Slurry Flow Behaviour

Paterson & Cooke have facilities for measuring the flow behaviour of Newtonian and non-Newtonian slurries, thickened tailings and paste mixtures in rotational and tube viscometers, and in pipe loops.

Our fully instrumented pipe loop test facilities are equipped with centrifugal and positive displacement pumps in pipe diameters ranging from 50 mm to 150 mm. These facilities are suitable for testing all types of slurries; from coarse rapid settling slurries to high concentration paste mixtures.

We are able to investigate the potential for particles to settle in a yield stress mixture under sheared laminar flow conditions.

Our wear test facilities allow us to investigate slurry abrasivity, material wear performance and wear rates for different pipe linings and types of slurries.

Slurry Colloidal and Sedimentation Behaviour

The presence of problematic clay minerals within ores often contributes to process inefficiencies or even process failures. An understanding of process slurry behaviour is fundamental in optimizing and sizing dewatering circuits.

Our experience lies in the field of mineral slurry systems and the understanding of clay mineral colloidal behaviour in particular.