Slurry Pumping

Topics Covered

• Piping Basics
• Cavitation
• Field Maintenance
• Slurry Basics
• Pump Selection
• Testing Slurry
• Effect of Slurry on Pump Performance
• Field Work
• Pump Spacing

2
Piping Basics

3
• Bernoulli’s Equation
2

 v  z  H
P
E=
g 2 g f

Where H f

fLV (Darcy-Weisbach equation)
2 gD

4
Hydraulic Gradient—Absolute pressure changes in the system

Friction Losses (Hf)

TDH

5
Consideration for Slurry pipeline Design

• Design requirements:
– Solids transport rate
– Concentration, fixed or varied (affects cost)
– Pipeline diameter
– Slurry Type, settling or non-settling
• Slurry specifics:
– Size
– Type
– Concentration

6
Cavitation

• Typical conditions required for cavitation

– Boiling liquid (usually caused by a local
pressure drop)
– Moving flow
– Pressure increase downstream (leads to vapor
bubble collapse)

7
Cavitation

8
Mitigation of Cavitation

• NPSHA—Net Positive Suction Head

(Available). When NPSHA at any point
reaches zero, the liquid vaporizes.
• NPSHR—Net Positive Suction Head
(Required). Local pressure at pump vanes
may be less then NPSHA, as a result
NPSHR is needed.
• Slurry concentration increases with
increased suction (vacuum). NPSHR of the
pump limits the concentration of the slurry
(3:25, 3-b)

9
Water Hammer

10
Modeling Sample Parameters

• Phosphate Matrix
• Approximately 4.5 miles of pipe
• Velocity of 15,000 GPM (~17 ft/s)
• Design flow of 16,000 GPM (~18 ft/s)
• 40% slurry concentration
• 2,000 TPH production rate
• 19” pipe diameter (Typical)

11
Friction Factor per slurry concentration
0.048 friction factor at design velocity of 18 ft/s,

Solid lines: const. CW (%)

0.06

Slurry Hydraulic Gradient J ( ft slurry / ft )

0.05
5%

0.04 10%

15%
0.03
20%

0.02 30%

40%
0.01

0
0 5 10 15 20

Mixture Velocity V (ft/sec)

12
 Flow rate vs. Pipeline Head
Increase in pipe head of approximately 100 ft

Solid lines: const. CW (%)

1400

1200
Pipeline Head ( ft slurry )

5%
1000
10%
800
15%

600 20%

30%
400
40%
200

0
0 5000 10000 15000 20000

Flowrate ( gpm )

13
 Pit water required vs. Production/Cost
Cost increases significantly with decreased concentration for the same targeted production
rate

Solid lines: const. CW (%)

Dashed lines: const. gun water (gpm)
6
5%

5 10%
Specific Energy Consumption

15%

4 20%
(hp-hr/ton-mi)

30%

3 40%
8000

2 10000
12000

1 14000
16000

0 17000
0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Production (tons/hr)

14
Field considerations
• Pipe wear can be monitored with an ultrasonic
thickness measuring device
• Pipe should be rotated to increase service life
• Vertical pipes experience much less wear than
horizontal pipes
• Long radius elbows wear much better than
short radius elbows
• Booster pump location is critical to proper
operation
• Pump start up should be sequential and not all
at once in order to reduce system pressures and
possible water hammer

15
Slurry Basics

• Slurry is a mix of something solid and

liquid.
• Water is the primary liquid used in
hydraulic transport of solids.
• In theory, there is no limitation on the size
of particles that can be transported
hydraulically.
• In practice, maximum solid size is about 12
inches in diameter.

16
Slurry Basics Cont’d

• What you need to know when designing a

slurry pumping system
– Particle size of solids in slurry
– Type of slurry being pumped
– Concentration rate of slurry
– Desired flow rate
• Pencil Test
– Get a sample of the slurry you want to pump.
– Poke a pencil in to the sample about ½”.
– If the pencil stands on its own, it may not be a
slurry concentration that can be pumped.

17
Slurry Types

• Settling (also known as heterogeneous)

– Matrix material
– Head vs. flow rate is U shaped
• Non-settling (also known as homogeneous)
– Fine clays (solids less than 80 microns)
– Head vs. flow rate shows a laminar and
turbulent flow region
– In theory, pipeline velocity can be low, but
larger particles may settle if velocity is too low

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Slurry Concentration

• Slurry concentration is usually defined in

one of three ways:
1. Cv – Concentration by volume
2. Cw – Concentration by weight
3. Sm – Mean specific gravity of the slurry
• Pump selection by engineers is usually
done using Sm, while mine personnel use
Cw.
• Formulas available to convert from one
concentration definition to another.

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Pump Selection

• To select the correct pump for a system,

items that need to be known are:
– Sump static head
– Entrance loss
– Suction pipe friction loss
– Discharge pipe friction loss
– Static discharge head
– Exit loss
• Pump curves and a system curve are also
useful to have.

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Pump Selection Cont’d

Pump Curve System Curve

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Pump Selection Cont’d

• System curve is overlaid on to the pump

curve. Where the curves cross will be the
operating point.
Pump Selection Cont’d
• Also need to know the classification of the
slurry being pumped:
– Class 1: Mildly Abrasive (Dirty Water)
– Class 2/3: Slightly Abrasive (Medium Size
Particles)
– Class 4: Highly Abrasive (Large Particles)
- Knowing the abrasiveness
of the slurry allows for
proper planning of wear on
pump parts.
Pump Selection Cont’d

• Slurry pump designs include horizontal,

vertical, and submersible pumps.
• The most common type of pump used in
the phosphate industry is a horizontal,
centrifugal pump.
• These pumps are usually made of cast
white irons.
• White irons offer much better wear
resistance than steel.
• Pumps may also have rubber or urethane
liners to combat wear and corrosion.
Pump Selection Cont’d

• Do not add a safety factor to the system

head.
• Do not add a safety factor to the pump
speed.
• If needed, add safety factor to hp/motor
sizing.
• Consider variable speed motors when a
range of flows is required.
Pump Selection Cont’d

• In heavy duty service, pump must be sized

correctly for solids in the pipeline.
• Velocity too high can lead to premature
wear of system components from internal
impacts.
• Velocity too low can lead to material build
up in impeller housing leading to uneven
wear and unstable operation.
Centrifugal Pump Parts

27
Shells and Impellers

• Various shell and impeller types:

28
Shells and Impellers

Note: QBEP is the best efficiency point for flow.

29
Pump Head

• Head is used to measure the kinetic energy

which a pump creates. Head is a
measurement of the height of the liquid
column the pump creates from the kinetic
energy the pump gives to the liquid.
• The units are in feet or meters.
• Head is used because a pump’s pressure
will change based on the specific gravity of
the fluid being pumped, but the head will
not.
Pump Head Cont’d

• Various types of head:

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Pump Head Cont’d
• Pumping system diagram
showing various heads:

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Variation of Performance with
Change in Speed
• Flow rate (Q) increases linearly with speed
(N) change.
• Head (H) increases to the square of the
speed change.
• Power (P) increases to the cube of the
speed change.
• The relationships also hold true for change
in impeller diameter.
2 3
Q1 N H1 N1 P1 N1
 1  2 
Q2 N2 H 2 N2 P2 N 2 3

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Water Pumps vs. Slurry Pumps

• Slurry pumps are typically much more

robust than water pumps.
• Slurry pumps are designed with
replaceable parts due to wear on the pump.
• Slurry pumps run at slower speeds than
water pumps to help reduce wear.
• Slurry pumps are more expensive to
operate (~ 4 times more than H2O pumps)

34
Testing Slurry
• Phosphate industry slurries are usually one
of four types:
– Matrix (raw unprocessed material)
– Clay or Clay/Tailings Mix
– Tailings (waste product)
• Testing is done to determine:
– Operating velocity
– Pipeline diameter
– Concentration
– Aid in pump selection
– Allow for energy and cost savings while
increasing component life
Testing Slurry Cont’d

• A slurry sample is taken and particle size

analysis is done using sieves and shakers.
• Laser diffraction can also be used to find
particle size.
• Dmax and D50 are found through testing.
• As a general rule of thumb, the largest
particle should be no larger than one third
of the pipeline diameter.
• Viscometers can also be used to find the
viscosity of the slurry.
Testing Slurry Cont’d

• Small scale closed loop pumping systems

can also be created to see how the system
will perform.
Effect of Slurry on Pump
Performance
• The solids effect:
– System requires more power input
– Less efficient overall
– Less system head
• Increasing slurry density leads to more
power needed, but same head, and same
efficiency.
• Higher viscosity in a slurry leads to more
power needed, less head, less efficiency.
• The solids effect decreases approximately
in proportion to the increase in impeller
diameter.

38
Effect of Slurry on Pump
Performance
• Various forms of erosion occur inside the
pump housing which can lead to shortened
component life

39
Field Work

Pros: Cons:
• Full scale data • Impact on plant
collection production
• Able to obtain • Instrumentation set
transient system up is limited
data • Limited operational
• Observation of flexibility
system in operation

40
Field Work

• Field testing provides:

– Ability to see full system in operation
– Better understanding of pump operation and
opportunities for improvement
– Better understanding of pipeline operation and
most efficient pipeline set up
– Data collection from the system in real time
under true load conditions
– Support for the pump and pipeline models for
future applications

41
Pump Spacing

• Phosphate Matrix Pumping

• Parameters:
– Type B Matrix
– 2,000 ton/hour
– 40% Solids by Weight
– 15,000 GPM 17 FPS pipeline velocity
– 19 inch I.D. Piping
– 24,200 feet of system
– Static Head of 100 feet
– 20x25 LSA62 Pit Pump
– 18x20 WBC54 Booster Pumps

42
Pump Spacing Cont’d

• Using the FIPR spreadsheet, enter given

parameters.

43
Pump Spacing Cont’d

• Find the slurry hydraulic gradient (~.044)

44
Pump Spacing Cont’d

• Find the pipeline head (~1160 feet)

45
Pump Spacing Cont’d

• Determining amount of pumps required:

• TDH = 1160
-140 (from the pit pump)
1020
• Using pump performance curve for the
WBC54, 225 feet of head is produced by
each booster.
• 1020/225 => 5 boosters needed

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 Pump Spacing Cont’d
• Determining pump spacing:
• Start with static head - 100 ft
• Suction pressure upstream + 69 ft
• TDH produced by each pump +225 ft
• Net TDH available for friction 195 ft
195 ft / .044 = 4432 feet
• Next booster would be at:
• TDH produced by pump 225 ft / .044 = 5113 feet

• Final Booster would be at:

• TDH produced by pump 225 ft
• Less 40 psi for downstream pump - 69 ft
• Plus 20 psi from pit pump + 35 ft
191 ft
191 ft / .044 = 4340 feet

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