Turbulent coarse-particle non-Newtonian suspension flow

High concentration tailings suspensions possess the benefits of reduced water and land use for tailings disposal, reduced tailing mobility and improved deposit stability compared to conventional tailings. The interaction between non-Newtonian carrier and coarse particles in high concentration suspensions is still poorly understood, particularly in a turbulent flow regime. This thesis presents a suspension model and investigates the effect of carrier fluid rheology, solids properties and pipe size on the flow regime, pressure drop, velocity and concentration distribution in weakly turbulent non-Newtonian suspension flows, in order to provide an extended understanding of high concentration suspensions.