Sedimentation in Coal-Water Slurry Pipelining

In this paper we present an overview of recent investigations on the problem of sedimentation related to the pipelin-ing of a Coal-Water Slurry. The main aspects of the problem are both the determination of the sedimentation velocity, and the understanding and modelling of the dynamics of the sedimentation bed which accumulates on the bottom of the pipe. The analysis is carried out using a combination of suggestions dictated by experimental evidence and suitable mathematical techniques. The result is a model which appears to be both easily manageable and flexible. Predictions of the model are compared with experiments finding a remarkable agreement with the available data. 1 1 Slurry handling and pipeline transport: a brief outlook on hydro-transport Besides intuitive, the idea of transporting solids using a carrier fluid is rather old. Indeed according with Apollodorus and Pausanias (1st century B.C.) this transportation technique, nowadays known with the name of Hydrotransport, was first utilized by Herakles, who in one day cleaned up the thirty years ’ accumulated filth left by thousands of cattle in King Augeas ’ stables by diverting two rivers to form an open-channel hydrotransport system [42]. Despite of the mythological nature of this tale, known as the fifth Herakles ’ task, in principle any kind of solid can be moved from