Yield stresses of mixtures with bimodal size distributions

• Main Author: Rahman, Md. Hafizur
• Other Authors: Sanders, R. Sean (Chemical and Materials Engineering)
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: Fine particle slurry; Coarse particle concentration; Coarse particle size; Yield stress; Viscometer
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10048/1834

The addition of coarse particles to a flocculating fine particle slurry increases the Bingham yield stress of the resulting mixture, which can drastically alter the laminar-to-turbulent transition velocity. The objective of this study is to quantify the effect of coarse particle size and volume concentration on mixture rheology. Fine particle (kaolin) mixtures of 10% to 22% (by volume) were prepared, to which sand particles were added to provide a coarse solid concentration of 5% to 20% (by volume). Sand particles of two different sizes – 90 and 190 microns – were added and these kaolin-sand-water mixtures tested with a concentric cylinder viscometer. At higher total solids concentrations, the Bingham yield stress of the bimodal mixture can increase by as much as 80% over that of a kaolin-only slurry. Coarse particle diameter had little effect. This study demonstrates that the use of existing correlations should be eschewed. System-specific high-quality measurements are necessary. === Chemical Engineering