Industrial applications of electrical tomography to solids conveying

Although the transport of solids in steel pipelines has been carried out for many years there has been a significant increase in this form of transport over the last twenty-five years. Initially, many pipelines were used to transport tailings from mines to disposal sites over short distances of up to 3km. Increasingly, solid pipelines are now used as links in systems carrying products directly from the mine to the consumer.

Whilst the main interest is in long distance pipelines transporting fine solids, there are many instances of short pipelines transporting coarse solids. These are often found when mining in soft orebodies where monitors are used to break up the material and the slurry formed is then pumped to a treatment plant. Examples are found in the tin mines of South East Asia and in the production of china clay in the UK.

Economic operation and design of solids pipelines requires accurate prediction of pressure gradients in the pipeline and also solids concentration in the mixture being transported. The flow of solids in horizontal and vertical pipes has received considerable investigation. However, it is clear that prediction of flowrates and concentrations in inclined pipelines warrants more detailed investigation, as this is an important factor in the operation of most overland installations. Tomographic methods offer the possibility of acquiring this data on-line.