being attacked by means of modern scientific methods.
speed control which could be automatically adjusted to avoid It might well be that, as a result, wide new fields of activity
the possibility of choking and, in fact, in a lot of dredging plant would be opened up for hydraulic engineers and that that would
used at that present time speed control was adopted for that very develop to the ultimate benefit of the whole community. Much
reason. work had already been done, but there was much more to be
The authors had discussed the different kinds of pump which done. Many new devices and systems might be conceived before
could be used and the necessity or otherwise for using a feeder the most economical methods were found. It was essential not
to inject the coal into the high-pressure water. The simplest to be discouraged by the difficulties which presented themselves,
form, and the one which was most commonly used at that present but to use one’s ingenuity to overcome them. It was generally
time, was a centrifugal pump in which the solids passed through understood that, notwithstanding the rapid development of
the pump. Fig. 22 showed a pump which was currently being atomic energy, coal would remain an essential source of power

Fig. 22. Section Through an Ash Pump

(Reproduced from Wauchope 1953, Fig. 16*.)

used for ash. The size of the pipe and the width of the impeller
at its narrowest part would be observed. If larger solids were
to be passed, it would be necessary to increase that width, and
in so doing the efficiency of the pump would be reduced. That
was one of the reasons why that type of pump would not neces-
sarily be very efficient for large solids. The normal maximum
head was about 200 feet, so that for high heads it was necessary
to put a number in series, which presented a special design
problem.
On the question of feeders, it was possible that many more
devices would be invented before the correct solution was
reached, and many more systems might be adopted. What he
had in mind in that connexion was a possible combination of a
and heating for many years to come. It would be a great achieve-
ment if hydraulic transportation of coal were to give to the
community the benefits of increased availability and reduced
costs, and, even more important, if it minimized the grave danger
to health of the presence of coal dust in mines and made the
winning of coal a more congenial occupation.
Mr. L. E. PROSSER, B.Sc. (Eng.) ( M e m b e r ) , said that he wished
to emphasize some of the broader economic implications of the
work of the authors.
* WAUCHOPE,
G . A. 1953 Colliery Engineering, p. 415, ‘Moving Coal
by Pipeline’.

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 DISCUSSION ON HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F SOLID MATERIAL I N P I P E S
The main value of the paper was that it had shown that it was
possible to predict on a scientific basis the engineering require-
ments for particular installations, and hence their running costs
and possibly also their capital costs could be estimated with
reasonable accuracy.
If a number of installations was examined, it was found that
there were many instances where that kind of transport would
have considerable financial advantage over alternative methods,
in addition to the other incidental advantages mentioned in the
paper. Obviously, there was likely to be an increasing demand for
its adoption both in Britain and overseas. It was possible that
in the course of time it would become even more advantageous
because the tendency was for power costs to decrease in relation
to other costs, and the biggest item in that type of installation
was its power consumption. Therefore, in the future, the
balance was likely to be in favour of that method.
He feared that unless quick action was taken Britain would
be forestalled in that field by the other countries. The French
were very active and, no doubt, the Germans and the Americans
were also keeping themselves informed. British engineers might
experience the mortification of seeing British collieries made
more efficient by the use of foreign machinery developed from
British research, and a large overseas market for similar
machinery would then also be lost. It was partly for that reason
that the British Hydromechanics Research Association had
given a lead in the development of the feeders described in the
paper, but if that side was to be developed quickly much greater
effort had to be made.
It was most desirable that that sort of work should have much
greater active support from the British manufacturing industry,
particularly on the development side. A sum comparable with
that spent by the British Government on aircraft development
should go into industrial development, but there had to be an
active lead from industry.
Brig. R. A. BAGNOLD (London) said that the finite ultimate
value of the quantity ( i - i w ) / c ( s - l ) , i.e. the excess pressure
head divided by the concentration times the immersed weight,
was, he considered, of some interest.
The paper dealt largely with the transport of material which
was too large for suspension by fluid turbulence to play any
appreciable part. In that event, in a horizontal pipe, it was clear
that if the grains were not so suspended they had to support
themselves when travelling as a dispersion. There was no alterna-
tive. Hence, the whole immersed weight of the moving grains
in the pipe must be exerted against the pipe wall. In other words,
the solids must ultimately rest against the pipe wall although
they were at any moment dispersed within the fluid.
The results of his own recent experiments (Bagnold 1954)*,
in which the effects of gravity had been removed, showed that
when grains dispersed in a fluid were being sheared over one
another, overtaking encounters between grain and grain and
between grain and wall gave rise to what amounted to a repulsive
pressure between them. If gravity then acted transversely
towards the boundary or wall, that repulsive pressure was
sufficient to maintain the grains statistically dispersed against
the transverse force of gravity, even in the entire absence of
fluid turbulence.
That appeared to hold for all cohesionless grains whatever
their size, whether or no the effects of their inertia were signifi-
cant relative to those of the inertia of the fluid and whether or
no the fluid was turbulent.
It had also been found that the additional resistance to shear
attributable to the presence of the grains was proportional to the
repulsive pressure between them which kept them dispersed. In
other words, even though the grains were dispersed one from
another, there was a definite dynamic-stress ratio or friction
coefficient, shear-stress/normal-stress, just as there was in the
static case when the grains were all resting on one another.
In that particular instance the grains were large and hard,
their inertia effects were pronounced, and encounters between
them and between them and the pipe wall were in the nature of
impact collisions. Under those conditions it was found experi-
mentally that the dynamic friction coefficient was about 0.3.
* BAGNOLD,
R. A. 1954 Proc. Royal SOC.,vol. A225, p. 49.
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575
As mentioned in Bagnold (1954) Sir Geoffrey Taylor had
pointed out to him that, if the effect of those impacts was mainly
the creation of spin, the dynamic-stress ratio should, on
theoretical grounds, be 0.2 for wholly elastic grains and 0.4 for
wholly inelastic ones, regardless otherwise of the material of the
grains.
When the flow velocity through the pipe was large, the rate
of shear was large, the impacts became more violent and the
degree of resulting dispersion by scatter became greater. So it
could be assumed that, ultimately, the grains became uniformly
dispersed over the cross-section of the pipe. At the same time,
when the flow velocity was large the backward slip velocity of
the grains through the fluid could be neglected. Thus at high
flow velocities the discharge ratio, which the authors had called c,
could be replaced by the real concentration in the pipe, which
the authors had called q.
Under those conditions, the interesting dimensionless ex-
pression (i--iW)/c(s--1) became simply the dynamic-stress ratio,
namely, shear stress attributable to the grains divided by the
immersed weight of the grains, which he himself had found
by direct measurement of the repulsive pressure normal to the
boundary to be 0.3, and which might theoretically be as low
as 0.2. It would be seen from Fig. 5 that the authors had found
that the ultimate value of (i-iw)/c(s- 1) approached about
0.25. The agreement was rather striking.
It seemed to him that that ultimate value of the ratio
(i--iW)/c(s-1) was an important experimental quantity. It was
a measure of the minimum pumping head required. He wondered
why the actual value of that ratio rose so steeply as the flow
velocity was reduced. The rise was obviously connected with the
settlement of the grains into the lower part of the pipe, where,
moving more slowly, they accumulated and reduced the effective
pipe diameter.
If that was true, then the conditions at the desirable lower
flow velocities ought to be improved considerably by rifling
the pipe. By imposing a secondary circulation having a velocity
near the pipe wall somewhat greater than the velocity of fall
of the grains a much more uniform grain distribution over
the cross-section ought to be obtained; and the grains would
virtually be thrown into suspension.
For instance, with the $-inch coal in the 3-inch pipe at a flow
velocity of 3 ft. per sec. (Figs. 4 and 5), the rate of fall of the
grains was given as being about 0.5 ft. per sec. With a rifling of
one turn in thirteen diameters, which was a rifling angle of
1 in 4 or 0.25, an upward velocity near the wall of about 1-5
times the fall velocity for the lumps of coal would result. The
grains being in suspension, the ultimate grain-friction head of
0.25c(s- 1) would be removed, and for it would be substituted a
lifting head of c(s- 1) times the angle of the rifling, which was
again, he supposed, 0.25. Thus according to Fig. 4 the pumping
head should be at least halved, even after allowing for a reason-
able extra loss due to the rifling.
Other advantages seemed to follow, such as reduced degrada-
tion because suspension would be substituted for sliding and
impact, and reduced value of the true concentration in the pipe
due to higher mean grain speeds with, consequently, less liability
to choking and the possibility of still higher discharge rates
being used.
The idea was so simple that there had to be a snag somewhere,
but he could not discover where. It had, he believed, been tried
once in the United States. He strongly suggested that it should
be tried again. He could not see any practical difficulties about
the rifling. He had in mind indenting each separate length of
pipe by drawing it through a ring of, for example, six independent
grooving rollers set on the skew. Those would be brought
inwards to be applied, for example, one pipe diameter behind
the head of the pipe and released one diameter before the tail
of the pipe came along, so that it would leave one diameter of
free round pipe at both ends for jointing.
The implication of that idea was in effect that what should be
done artificially for large grains was just what Nature, by
turbulence, did for fine particles, namely, supply sufficient lift
to keep the grains in suspension.
Mr. E. G . WHITE,Assoc.1.E.E. (Manchester), said that the
title of the paper was rather misleading, sincethe subject-matter
576 D I S C U S S I O N O N H Y D R A U L I C TRANSPORT O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S
did not deal with all types of solid but was related mainly to the
transportation of coal and other large-size solids.
The authors had stated, in the introduction and elsewhere in
the paper, that for hydraulic transport, even for comparatively
short distances, the power requirements were large. He wondered
whether that was true for all cases, particularly where fme-size
solids flowed in suspension as opposed to saltation.
He had been concerned in an investigation at the Laboratoire
Dauphinois d‘Hydraulique, Grenoble, carried out on similar 25 04
uy 0 /
200 u + o o
lines to those described in the paper, in regard to the transporta- CONCENTRATION-GRAMMES PER LITRE
tion of fly ash produced by large pulverized-fuel-fired boiler
plants. It might be of interest if some of the results obtained with Fig. 24. Critical Sedimentation Velocity as a Function of
that class of material were compared with those given in the Concentration for Two Test Pipes of 40.6 and 150 mm.
paper. Diameter
Fig. 23 showed the results of a sizing analysis of the particular Pipe diameter, mm.
-Q- 150
---A,--- 406

Fig. 25 showed the variation of the parameter v , / l / ( g D ) with

concentration, where v, was the critical sedimentation velocity
in metres per sec.
A dispersion took place of the points which referred to the
smaller pipe at high concentrations and it was considered that
that was due to the appearance of plastic phenomena in the
mixture.
Fig. 26 showed the typical operating conditions for a pumping
system deduced from the investigation as under: length of
pipeline, 16,400 feet (5,400 yards) j size of pipeline, 10-inch bore j
total head, 151 feet for steel pipe, 183 feet for plain cast-iron
pipe; quantity of mixture pumped, 972.4 g.p.m. j concentration
of mixture, 3.83 lb. per gal. of mixture; velocity of flow, 4.75 ft.
per sec. j motor power (motor 90 per cent, pump 65 per cent),
76.2 h.p. for steel pipe, 92.5 h.p. for plain cast-iron pipe.
The actual pump characteristic was an assumed curve to
illustrate the desired operating condition of the system.
From the foregoing, it would be appreciated that those con-
siderations were very different from those investigated by the
authors.
Pulverized-fuel fly ash was often highly alkaline and might
contain considerable quantities of highly abrasive solids. He
asked the authors to give an opinion regarding the use of
polythene pipe linings for such a duty.

L
0I 0.5 0.2l 0.1
MIPI.
-
0.05 0.02 U 0.01 ,s U
MIC~ONS
2,
He would be interested to know what effect the presence in
the mixture of sulphur, pyrites, and clay would haveinregard
to corrosion, erosion, and blockages.
SIZE OF GRAIN If coal slurry was allowed to stand in a pipe for a considerable
period, he asked whether the pipe could be easily cleared and
Fig. 23. Granulometric Analysis Before Tests of Fly Ash what would be the effect of gas release from the coal.
from Portobelb Power Station Used in Investigation On p. 568, reference had been made to the pumping system at
Carling. That system included specially designed quick-closing
valves immediately after the pump discharge, to resist reverse-
Curve 1 Mean sample taken from wave effects in the event of a sudden shut-down of the plant.
A Drum No. 21 He asked whether the authors considered that the expense and
B Drums Nos. 20,23, and 26 inclusion of such equipment was absolutely necessary.
C All sixteen drums The authors had referred on p. 571 to a method of concentra-
D Drum No. 19* tion measurement by gamma-ray absorption. He had reason to

* Drum No. 19 contained samples of dust obtained immediately

after soot blowing.

type of fly ash used in the investigation. It would be seen that

the range of size varied from approximately 0.5 mm. down to
about 2 microns, 80 per cent being below 100 microns, and 50
per cent below 20 microns.
The flow of that material, when mixed with water up to a
concentration of 50 per cent, equivalent to approximately 5 Ib.
of solids to 1 gallon of mixture, was entirely in suspension and
6 200 400 660
without any deposition in the pipes. CONCENTRATION-GRAMMES PER LITRE
To determine the pumping velocity, tests had to be carried
out and Fig. 24 illustrated the variation of the critical sedimenta- Fig. 25. Variation of the Parameter v L / 2 / ( g D )as a Function of
tion velocity as a function of concentration for 40.6-mm. and Concentration for Two Test Pipes of 40.6 and 150 mm.
150-mm. pipes. It would be noticed that the critical velocity Diameter
varied little with concentrations above 100 grammes per litre Pipe diameter, mm.
(1 lb. per gal.) but that, for any given concentration, the variation A 406
was appreciable with pipe size. Q 150

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 DISCUSSION O N HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S 577
of holding particles in suspension, and these will then contribute
200
very little to the pressure drop along the pipe’. He did not agree
with that statement. The particles were falling continuously by
I50 gravity and were spasmodically being lifted up by eddy diffusion,
and the energy required for that lifting had to be provided by
loss in the pressure of the liquid.
The short section on Flow in Sloping Pipes (p. 566) was,
I00 he considered, most interesting. It was the first attempt to study
90 the flow in other than vertical or horizontal pipes. He wondered
80 f whether it was applicable to all sizes of particle and to the full
70 2
range of concentrations. As he understood it, it meant that when
pumping from one point to another, the excess pressure drop due
60 2 to the solids was independent of the path taken by the pipe. Of
Y
course, the pressure drop due to the water alone would increase
50
with the length of the pipe, but that was usually the considerably
8 smaller of the two components. I n his own experience, the safest
40
way of pumping a slurry to a point at a higher level was first to
b-
ul run the line vertically upwards to a point higher than the final
x one, and then to use a downward-inclined pipe to cover the
30 ) , horizontal distance. That was to reduce the danger of choking.
$ He would be interested to know whether the authors considered
I
that that arrangement might be advantageous sometimes. The
20 authors had demonstrated by means of a film that spherical solids
went round the bend in a pipe very easily, but he wondered
what would happen with rougher particles.
15 The researches on measurement towards the end of the
paper had yielded useful results. It was encouraging to know
that the rate of flow and the concentration of solids could be
10
determined by such simple devices as a Venturi in a vertical
16 I 8 20 30 40 50 60 70 90 100 I20 140 160 180 10 pipe and the measurement of the difference in head over a
FLOW OF MIXTURE-LITRES .R SEC. moderate length of vertical pipe. Since that had been established,
it should be possible to obtain data on hydraulic transport much
Fig. 26. Operating Curves for Installation Using Pipes of more easily and quickly.
10-inch Bore
Mr. A. WRIGHT (Graduate) said that the apparent attractions
of hydraulic transport had been mentioned. So far as the r++g
believe that at Carling that method had been supplanted by industry was concerned, they were its directional flexibility, Its
direct sampling. compactness, and the absence of fire dust and other hazards
associated with mechanical handling plant. In addition, there was
Mr. R. A. SMITH,M.A. (Associate Member), said that the the opportunity for automatic control with a small labour force.
estimation of pressure drop in two-phase flow was a most There appeared, however, to be certain limitations and many
difficuIt problem, but it was essential for assessing the economics important points requiring clarification before large-scale,
of any project for the hydraulic transportation of solids. Measure- economic installations could be attempted with confidence.
ments of hydraulic gradient reported in the paper seemed to be In the latter respect, his organization was fortunate in being
somewhat lower than would be expected from the measurements able to extend the work done by the authors in the laboratory to
made by Durand and Condolios (1952) in the transportation of an experimental pilot plant at a colliery in Scotland. In that
sand and gravel. An exact comparison between the two sets of installation, coal would be raised to the surface from the pit
experiments was not possible because it was not known for bottom, and horizontal, vertical, and inclined pipelines would be
certain how the various non-dimensional groups should be involved. Therefore, a really good idea of the flow in the different
related to each other. In particular, the influence of the density directions would be obtained.
was critical, especially with coal whose density was not much The most important transport problem at a colliery was from
greater than that of water. It would be a great help if research the coal face to the coal-preparation plant. The typical material
workers were to decide on the best method of plotting results. to be handled will be untreated run-of-mine coal with size ranges
If a method were to be agreed, the occasional points obtained down to zero. Particle shape would vary considerably, and there
from industrial installations might then easily be compared. was expected to be a wide variation in the specific gravity of the
Ideally, it should be possible to include pneumatic transporta- solids owing to the presence of shale, stone, pyrites, and other
tion as well. In spite of the much greater ratio of the density of solids. In that respect, it could only be hoped that the formation
the solid to the density of the transporting fluid, the mechanism of ‘dunes’, as mentioned by the authors, could be overcome.
of transportation was fundamentally the same. He had tested In view of the high heads involved with the transport of solids,
an installation for the pneumatic conveyance of cement along the possibility of pipe fracture due to weakening by erosion
a long pipeline. The point calculated from that lay about 25 per warranted serious consideration. Use of special linings to reduce
cent below the curve in Fig. 5 . He wondered whether the authors the frictional resistance would perform the twofold purpose of
would comment on that. The difference might be due to the economy in power requirements and extension of pipe life.
small size of the cement. As mentioned by the authors, there was much speculation in
In hydraulic transport it was known that with large or with regard to the maximum permissible particle size for a given pipe
small particles, the particle size had no effect, or a very small bore. It was obvious that for the economical operation of systems
effect, on pressure drop. However, there was a considerable, and a pipe had to be designed on the basis of the volumetric through-
commercially important, intermediate region, where the size had put of solids rather than the top size, and that would be deter-
a considerable effect. Therefore, it followed that in that region mined by the pipe selected. The effect of such a restriction on
it was essential to understand the effect of size grading, and that the salable price of the coal would require individual considera-
was particularly so when there was a wide range of size, as tion, and underground crushing would invariably be necessary.
mentioned by Mr. White. I n the results reported by the authors, In all except very small installations the head of the coal-
the particles were probably large enough for their size to have transport system appeared to be such that multi-stage turbine
little effect. In the paragraph on Effect of Particle Size (p. 565) pumps and coal-feeding devices would be necessary on the
the rather difficult intermediate region was dismissed rather grounds of system efficiency,power requirements, and, possibly,
lightly with the remark ‘the turbulence in the liquid is capable. degradation of the solids.

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578 DISCUSSION O N HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S
Apart from the obvious advantages of a closed circuit for coal
raising, there was the practical advantage of the use of inter-
connecting valves between the two pipelines to flush the system
clear of blockages.
Consideration of hydraulic transport for coal raising from a
mine revived the argument for constant delivery at low speed as
compared with intermittent delivery, higher speeds and high
accelerating and decelerating torques associated with conven-
tional winding equipment. However, the former was still in its
infancy and would require tremendous effort and success to
bring it to the same state of reliability and efficiency as the
modem electric winder.
On the question of feeding devices, all water-displacement
feeders appeared to present serious practical difficulties by dis-
charging contaminated water from the system. That feature
became more apparent underground where high heads were
involved at the feeder, and clarification of the water was neces-
sary before reintroduction into the pipeline could be carried out.
His opinion was that insertion of solids into the pipeline by
means of a specially designed solids-handling mechanical-
displacement pump was the solution. Such a pump should be
sufficiently robust to handle large coal particles, capable of
dealing with large throughputs and sufficiently sensitive to
maintain system stability.
A prototype of such a feeder had been designed at the
headquarters of the National Coal Board in London, and it
would be tried out at the end of 1955. Operation would be
through oil hydraulic jacks, with ample opportunity left for
servo-control at a later date. The forthcoming trials should
enable valuable information to be gleaned and should do much
to verify the authors’ predictions.
Mr. I?. B. SILK(London) said that ever since, some twenty-
five years previously, he had first introduced the high-pressure
sluicing system into Britain, he had been intimately concerned
with the pumping of solids in pipelines.
I n that system, from the ash dump onwards, a common method
of handling the material was, of course, by pumping, either to an
overhead bunker or to waste ground up to three, four, or five
miles away. Therefore, it was nothing new to him. In fact, the
sluicing system generally had practically become standard equip-
ment for the large modern power station.
Therefore, he had been rather surprised when reading the
first sentence of the paper to find that the authors had made no
reference at all to that most important application of the art.
In their opening sentence they had referred merely to dredging,
land reclamation, or the winning of minerals. For each applica-
tion for such purposes he could show them ten or more applica-
tions, and that was not counting the United States of America
where there were probably five for every one in Britain. He
estimated that with the equipment that had been made in
Britain probably 15,000,000 tons of solids were being handled
in a year. He did not know what the figure was for the United
States. That was not in one or two big installations; it was in
hundreds of them. Therefore, his company had a very diversified
experience, and it seemed strange to him that recourse had not
been had to that experience.
The paper was obviously the outcome of much hard work.
He was most interested to see how closely it followed and con-
firmed previous papers by Durand (1953, etc.). However, he
preferred to regard the paper as a preliminary only, because it
was on such a small scale-almost a model scale in the laboratory.
The great difficulty in assessing scale effects where there were so
many uncontrollable variables was well known.
For instance, what happened in a l+-inch pipe with +-inch
particles was nothing like what would happen in a 13- to 18-inch
pipe carrying large coal. Yet in Table 1minimum velocities were
given for pipes of up to 18 inches. The only justification for that
that he could find was a statement that minimum friction
increased as the square root of the pipe diameter. He wondered
whether that had been verified in practice, or whether it was
based on extrapolation of the curves which had been found from
1+-,3-, or 6-inch pipes. It seemed a dangerous thing to do that.
The same was true in regard to Fig. 3 where some curves had
been shown. Much time seemed to have been taken in establish-
ing the conditions of flow at velocities at which it would be
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dangerous to operate in practice. Prudence suggested that a little
extra horsepower was a cheap form of insurance against the
necessity for expending hundreds of man-hours in clearing
choked pipelines several miles long. He considered that the
authors had spent considerable time on those low velocities
which were not really of interest to the practical man.
The same applied to the illustrations, except the top one, in
Fig. 2. The lower five were certainly not his idea of a safe way
of conveying solids in a pipeline. If anything went wrong with
the delivery and the material being conveyed was coal and not
plastic, it would, he was sure, be a tremendous job to keep the
system going.
He suggested that the next step ought to be to leave the some-
what artificial atmosphere of the laboratory and go out into the
field to see some of the many installations where a practical job
was being done, and the data should be based on that.
If the coal-mining industry was to be revolutionized, as was
likely, by that method, the National Coal Board ought to be
prepared to spend a lot of money, not for laboratory work but
for full-scale work in the field with real sizes of pipe handling
real sizes of coal.
Mr. J. A. MAGILL(Graduate) said that the Engineering Branch
of the National Coal Board, in conjunction with the Scottish
Division, were organizing a full-scale experiment at a Scottish
colliery to study the problems of hydraulic transport, and it was
intended to convey minus 2$-inch coal in a 7-inch pipe.
The objects of the experiments were : (1) to find whether coal
could be pumped reliably; (2) to find the precise top size of coal
that could be pumped in a given pipe; (3) to obtain information
on feeder design, feeders being essential at the heads con-
templated; and (4) to study the integration of that type of
transport with the rest of the transport and mining system.
The National Coal Board had been accused of hesitation by
previous speakers and to justify that he would like to indicate
the standard that hydraulic transport had to achieve in order to
compete with existing methods.
The Scottish experiment would be in a pit 280 feet deep. Two
outputs were to be considered, 100 or 150 tons per hr. A new
electric winder was also being considered for the same duty.
The efficiency of the electric winder would be 45 and 32 per cent,
respectively. Based on the authors’ methods of calculation, the
efficiency for hydraulic transport would be 35 and 40 per cent,
respectively.
As a sample of a more arduous duty, there was a colliery in
Scotland for which a multi-rope friction winder with balanced
skips was contemplated. The duty was to raise 286 tons per hr.
from a depth of 2,800 feet. The efficiency of the winder would
be 63.5 per cent. On the same basis the efficiency for hydraulic
transport would be 4 8 5 per cent.
It was also necessary to consider the mechanical-handling
equipment that must go with the system to load and unload it.
Fig. 27 helped to illustrate that, and it could be seen that a great
improvement over a tub-and-cage winding was made by
installing skip winding with tipplers and a tub circuit at the pit
bottom only. At its best that system could be entirely automatic
except for man winding.
It appeared that hydraulic transport would require much the
same handling plant as skip winding, but with the additional
complication of a crusher and screening plant.
In that connexion it was relevant to quote the example of a
small pit from which was wound 600 tons a day. That pit had
been converted from cage to skip winding at a cost of about
E20,000 and with no interruption of coal production.
It must also be remembered that other factors besides trans-
port influenced shaft size. For instance, ventilation-air velocities
must be limited to 1,000 ft. per min. in roadways and 1,500 in
shafts. Two shafts of 16 feet diameter were often required for
that reason.
He hoped those points served to illustrate the high standard
that must be obtained. In the application to coal mining, feeders
of some kind were essential and for that reason feeder design was
a major factor. For the duty he had quoted where 286 tons per
hr. were raised 2,800 feet, about a third of the horsepower was
lost if leakage was 20 per cent of the total volume.
Another major problem was the precise size of coal that could
 D I S C U S S I O N O N HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S 579

a Basic layout. b Cage winding.

6 -

c Skip winding with haulage. d Skip winding with conveyor.

Ld
e Hydraulic transport from pit bottom. f Hydraulic transport from coal face.

Fig. 27. Various Methods of Coal Raising

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580 DISCUSSION O N HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT OF S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S
be transported in a given pipe. The nearer the system was to
the working face the more adverse did the size/quantity ratio
become, rendering the system less and less efficient.
A third problem was integration with the rest of the mining
and transport system. Many difficulties might be solved if right
at the coal face it were possible to mine the coal in 3-inch cubes.
A fourth problem arose from the cost of cleaning water in a
closed-circuit system. T o attain 10 per cent of solids in sub-sieve
sizes might not prove too costly but whether that could be
pumped to heads of 300 feet and more was another question.
He wished to ask the authors whether they had eyer used
fibre-glass tubing and, if so, how it compared with steel tubing
for friction losses.
Mr. B. G . FLETCHER (London Colney, St. Albans) said that
he had a few figures from the point of view of the user or
operator of pumps with stone and sand, which might be of
interest. It had been said that there was nothing new about that,
but he considered that the speeds and concentrations used by
his company were, perhaps, a little different from normal prac-
tice.
The pumps were all centrifugal, being 8, 6, and 5 inches.
Normally, the speed of working was 12 ft. per sec., except
occasionally, when it was a little above that. The concentrations
were normally 20 per cent, and those had been checked over a
number of years, working on yearly averages. That had been
done while the difficulties encountered in respect of high wear
and tear were recognized, and it was considered economical to
do that because certain alterations had been made in the approach
to the matter and it had been found that the heavy wear and tear
obtained did not offset the gain that was otherwise achieved.
It might be of interest that the pipes which were used for
pumping both sand and gravel with both the 8- and the 6-inch
pumps were normally of +%-inch wall, which lasted about
eighteen months.
With the finer materials, such as the sand, which was highly
abrasive, the pump impellers had, until a fairly recent date, been
lasting a matter of weeks. However, by means of rubber-lined
pumps a much longer life had been achieved. In one instance,
the lining had lasted more than a year. It was, he considered,
rather interesting that in that instance a slight difference in the
grading of the material had a profound effect on the life of
linings.
I n regard to the control of density, it had been found that
Communications
Mr. N. BROOK(Leeds) wrote, in reference to the section on
Measurements, that it was a relief to note that the authors did
not claim an accuracy of greater than f 10 per cent. The details
of tests with a venturi-type nozzle were interesting and the use
of mixture density in calculating the discharge was especially so.
Experiments were being carried out in the Mining Depart-
ment of the University of Leeds, using a non-standard Venturi
of diameter ratio 0.85 for measurement of upward vertical flow
in a %inch pipe and the limited number of test results so far
available showed that, when pumping crushed bakelite of a size
range of -&+ inch, the coefficient of discharge of 0.975f0.2 per
cent was modified to 0.90f0.75 per cent when the meter
differential was expressed in feet of water; if the differential was
calculated in feet of mixture, the coefficient was then 0.926 *0.69
per cent. The results of that modification to the readings were
not 2s encouraging as had been the experience of the authors.
Another method had been used to attempt to account for the
difference in discharge coefficient; in that method a term,
corresponding to the excess pressure difference due to the
mixture density, was subtracted from the meter differential
head ;that term was calculated from the vertical height between
the pressure tappings and the delivered concentration. That
modified the coefficient of discharge to 0.929f0.44 per cent;
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there were considerable fluctuations, and that was something
which had to be faced. In large installations, no doubt, the
problem could be suitably dealt with.
There was one point on feed sizes which might also be of
interest. His company had found that feed sizes should be slightly
less than half the pipe diameter. There had been a case in point
where a screening grid had been used for controlling the feed
size into a 6-inch pump. It had been operated at 2$-inch intervals.
It had been considired at first that 3-inch intervals would be
satisfactory but that had not proved to be so and it had been
necessary to revert to 23 inches.
Mr. E. CREWDSON, A.M.I.C.E. (Kendal), said in regard to
the success secured so far by the authors with their reciprocating
feed that he knew they had not got to the end by any means,
and he was sure they would not claim so, but the success that
they had attained so far seemed to him very hopeful, in fact,
much more hopeful than the lock hopper with so many flap
valves and so many more control valves, which seemed to him
rather terrible.
However, he wondered whether the authors were perhaps too
preoccupied with aiming at high efficiency. It seemed to him so
much more important to achieve safety of working rather than
high efficiency. An earlier speaker had stressed that point, and
he was strongly in sympathy with him.
At the Carling power station and the Canadian power canal the
consumption of power seemed to range somewhere around 12
kW.-hr. per ton. Assuming that the lift was direct 1,000 feet
from a mine, he had worked it out that about I+ kW.-hr. per ton
was the 100 per cent efficiency mark. If it was economical at
Carling and at the Canadian power canal to use 12 k W . 4 ~ per.
ton, he presumed it would be somewhat similar in a mine where
the lift was 1,000 feet. Then the overall efficiency might be
something of the order of 8-10 per cent. He considered there
were other devices which could then be used which were simpler.
He was thinking of the air-lift method, which seemed so much
simpler than any of the other mechanical devices.
He had one point of criticism concerning the toroidal pipe
with which the authors had tested the degradation of coal. They
appeared to consider that the circular pipe would give the same
effect as would obtain in a horizontal pipe. He disagreed and
considered that in the section which went up past the horizontal
diameter, the coal and water were travelling vertically in the
pipe.
and if the actual concentration in the region of the meter were
known, that correction would bring the coefficient of discharge
nearer to 0-975. If the discrepancy between the coefficient for
the meter when transporting solids and when passing clean water
could be accounted for in that way, the results would confirm the
tests carried out in France, referred to in the paper, in which the
meter (an eccentric nozzle) was horizontal and the differential
pressure was expressed in feet of water.
There was a great need for a simple and reliable method of
concentration measurement.
Experience with the vertical-flow method of concentration
measurement described ia the paper showed that that method
was difficult to apply in small-scale testing. The vertical height
of pipe used had to be greatly shortened (down to 1 foot for a
2-inch diameter pipe, compared with the 10-20 feet mentioaed
in the paper) in order that the frictional pressure loss due to
clear water could be compensated by a reasonable amount of
contraction, i.e. a contraction which would allow solids to pass
2nd not cause blockage. It followed that a sensitive manometer
was necessary to measure the small pressure difference on rhe
1 foot of pipe; owing PO the presence of solids and to the COE-
siderable fluctuation in manometer levels which occurred no
great accuracy could be secured.
 COMMUNICATIONS ON HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S 581
He asked whether the authors considered that more attention
should be given to electrical (or electronic) methods of con-
centration measurement or were they hopeful that a reliable
hydraulic method could be developed.
Mr. R. DURAND and Mr. E. CONDOLIOS (Grenoble) wrote
that the authors had made a thorough overall presentation of
the problems arising in the hydraulic transport of coal in pipes.
They would present their own remarks in the same sequence as
the relevant points had appeared in the paper.
Introducing the test material by a supply device downstream
from the pump did indeed allow very stable flow conditions to be
obtained. That resulted from the fact that the system obtained
was what they called an ‘open circuit’ installation, namely, a
circuit in which the material discharged at the end of the test
pipe was not immediately reintroduced into the installation, but
remained for a time in the storage tank. In reality then, it was
not only the fact of introducing the material after the pump which
rendered the system more stable.
The authors had indicated that the accuracy of the measure-
ments was about f10 per cent. They agreed with the authors
that it was difficult to obtain greater accuracy with the large- 2
size material they had used in their tests. But for smaller
material, less than & inch, for example, it was possible to obtain
an accuracy of f3 per cent.
Fig. 28. Head Losses for Coarse Grains
In regard to the pressure gradient along the pipe at very high Curve of 4 = f { v / d ( g D ) } .
speeds, they had not stated, as had been attributed to them by
the authors, that for large solids the difference between the
pressure gradient with material and the pressure gradient with
water alone disappeared if account was taken of the greater
density of the mixture. Smooth, 104-mm. Normal, 105-mm. Rough surface,
Their opinion, based on systematic tests, was as under : pipe; Rhone gravel pipe; Isere gravel, 150-mm. pipe;
type I10 Adour gravel,
(1) For solids smaller than & inch forming a plastic paste type A10
with the water, that difference was exactly compensated by
the density correction because the mixture was homogeneous. 0 2.3 - 5.25
(2) For solids between & and & inch there was practically H 5.25-10.0
no difference, i.e. the grains transported in suspension hardly 0 10.0 -15.5
0 15.5 -20.0
used up any extra energy.
(3) For solids larger than inch the difference became
appreciable and grew progressively with the grain size until
A 20.0 -25.0
1 i
it reached a limiting value, which was about twice that corre-
sponding to the density correction.
Thus, considering a progressive increase in grain size, the Authors’ tests
increase in the mixture pressure gradient, as compared with
water alone, was at first equal to the density correction; the
+ Coal 1.5 inches; sp. gr. 1.4
x Coal 0.5inch; sp. gr. 1.4
increase then tended to disappear, and ultimately grew until it
became twice the density correction.
Correlation of Data on Flow of Mixtures of Large Solids and
Water. First, they had compared their own test points with (1) InJEuence of pipe roughness. During their own tests of
those given by the authors in Fig. 3. 1951 they had tried using a similar method of representation but
To do that they had taken Fig. 6 of the paper they had had had to abandon it.
presented at the Colloquium on Hydraulic Transport of the In Fig. 29a and b the two methods of representation were
National Coal Board in November 1952 (Durand and Condolios given side by side, and they had used their own test points.
1952). On the graph 4 =f ( v / d ( g D ) ) , the test points grouped
In Fig. 28 they had plotted d = (i-iw)/(iwxc) against themselves correctly, while on the graph (i-iu)/C = f(i,) there
(v/z/(gD))x (l/d(s- 1)) where D was the pipe diameter, and s was wide scatter. That was due to the fact that the pipe rough-
the specific gravity of the solids, supposed equal to 1.4 for the ness could vary considerably, and proved that the presence of
coal studied by the authors. The correction term l / d ( s - l ) material had the effect of multiplying the value of the head losses
allowed them to compare tests made with materials of different in plain water by a coefficient which was a function of the
densities. concentration.
It could be seen that the test points for the 13-inch coal i = i&++C)
corresponded well with their own. But those for +-inch coal lay
about a mean curve well above their own. They considered that and not i = i,+KC
that difference might be due to the fact that during the tests on (2) Insuence of the density of the materials. In Fig. 30
$-inch coal the grains had been worn down. Even only slight they had plotted their own test points for materials of different
wear could produce sufficient fine grains to cause a marked densities both with their method of representation and with
decrease in the head losses. They had themselves had great that of the authors.
difficulty in carrying out correct measurements on large materials.
It had been necessary to renew the test material frequently and
to keep a check on the size of the particles transported. Effect of Mixed Sizes of Solids. In the preceding few years
Secondly, they were not in agreement with the authors on the they had studied in detail the behaviour of mixtures containing
method of representation used in Fig. 5 : different sizes of solids. The essential results were presented by

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582 C O M M U N I C A T I O N S O N H Y D R A U L I C TRANSPORT O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S

s-. 3
I

0.5

0
0 0.050 0400 0.150

yxP) 2m

a Curve of (i-iw)/(iwXC) plotted against v / z / ( g D ) . b Curve of (i-iw)/c plotted against im.

Fig. 29. Comparison of Two Methods of Presentation

1 1 I I
1 I 1 :%1
0 10-15 104 (smooth’, 2.25 0.0150
2-30-5.25 104 (rough) ‘ 2.25 0-0187
150 (smooth) 0.0156
x
0 i::: 150 (rough) 0.0183

Diameter of grains, 2.04 mm. ;diameter of pipe, 40.6 mm.

0 Pollopas, sp. gr. 1.5. @ Sand, sp. gr. 2.65. + Corindon, sp. gr. 3.65.

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 C O M M U N I C A T I O N S ON HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F SOLID MATERIAL I N P I P E S
them in a paper to the Congres du Centenaire de 1’Industrie
Minerale en France (Durand and Condolios 1955)*.
The problem was complex but might be considered solved.
If all the grains had a diameter greater than & inch, the mean
diameter of the mixture was that which corresponded to the
drag coefficient for the entirety of the grains. If a portion of the
grains was less than & inch plastic phenomena came into play.
It could be said that the presence of fine grains always had a
favourable effect on the value of the head losses for the mixture.
They considered that the lock-hopper feeder illustrated in
Fig. 12 was without doubt the best device for raising coal to the
surface from mines.
Velocity Measurements. I n their experiencethey had observed
that for the Venturi throat and the contraction flow-meter the
presence of sand grains made practically no change in the clear-
water rating. That applied even when the contraction of the
Venturi throat was very small.
Abrasion and Wear of Plant. It was their opinion that the
authors had made an admirable summary of the problem of
wear and they were in complete agreement with them.
Mr. J. A. MAGILL(Graduate) also wrote that he had raised
the question of feeder design during the discussion, particularly
in relation to the need to limit leakage at the feeder. In that
connexion it might be of interest to give details of a feeder that
had been designed by the Stoke Orchard Research Establish-
ment of the National Coal Board and which had been tested
jointly there and by the Engineering Branch. The prototype
of that device was illustrated in Fig. 31. It would be seen that it
8
2, /
-Fig. 31. Sleeve-type Feed Valve
1. Valve body. 6. Sleeve valve.
2. Low-pressure input port. 7. Drive shaft.
3. High-pressure output port. 8. Hard-steel inserts.
4. High-pressure input port. 9. ‘Ferebestos’ bearings.
5. Low-pressure output port.
consisted of a valve body (9), inside which a sleeve valve (6)
rotated, the sleeve valve having two ports at each end which
engaged with corresponding ports in the body. The ports of the
sleeve extended over 120 deg. in the plane rotation. The sleeve
valve rotated in water-lubricated bearings (9), and at ports
where the valve was likely to have to cut lumps of coal in order
to shut there were hardened steel inserts (8).
The action of the valve was as followed :When ports (2) and (5)
were opened it would be seen that ports (4) and (3) were closed.
When ports (2) and (5) were open a mixture of coal and water
from a solids-handling pump was fed to the cylinder via port (2),
thus expelling any water in the cylinder through port (5). As the
sleeve valve rotated ports (2) and (5) closed and ports (4) and (3)
opened. Those connected high-pressure water to the cylinder
through port (4) and the coal and water charge was then expelled
to the output pipe via port (3). That process was repeated as the
valve rotated and the flow might be made continuous by using
three synchronized valves each having 120 deg. port openings.
The main advar,tage of chat type of valve over the reciprocating
* DURAND, R., and CONDOLIOS, E. 1955 Paper to Coflgrks du
Centenaire de 1’Industrie Minkrale en France, June, DonnCes
techniques sur le refoulement hydrauliqus des matkriaux solides en
conduite’.
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583
type illustrated by the authors appeared to be that the mating
parts could be machined to tighter tolerances owing to the
shorter length of the moving parts over which sealing had to be
attained.
In feeders of that type it did not seem practicable to use any
type of soft seal between the high- and low-pressure connexions
and the quantity of leakage would, therefore, depend entirely
on the size of the clearances and since
PB3 W
Q K p L
where Q was the quantity, P the pressure, B the clearance,
W the width, L the length of the leakage path, andp the viscosity
of the fluid, it was obviously of greater importance to keep the
clearances down rather than to increase the length.
A valve of the type illustrated had been tested for 50 hours’
running on minus 1-inch coal. I n that valve the bore of the sleeve
was 2 inches and a 2-inch pipe system had been used. At the
end of the test run leakage at 250 lb. per sq. in. smounted to
4 per cent of the total flow. It was not practicable to continue
testing beyond that period in the laboratory.
For larger capacities a development o f the valve might be as
shown in Fig. 32 which illustrated one pair of ports only. In that
1 1 LUBRICATING
YATER INLET 1 INLET
HI’GH -
PRESSURE INLET
LU6Rl?ATlNG
WATER INLET
Fig. 32. Development of Valve
version the sleeve had in fact been cut in half and a straight length
of pipe had been interposed between the two halves, thus in-
creasing the effective length of the valve. The object of that was
to reduce the speed of rotation for a given throughput, thus
reducing wear on the moving parts. Three pairs of valve blocks
as shown would be geared together and the inlet and outlet ends
would be connected for driving purposes by suitable shaft and
gears.
Mr. P. E. MONTAGNON (London) wrote that he welcomed
the opportunity to add to the experimental background described
in the paper a few comments mostly from the practical aspect
of operating an experimental installation.
I n the description of the feeder being tested by the Ministry
of Fuel and Power and the National Coal Board stress had been
laid on the limitation of capacity set by the rate at which small
coal would fall into water against the upflow of the displaced
water. There was in fact considerably more suction applied to
the loader than the diagram indicated in the direction of assisting
that flow of coal. So far, that had been entirely gravitational but
further modifications had been in hand for some time to
provide extra suction from the main pump inlet.
The point concerning the need to fill the feeder space as
quickly as possible with coal was obviously of vital importance.
It most certainly demanded the provision of a higher pressure
diflerence than could usually be provided by gravity so that a
separate circulating pump was an advantage. Merely using the
suction side of the main-line pump limited the pressure difference
available and might lead to practical difficulties in providing a
suitable strainer if main pressures too high for centrifugal-pump
584 COMMUNICATIONS ON HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F SOLID MATERIAL I N P I P E S
operation were required. It might well be that an injection
(Venturi) type of pump for coal loading would have advantages
in that connexion in spite of its inherer,t low efficiency.
That sort of difficulty became exaggerated when the overall
size of plant became important (for example, for operation under-
ground). Small size demanded a very short cycle time and delay
in filling all the available space had to be avoided.
The curves in Fig. 21 showing the power requirements for
various conditions highlighted the large power consumption of
that method of coal transport, but it should be emphasized that
the essential simplicity of the process might in certain cir-
cumstances be worth a lot in terms of overall economy. The
high power suggested at first sight that short hauls were likely
to be the most rewarding. The curves also had an important
value in helping to determine the best size of pipeline for a given
duty.
The close relation between the friction loss in the pipeline
when coal and plain water were being pumped suggested that a
fruitful attack on the problem of the reduction of power might be
to pay attention to possible alternative pipe linings.

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Authors’ Reply
Mr. R. C. WORSTER and Dr. D. F. DENNYwrote, in reply to
the discussion and communications, that the contributions had
considerably extended the scope of the paper and shown the
wide interest taken in the pumping of solid materials.
Brigadier Bagnold had put forward a number of important
views cn the flow mechanics of solid particles in water. The
constancy of the ratio of shear stress to normal stress proposed
by him was verified, at least qualitatively, by the results shown
in Figs. 33 and 34. The first graph showed measured values of
Fig. 33. Variation of the Concentration Actually Present
in the Pipe
+-inch coal; 3-inch brass pipe.
Delivered concentration,
per cent
+ 13-17
e 18-22
0 23-21
iu/ts-i)
Fig. 34. Approximately Constant Relation Between (i-iw)
and the Concentration Actually Present in the Pipe
Comparison should be made with Fig. 5. $-inch coal; 3-inch brass pipe.
Delivered concentration,
per cent
+ 13-17
e 18-22
0 23-27
the ratio of the concentration present in the pipe q to the con-
centration in the delivered mixture c plotted against the same
abscissa as in Fig. 5. Those results confirmed his suggestion that
the concentration in the pipe increased greatly at reduced
velocities and that was an impoftant factor in the choking of
pipelines. Fig. 34 was similar to Fig. 5 except that the excess
pressure loss was related to the concentration in the pipe and
not to that in the delivered mixture. As Brigadier Bagnold had
pointed out, that ratio was related to the ratio of shear stress to
normal stress in the moving bed and, as he had suggested, it was
not influenced greztly by the speed of flow.
Measurements of concentratiocs, local velocities, and shear
stresses inside a pipe carrying mixtures were very difficult to
carry out but they were essential to the development and proof
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585
of reliable theories on the flow mechanics of mixtures. It was the
absence of such a theory that made it impossible to standardize
one method of presenting test data as suggested by Mr. Smith.
The restricted nature of knowledge of the subject was well
illustrated by the case of pneumatic conveying of dry cement
referred to by Mr. Smith: if the air speed in his pipeline was
about 50 ft. per sec., transverse turbulent velocities would be
about 3 ft. per sec. Since the free falling velocity of the particles
was probably of the same order as, and their size so much smaller
than, that of the turbulent eddies, an appreciable part of their
weight would be carried by air turbulence. Fig. 5 referred only
to the type of mixture flow where the whole weight of the
particles bore on the bottom of the pipe. That aspect had been
dealt with in some detail by Bagnold (1955)*.
The suggestion that the energy dissipated in turbulence by
the falling component of the particle motion was simply additive
to the energy dissipated in fluid motion alone was not acceptable
to them, and experiments in the related field of open-channel
transport of solid particles in a turbulent bed showed that
the presence of the particles could greatly reduce the fluid
turbulence components (Vanoni 1946)t.
Mr. Durand and Mr. Condolios had pointed out that the type
of correlation given in Fig. 5 differed from theirs (Durand and
Condolios 1952), and had then proceeded to compare the test
data on the flow of coal mixtures given in Fig. 3 with their
correlation (Fig. 28). The resulting discrepancy was one of the
very reasons why they (the authors) preferred to show :heir
results as in Fig. 5. The two correlations were in fact identical
so long as the hydraulic friction coefficientf remained constant.
Mr. Durand (Durand and Condolios 1952) had shown that the
mean curve in his correlation was represented by
and since i, = f V2/2gD it could also be written as
Thus, results on pipelines having the same friction coefficients
f which gave a single curve in Fig. 29a should equally well give
a single curve in Fig. 29b. Yet Mr. Durand’s sets of results on
104-mm. and 150-mm. pipes having equal friction coefficients
showed a great dispersion in Fig. 29b. That scatter in the test
results was equally present in Fig. 29a but it was masked by
using a graph whose ordinates varied through a range of 1-8,
while in Fig. 29b the ordinate varied over a range of about 1-2.
The same phenomenon was apparent in Fig. 30 where the test
results all came from the same pipeline so that a correlation in
Fig. 30a was identical with the one in Fig. 306; again, the
dispersion of the results was much more apparent in Fig. 30b
and it clearly showed that the least pressure losses were caused
by the hardest particles (carborundum) and the greatest pressure
losses occurred with the softest (plastic) particles. It was their
own opinion that the unknown influences such as those were of
greater importance than the small variations of hydraulic
friction coefficient to be found in practical pipelines for trans-
porting large solid particles. T o show results so that scatter was
not compressed was the best way to discover the other factors
that influenced pressure loss.
The views of Mr. Durand and Mr. Condolios on the influence
of mixed sizes of particles on the pressure losses were of great
value because, as Mr. Smith had pointed out, when relatively
* BAGNOLD, R. A. 1955 Proc. I.C.E., vol. 4, No. 1, p. 174, ‘Some
Flume Experiments on Large Grains but Little Denser than the
Transporting Fluid, and their Implications’.
t VANONI,V. A. 1946 Trans. Am. SOC.Civil Eng., vol. 111, p. 67,
‘Transportation of Suspended Sediment’.
586 AUTHORS’ REPLY O N HYDRAULIC TRANSPORT O F S O L I D MATERIAL I N P I P E S
fine material had to be pumped it would seldom be all of the
same size.
Perhaps Mr. Silk had slightly misinterpreted the paper which
was intended, not so much to describe what was common
practice, but to help in extending that practice. They had not
claimed that ‘the minimum friction loss increases as the square
root of pipe diameter’. In fact the minimum friction loss per foot
of pipe tended to be constant for all pipe sizes when delivering
the same material at the same concentration. It was the velocity
at which that minimum occurred that increased as the r o a of
pipe diameter.
They agreed with Mr. White that the flow of suspensions of
very fine materials such as fly zsh was very different from that of
large material such as 1-inch coal. They had themselves also
carried out tests on the flow of fly-ash slurries which had be-
haved in a way similar to that reported by Mr. White : at high
velocities the mixture flowed like a simple liquid but below a
critical velocity the flow was laminar and the pressure loss
tended to a constant value. Their opinion was that that critical
velocity with very fine materials was determined not so much
by settling of the suspension as by its viscous properties. If a
suspension was tested in a viscometer and found to be a Bingham
plastic with a yield strength T~ and a plastic viscosity ppl, it
would not flow in a pipe until the pressure gradient exceeded
Po/L = 47010.Above that minimum pressure the flow would be
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laminar but with a velocity given not by the Poiseuille formula
but by that of Buckingham (1921)* :
The flow would become turbulent at a velocity which was rather
uncertain but appeared to be given approximately by the position
on a Reynolds number graph where the value of the friction
coefficient for laminar flow had fallen to that for turbulent flow.
Hydraulic calculations had shown that the pumping of coal
along pipelines would often be attractive, but the machinery
available at that time was generally not suitable for high pres-
sures. The tests reported by Mr. Magill showed that the rotary
plug valve was suitable for application in that field. Mr.
Montagnon had described how the use of suction to accelerate
the coal into lock-hopper types of feeder could greatly increase
their throughput, so that advantage might be taken of the
inherently low leakage of that type of machine. Mr. Magill had
shown the importance of power efficiency in colliery applications
of hydraulic transport and it was gratifying to see that the
development of suitable machinery was being so actively pursued.
* BUCKINGHAM, E. 1921 Proc. Am. SOC.Testing Materials, p. 1154,
‘On the Plastic Flow through Capillary Tubes’.