41

Performance characteristics of centrifugal pumps when

handling non-Newtonian homogeneous slurries
C I Walker*, BE, MSc and A Goulas, Dip1 Eng, MSc, PhD
Fluid Engineering Unit, Cranfield Institute of Technology, Cranfield, Bedford

T h e change in performance characteristics of centrifugal pumps when handling $ne granular or homogeneous type non-Newtonian
slurries has been investigated using two diferent slurry pumps handling mixtures of coallwater and kaolinlwater. A test loop was used
which allowed pump performance to be determined at various pump speeds, with many different mixture concentrations and rheologies.
T h e test work indicated two main changes in the pump performance compared t o the water characteristics: (i) a large drop in pump
developed head at low ,flowrates (creating an unstable curve), and; (ii) a reduction in the pump eficiency at ,flowrates near the best
efficiency point.
T h e results show that the pump performance is dependent on the slurry’s rheological properties, with pump Reynolds number giving
generally good Correlation with the change in performance. Methods of performance correlation used for Newtonian ,fluids were found
to give good results provided that a suitable value for the viscosity could be chosen.

NOTATION 1 INTRODUCTION
BEP best efficiency point Centrifugal pumps handle fine solids in suspension in
D pipe diameter, m the china clay and cement industries, dredging, slimes
DI impeller diameter, m disposal and in some mineral extraction processes.
4 0 opening of mesh passing 50 per cent of sample When fine solids are added to a liquid they settle
by mass, mm either very slowly or not at all, with the consequence
ER = E J E W , efficiency ratio that under most flow conditions the mixture can be
E pump efficiency considered homogeneous. Generally, particles with sett-
Y gravitational constant, 9.81 m/s2 ling velocities less than 1 mm/s will form homogeneous
H head, m of fluid/mixture handled slurries (1). Based on this criterion homogeneous
A = g H / R Z D : , pump head coefficient slurries will be formed when particle sizes are smaller
HR = H , / H , , head ratio than 50 pm for coal (SG, = 1.4) and 35 pm for fine
N R e , = LID, p/p, pump Reynolds number sand, silt and most clays (SG, = 2.65).
NS = Q’/2/(gH)3’4, pump specific speed The main effect of the addition of fine solids to a
SG = p/p,, specific gravity ratio liquid is the change in the rheological characteristics.
s = SV/D, pipe wall shear rate, s-’ Most suspensions have non-Newtonian rheograms (or
Q flowrate, m3/s ‘flow curves’) characterized by a significant initial shear
Q = Q ~ D : pump, flow coefficient stress (especially at high solids concentrations). Figure 1
V pipe velocity, m/s illustrates the difference between a Newtonian fluid and
j, true shear rate, s- a number of different non-Newtonian fluids. A New-
i,, true shear rate corrected for wall effects, s - ’ tonian fluid can be represented by a straight line on the
il coefficient of rigidity, Pas rheogram with shear stress, t, being proportional to
P density, kg/m3 shear rate, j; the slope of the line equal to the coefficient
-r shear stress, Pa of viscosity, p . Non-Newtonian fluids however, have, by
ZW wall shear stress, Pa definition, a non-linear relationship between t and j.
v coefficient of dynamic viscosity, Pas For any particular shear rate value there is a number of
Pa apparent viscosity, Pas different viscosities which can be calculated. The ‘appar-
PPl plastic or differential viscosity, Pas ent viscosity’, p a , is just the shear stress divided by the
Pm limiting viscosity, Pas shear rate, while, the ‘plastic viscosity’, ppl,is defined as
n rotational speed, rad/s the slope of the shear stress/shear rate curve at the point
Subscripts (same as the coefficient of rigidity, q, for a Bingham
plastic). A third commonly used value is the ‘limiting
w refers to water
m refers to mixture viscosity’, p a , which is just the apparent viscosity value
S refers to solids at very high rates of shear.
Previously reported test work (2, 3, 4, 5) has shown
Note The words slurry, mixture and suspension are the pump performance to be affected (to varying
used interchangeably and have the same meaning. extents) when handling homogeneous slurries; most
authors attributed the change in performance to
changes in the mixture’s apparent viscosity.
Gregory (2) reported a head drop of 25 per cent (at
* On study leuoe from Warman International Limited, Australia BEP) for a pumped concentration of 16 per cent by
The M S was receiurd on 14 Jurruary 1982 und was acrvptedfor publication on 21 volume of clay solids while Bonnington (4) found very
June 1983. little difference in head characteristics (only about 3 per
3/84 0 IMechE 1984 0263-7138/84 $2.00 + .05 Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 198A No I
 C I WALKER AND A GOULAS
Shear rate, 9
Fig. 1 Rheograms for some typical non-Newtonian fluids
cent) when handling a chalk slurry of 29 per cent by
volume. Single point viscosities were given for a few
concentrations but no complete rheogram was given by
either author. Fairbank (3) found little difference in
pump characteristics when pumping a crushed sand
mixture while with the same pump handling bentonite
mud slurry at only 8 per cent by volume, head and
efficiency were decreased significantly. Once again
however, no complete rheological data were provided.
Herbich (5) undertook quite comprehensive test work
on a model dredge pump handling a silt/clay slurry.
Diverter 7
valve
Weight
tank ---
Suction
tank
I
A Wattmeter
Fig. 2
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Val 198A No 1
Tests were done at several speeds and concentrations.
At the highest concentration of 19.6 per cent solids by
volume the maximum drop in head and efficiency was
around 5 per cent. No viscometric tests were performed
for the actual pumped concentrations; however, some
general rheograms were produced from samples made
up after the pump tests.
The change in pump performance indicated by these
different results are very hard to correlate without com-
plete (and accurate) rheological data on the actual
pumped concentrations. This paper reports the effects
on pump performance when handling homogeneous
slurries together with rheological data for the pumped
mixtures.
2 EXPERIMENTAL TEST RIG AND APPARATUS
The pump test rig layout is shown schematically in Fig.
2. It consists of a semi-closed loop of primarily 75 mm
diameter pipe with facilities for measuring suction and
discharge pressures, flowrate, pump input power and
speed, and slurry density and temperature.
Pressure at the suction was measured with a mercury
manometer while the discharge pressure was measured
with a Bourdon type standard test gauge which was
calibrated using a dead-weight tester. Provision was
made for flushing the lines and ‘catchpots’ installed so
that blockages could be avoided.
Flowrate was measured using a Magflo electro-
magnetic flowmeter which was calibrated by diverting
flow into a weighing tank and timing a specified
volume.
The pump was driven through a flexible coupling by
a 48 kW d.c. electric motor. Power into the motor was
measured by a wattmeter and pump absorbed power
was calculated based on the motor efficiency figures.
Rotating speed was measured at the motor pump coup-
ling with an electromagnetic pick-up.
Slurry density was determined by measuring the mass
and volume of a sample diverted from the main flow.
____I\
Electro-magnetic
flowmeter
T
463 mm
Discharge
pressure
gauge
4 75 mm
Pump d.c. motor
Layout of pump test rig
0 IMechE 1984
 PERFORMANCE OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS WHEN HANDLING NON-NEWTONIAN SLURRIES
100
g 90-
.-
2 80- / O -
2
a
m
E 60-
70- Kaolin clay
q0
x \ ’ @
s
50-
0
.-
-
I 30-
40-
P / O /’&
5 20-
/”
10-
0 I
Approximately 0.1 m3 was diverted into a weighing
tank, the change in tank level being accurately moni-
tored by an ultrasonic sensor. The mass of the sample
was determined from the read-out of three strain gauge
pressure transducers supporting the tank. Calibration of
the tank was carried out by using dead-weights to check
the strain gauge transducers and a known mass of water
to check the volume.
Two standard slurry pumps were used in the test
work. A Hazleton 3 in B CTL (pump A) with a 100 mm
diameter suction and a 75 mm discharge branch and a
four vane closed impeller with D, = 0.352 m. The pump
specific speed, NS, was 0.27. Pump B was a Warman 413
DAH heavy duty pump with a 100 mm diameter
suction and 75 mm discharge. Two different impellers
were tested with pump B; a five-vane closed one with
D, = 0.244 m (NS = 0.51) and a three-vane open
(unshrouded) one with D, = 0.240 m (NS = 0.56).
Rheological data were obtained with two different
types of viscometer. For low shear rates (16-500 SKI)a
Ferranti concentric cylinder viscometer was used, while
for higher shear rates (up to 3000 s-’), a capillary tube
viscometer was utilized.
Further details of the test rig and viscometers are
given by Walker (6).
Two types of solids were used in the test work: coal
dust and kaolin clay. Particle sizing was determined
using British Standard mesh sieves down to 75 pm and
the Andreasen pipette method for smaller particles. The
particle size distributions are shown in Fig. 3. The coal
and kaolin solids specific gravities were 1.22 and 2.64
respectively.
Slurry pH was also recorded by immersing litmus
paper in the top portion of a settled sample, while the
slurry temperature was measured by a thermocouple in
the discharge downstream of the pump.
3 TEST METHOD
Water tests were initially carried out to form a basis for
comparison with the slurry tests. They also served as a
reference to determine whether the pump performance
had changed during the period of test work.
After solids were loaded into the pump suction
hopper and allowed to mix well, the flow was diverted
0 IMechE 1984
43
“ - @’-/ “
@
@
&, 1’2 Coal
$/@I3
I I I
into the weight tank and the mixture SG calculated.
The pumped performance was then determined while
the concentration was kept constant. Each impeller was
tested at two different speeds and at a number of differ-
ent solids concentrations. Before and after each test,
samples were taken from the diverted flow for visco-
metric analysis.
To alter the viscosity of the kaolin clay slurry (at
constant solids concentration) an aqueous solution of
sodium silicate (SiO, , 29.9 per cent; Na,O, 9.4 per cent;
H,O, 60.7 per cent) was added. This was necessary to
reduce the mixture yield stress and allow adequate
mixing at high solids concentrations.
4 TEST RESULTS
4.1 Rheological results
The results of the viscometric tests are shown in Figs.
4-7.
The Ferranti viscometer results shown are those read
directly from the instrument. The ‘true’ rate of shear (as
described by Margules’ equation) (7) was not computed
because cylinder ‘end effects’ could not be accurately
determined. However, the good agreement shown
between the Ferranti results and the capillary tube
results precluded this as a major source of error.
The capillary tube viscometer results have been cor-
rected according to the Rabinowitsch-Mooney trans-
form (7) so that ‘true’ shear rate values, j, have been
plotted against shear stress. The results for the coal
slurry when using the smaller tube diameters indicated
‘wall slippage’. Jastrzebski’s (8) method was therefore
used to account for this ‘wall’ effect; correction coeffi-
cients were calculated to modify the shear rate, s,
and
then the Rabinowitsch-Mooney transform was again
used to determine the corrected ‘true’ shear rate, it,.
Figure 4 shows the rheograms of the coal slurry. Both
the yield stress and plastic viscosity can be seen to
increase with mixture concentration. Figures 5, 6 and 7
show that the clay mixture’s apparent viscosity is not as
directly dependent on concentration as the coal slurry,
because of the effects of the sodium silicate. O n addition
of the silicate, the yield stress was reduced, however, the
plastic viscosity tended to increase with the slurry SG,
but remained independent of the quantity of sodium
silicate added.
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 198A N o 1
44 C I WALKER AND A GOULAS

100 c

0Ferranti viscometer
0 4 3.22 mm tube
A d~ 5.17 mm tube

i/
* Sodium silicate added

0.01 L g ' ' ' ' ' 1 I

10 100 1000 10000
y , s-'

Fig. 4 Rheological results for coal slurry (tube results cor- Fig. 6 Rheological results for kaolin clay slurry: p u m p B
rected for diameter effects): p u m p A tests tests (five-vane impeller)

100

10

m
a1.o
%
c

0.1 0 Ferranti viscometer

0 6 3.22 mm tube 0Ferranti viscometer
A 4 5.17 mm tube &, 4 5 . 1 7 mm tube
0 " * Sodium silicate added
* Sodium silicate added

0.01
10 100 1000 10000 10 100 1000 10000
9, s-I 9,s '
Fig. 5 Rheological results for kaolin clay slurry: p u m p A Fig. 7 Rheological results for kaolin clay slurry: p u m p B
tests tests (three-vane impeller)
Proc lnsln Mech Engrs Vol 198A No 1 0 IMechE 1984
 PERFORMANCE OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS WHEN HANDLING NON-NEWTONIAN SLURRIES
45

32

0 Water

z2P’
0 Water
OSG,=1.026 0SG, = 1 .I26
SG, = 1.051 0SG, = 1.159
0 SG, = 1.080 20 A SG, = 1.228
0 SG, = 1.097 OSG,=1.248
@SG,=1.122 0SG, = 1.476 0
’
@SG,=1.139

0 4 8 12 16 20
Flow, I/s
Flow, I/s
Fig. 9 Pump A performance at 1200 r/min: kaolin clay
Fig. 8 Pump A performance at 1200 r/min: coal slurry tests slurry tests

4.2 Pump test results

Typical pump performance on each of the slurries tested
is shown in Figs. 8 to 11, with the water performance
also plotted for comparison.
The tests of pump A with the coal slurry (Fig. 8),
showed the pump efficiency to be altered significantly at
mixture SG’s greater than 1.097, with a maximum loss
of around 15 points at a pump speed of 1200 r/min. The
head curve changed little until the SG, reached 1.122.
At this SG,, the total head at low flowrates started
dropping and at SG, = 1.139 the head was reduced by
about 30 per cent, while the pump developed head at
BEP was about 7 per cent below the clean water head.
Similar results were obtained from pump A when
handling the kaolin clay slurry (Fig. 9). However, it is
worth noting the difference in rheology between SG, =
1.228 and 1.248 (caused by the addition of silicate) and
the effect this had on the pump performance. The much
higher yield stress of the SG, = 1.248 mixture caused a
reduction in the developed head at low flow while not
affecting the head at BEP. The high SG, = 1.476
mixture shows both the characteristics of reduced head
at low flow and at BEP, with a drop in efficiency at
BEP of about 12 points. Flow, I/s
Typical performance of pump B with the five-vane Fig. 10 Pump B (five-vane impeller) performance at 1000
and three-vane impeller is shown in Figs. 10 and 11 r/min: kaolin clay slurry tests
0 IMechE 1984 Proc lirstn Mech Engrs Vol 198A No I
46 C I WALKER AND A GOULAS

12 i.e. both head coefficient, H , and efficiency, E, are a

2 1
function of flow coefficient, Q, and pump Reynolds
number, NRe, , where:
A= -
Q Q
QD;

NRe, =-
QD:P
P
Before the pump Reynolds number can be calculated
a suitable value for viscosity, and thus a characteristic
shear rate in the pump, must be determined. Duckham
(9) proposed values for shear rate between 100 and 1000
s-'. He suggested the use of 100 s - l for pseudo-plastic,
Bingham plastic and other shear thinning mixtures,
whilst for dilatant materials the higher value should be
used.
However, this suggestion was thought to be a some-
what vague estimation, as it is probable that shear rate
will depend on both rotational speed of the impeller and
flowrate for any particular pump.

Flow, I/s
5.2 Head reduction at low flow
Fig. 11 Pump B (three-vane impeller) performance at 1000
From the point of view of analysis, the choice of shear
r/min : kaolin clay slurry tests
rate should take into account the rotating speed of the
impeller, but it would have to be low in value to
respectively. The results basically follow the pattern of account for the effects of slurry yield at low flowrates.
pump A with the head reduction at low flows and effi-
ciency drop at high flowrates with increasing SG,.
However, very little change was noticed in the head
performance at higher flowrates compared with the
drop experienced by pump A. In fact, there was a defi-
nite increase in head for SG, = 1.31 with the three-vane
impeller.
The maximum drop in efficiency was around twelve
points for both impellers at SG, = 1.985.

5 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Two important areas for discussion are apparent from
looking at the test results: the reduction in head at low
flow, and the loss of efficiency and head at flow near the I o4 I o5 106 lo7
BEP. Both these effects are of practical significance, as a NRe,
reduction of head or efficiency when handling slurry, if
Fig. 12 Head ratio at 10 per cent BEP flow: pump A tests
not accounted for, could mean either incorrect choice of
pump speed (or impelled diameter) to meet the duty, or
the power consumption is excessive for the drive motor.

5.1 Theoretical considerations

If the slurry is considered as a truly homogeneous
mixture then the pump performance can be expressed in
terms of the general functional equation:

and lo4 lo5 106 I o7

NRe,
(3) Fig. 13 Head ratio at 10 per cent BEP flow: pump B tests
Proc Instn Mech Engrs Vol 198A No I 0 IMechE 1984
 PERFORMANCE OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS WHEN HANDLING NON-NEWTONIAN SLURRIES 41

Potential flow calculations in the blade passages of a
rotating, radial-vaned impeller predict a shear rate,
radial velocity gradient, of 252 (10). This is obviously an
idealization for the present case, but can serve as an
estimate. For the present tests this is in the range
150-300 s-’.
An apparent viscosity has been determined for shear
rates corresponding to 252, and a pump Reynolds
number calculated for the various concentrations tested.
The apparent viscosity was used instead of the plastic or
limiting viscosity, because at low shear rates it is more
sensitive to the influence of the yield stress, and the yield
stress appeared to be the dominating factor in the head
reduction, (see Section 5.1). Figures 12 and 13 show the
head ratio, HR (head of slurry over the comparative
head with water) at 10 per cent of BEP flow, plotted
against the calculated pump Reynolds number.
Figure 12 shows the test results for pump A. These
show the head ratio, HR, dropping for pump Reynolds
numbers less than about 8 x lo5. The Reynolds number
gives good correlation considering the variation in
apparent viscosity, pump speed, solids SG and particle
size. Most important is the lack of’dependence on either
the solids SG, or the particle size. The coal particles
were lighter (SG, = 1.25) and larger (d,, = 0.024) than
the clay particles (SG, = 2.64, d,, = 0.0008).
The fact that the physical properties of density and
viscosity were apparently enough to represent the slurry
characteristics supports the original assumption of
homogeneity.
Pump B results are shown in Fig. 13, and they show a
similar trend, with the HR dropping significantly below
a Reynolds number of about 2.5 x lo5. No significant
variation is apparent between the three- and five-vane
impeller test points.
The head reduction at low flowrates has a practical
significance with slurry pumps, as the duty flowrate is
generally chosen in the region of 50-100 per cent of
BEP flow. It is possible that system resistance curves
with a high static head or high initial shear stress may
have two or three intersecting (or operating) points with
the pump curve when handling a non-Newtonian
mixture (Fig. 14). With severe reduction, the first inter-
section point may be at a very low flowrate indeed. For
one test undertaken on Pump B with a mixture of high
yield stress, the head dropped to about 20 per cent of
the normal shut-off value when the discharge was
opened. N o flow occurred, and it is assumed that the
static system head for the rig during start-up was too
great for the reduced head to overcome.
5.3 Head and efficiency characteristics near BEP flow
The results indicate that the plastic viscosity rather than
apparent viscosity has the most bearing on the head
and efficiency ratio, ER, at higher flowrates. The plastic
viscosity generally increased for increasing concentra-
tion for all the slurries, regardless of the effects of the
sodium silicate. This was not true for the apparent
viscocity in the shear range tested, but may apply for
the limiting viscosity. Both the head and efficiency
ratios were affected by increased plastic viscosity and
concentration.
Pump A results show that the best efficiency flowrate
is not greatly altered when handling slurry of the con-
centrations tested, and the efficiency ratio remains fairly
constant in the region of the BEP.
1.0-
-
0.9
ER
-
0.8
0.7 -
0.6,:

Non-Newtonian System
(with yield stress) curve 0.8
104 105 106 1o7
NRe,
--- - Fig. 15 Head and efficiency ratio at BEP flow: pump A tests

,
head comp.
kaolin clay slurry tests

curve
t
o.8
0.71

HR,l.ol

0.9
, I , , , , ,, , - , s--2- .A,
o,r, , , -L
, ,, 1
, q ? -8 , -, 6,),-,a, ,

0.8
Q 1o4 105 106 107
NRe,
Fig. 14 Possible pump-system instability when handling
non-Newtonian slurries Fig. 16 Head and efficiency ratio at BEP flow: pump B tests
0 IMechE 1984 Proc lnstn Mech Engrs Vol 19RA No 1
48 C I WALKER A N D A GOULAS

Pump B results tend to confirm the above, with ER

staying fairly constant except for the anomalous behav-
iour at low flows.
Figures 15 and 16 show HR and ER plotted against 1.00
pump Reynolds number, where the Reynolds number /
has been calculated using the plastic viscosity. The
plastic viscosity has been determined at the highest
/
shear rate possible from the rheological results / izr/
0.95 /
(generally between 10&1500 s because, at increased
flowrates, turbulence is greater and consequently shear /
rates should also be greater. /
Pump A results in Fig. 15 show quite good agreement
for both HR and ER against Reynolds number. Once 0.90
again, there was no significant difference between the
coal and kaolin slurry results; the ER stays constant /
around 1.0 until the Reynolds number drops below A P u m p A coal test5
/ 0 Pump
1
A kaolin
2 x lo6. The HR seemed to be less affected by the vis- / u P u m p B 5-vane clay
cosity, not showing any significant drop until Reynolds 0Pump B 3-vane tests
number reached 7 x 10'. / @ Herbich (5)
The pump B results given in Fig. 16, show similar
trends to the pump A results, but with somewhat more
scatter in the test points. There was only slight differ-
0.80
0.80 0.85
0.90 0.95 !
.oo I

ence between the three-vane and five-vane impellers, the HR',IC

three-vane having a marginally greater HR at most
pump Reynolds numbers. The HR did not show much
deviation from 1.0 for the range of viscosities tested;
however, below N R e , = 3 x lo6, the ER dropped sig-
nificantly.
Figure 17 shows the results of Herbich (5) as well as
the HR, ER curves for pumps A and B. There is some
considerable scatter in the results; however, the trend in
ER would indicate that there are less losses experienced
by higher specific speed pumps. (This is reasonable

L
when one considers that low specific speed pumps have
0.7

1.0~

0.9 ~

0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

ERd,
0.8 -
ER Fig. 18 Experimental HR, ER against calculated values from
Hydraulics Institute charts (12)
0.7
A 1150 r/min } results (5)
0.6 0 Ippen's results ( I 1)
Hydraulics Institute charts (12) for viscous Newtonian
liquids. The kinematic viscosity (for use in the correc-
tion nomograms) was calculated using the plastic vis-
0.9 cosity (as before) and the slurry density. The agreement
is encouraging considering the different design features
0.8
1o4 lo5 106 1o7 of the pumps tested. Most of the test points lie within
NRe, k 5 per cent of the predicted values.
Fig. 17 Comparison of HR and ER a t BEP flow for variour
pump specific speeds 6 CONCLUSIONS
The main conclusions to be drawn from the results of
narrower passages and larger diameter impellers than the experimental work presented are:
high specific speed pumps. Narrower passages result in 1. The pump head at low flows was reduced (compared
high skin friction losses while large impeller diameters with the water head) when handling homogeneous
result in excessive disc friction.) Also plotted are some slurries, creating an unstable characteristic. The head
results from tests on a 50 mm pump handling viscous and efficiency were also reduced near BEP.
oils (11). Once again the results follow the same trend 2. The two different slurries tested acted as homo-
with the point of deviation from HR, ER equal to one, geneous fluids with the effects of solids particle size,
being approximately the same for all results. solids SG and concentration being adequately
Figure 18 shows the HR and ER from the slurry test accounted for by the two mixture properties of
work compared with HR and ER calculated from the density and viscosity.
Proc lnstn Mech Engrs Vol 198A No 1 0 IMechE 1984
 PERFORMANCE OF CENTRIFUGAL PUMPS WHEN HANDLING NON-NEWTONIAN SLURRIES
3. Both the head ratio, HR, and efficiency ratio, ER, for
the tests correlated well with the pump Reynolds
number. As the Reynolds number was reduced below
a critical value, HR and ER dropped; the ER being
always less than HR.
4. The head reduction at low flow was a function of the
initial shear stress of the mixture or the apparent
viscosity at low shear rates. However, the loss of
head and efficiency at higher flowrates seemed
dependent on the plastic viscosity obtained at high
shear rates.
5. For higher specific speed pumps the pump efficiency
at constant pump Reynolds number was less affected.
6. There was very little difference between HR and ER
for three-vane open and five-vane closed impellers
which had similar specific speeds.
7. Pump performance near BEP was predicted within
approximately f 5 per cent from the correction
charts for Newtonian viscous fluids when the plastic
viscosity, p,,, at a shear rate of 1500 s - l was used in
place of the dynamic viscosity, p .
Many more results are necessary to determine further
the effects of pump size and specific speed. Also to be
looked at before any substantial correlation is attemp-
ted is the influence of individual pump design features.
Good rheological results (even though difficult and time
consuming to obtain) remain crucial to any successful
further analysis of non-Newtonian slurries.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to thank BHRA for providing
the experimental rig and test apparatus, Simon-
0 IMechE 1984
49
Warman Limited for supplying the slurry pump,
English Clay Lovering Pochin and Company Limited
for the china clay and Professor R. Baker of Cranfield
Institute of Technology for his support.
REFERENCES
1 Govier, G. W. and Charles, M. E. The hydraulics of the pipeline
flow of solid liquid mixtures. Engng. J., Aug. 1961,44, (8).
2 Gregory, W. B. Pumping clay slurry through a four inch pipe.
Mech Enyny., 1927, 49, 609-616.
3 Fairbank, L. A. Solids in suspension; effects on the characteristics
of centrifugal pumps. Trans. ASCE, 1942, 68, paper 2167, 1563-~
1572.
4 Bonnington, S. T. The effect of included solids on the character-
istics of centrifugal pumps. BHRA Fluid Engng., Rep. RR558,
1957.
5 Herbich, J. B. Characteristics of a model dredge pump. Lehigh
Univ., Fritz Engng. Lab. Hyd. Div., Project Report No. 31, 1959.
6 Walker, C. I. Pumping solid-liquid mixtures. MSc thesis, Cran-
field Inst. of Tech., Bedford, 1980.
7 Van Wazer, J. R. et al. Viscosity and ,flow measurement, Inter-
science Publishers, 1963.
8 Jastrzebski, Z. D. Entrance effects and wall effects in an extrusion
rheometer during the flow of concentrated suspensions. Ind. and
Engng. Chem. Fundamentals, Aug. 1967, 6 (3), 445454.
9 Duckham, C. B. Design of centrifugal pump installations for
viscous and non Newtonian fluids. Chem. and Process Engng, July
1971, 52 (7), 6 6 6 8 .
10 Vavra, M. H. Aero-thermodynamics and .flow) in turhomachines,
John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1960.
11 Ippen, A. T. The influence of viscosity on centrifugal pumps per-
formance. Trans. A S M E , 1946,68 (8), 823-848.
12 Hydraulics Institute Stundurds, Hydraulics Inst., New York, 1969.
Proc Jnstn Mech Engrs Vol 198A N o I