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Aslurry is a mixture of denser solids suspended in liquid, usually water. The most common use of slurry is as a means of transporting solids or separating minerals, the liquid being a carrier that is pumped on a device such as acentrifugal pump. The size of solid particles may vary from 1micrometre up to hundreds ofmillimetres.The particles may settle below a certain transport velocity and the mixture can behave like aNewtonian ornon-Newtonian fluid. Depending on the mixture, the slurry may be abrasive and/or corrosive.

Examples of slurries include:

• Cement slurry, a mixture ofcement, water, and assorted dry and liquid additives used in thepetroleum and other industries^[1][2]
• Soil/cement slurry, also called Controlled Low-Strength Material (CLSM), flowable fill, controlled density fill, flowable mortar, plastic soil-cement, K-Krete, and other names^[3]
• A mixture ofthickening agent, oxidizers, and water used to form agel explosive^[4]
• A mixture ofpyroclastic material, rocky debris, and water produced in avolcanic eruption and known as alahar
• A mixture ofbentonite and water used to makeslurry walls
• Coal slurry, a mixture ofcoal waste and water, or crushed coal and water^[5]
• Slip, a mixture ofclay and water used for joining, glazing and decoration of ceramics and pottery.
• Slurry oil, the highest boiling fraction distilled from the effluent of anFCC unit in anoil refinery. It contains a large amount of catalyst, in form of sediments hence the denomination of slurry.
• A mixture of wood pulp and water used to makepaper
• Manure slurry, a mixture of animal waste, organic matter, and sometimes water often known simply as "slurry" inagricultural use, used asfertilizer after aging in aslurry pit
• Meat slurry, a mixture of finely ground meat and water, centrifugally dewatered and used as a food ingredient.
• An abrasive substance used inchemical-mechanical polishing
• Slurry ice, a mixture of ice crystals, freezing point depressant, and water
• A mixture of raw materials and water involved in therawmill manufacture ofPortland cement
• Abolus of chewed food mixed withsaliva^[6]
• A mixture of epoxy glue andglass microspheres used as a filler compound around core materials insandwich-structured composite airframes.

To determine the percent solids (or solids fraction) of a slurry from the density of the slurry, solids and liquid^[7]

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl}=\frac{{\rho }_s({\rho }_{sl}-{\rho }_l)}{{\rho }_{sl}({\rho }_s-{\rho }_l)}}$

where

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl}}$ is the solids fraction of the slurry (state by mass)

${\displaystyle {\rho }_s}$ is the solids density

${\displaystyle {\rho }_{sl}}$ is the slurry density

${\displaystyle {\rho }_l}$ is the liquid density

In aqueous slurries, as is common in mineral processing, the specific gravity of the species is typically used, and sincespecific gravity of water is taken to be 1, this relation is typically written:

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl}=\frac{{\rho }_s({\rho }_{sl}-1)}{{\rho }_{sl}({\rho }_s-1)}}$

even though specific gravity with units tonnes/m³ (t/m³) is used instead of the SI density unit, kg/m³.

To determine the mass of liquid in a sample given the mass of solids and the mass fraction:By definition

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl}=\frac{M_s}{M_{sl}}}$

therefore

${\displaystyle M_{sl}=\frac{M_s}{{\varphi }_{sl}}}$

and

${\displaystyle M_s+M_l=\frac{M_s}{{\varphi }_{sl}}}$

then

${\displaystyle M_l=\frac{M_s}{{\varphi }_{sl}}-M_s}$

and therefore

${\displaystyle M_l=\frac{1-{\varphi }_{sl}}{{\varphi }_{sl}}{M}_s}$

where

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl}}$ is the solids fraction of the slurry

${\displaystyle M_s}$ is the mass or mass flow of solids in the sample or stream

${\displaystyle M_{sl}}$ is the mass or mass flow of slurry in the sample or stream

${\displaystyle M_l}$ is the mass or mass flow of liquid in the sample or stream

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,m}=\frac{M_s}{M_{sl}}}$

Equivalently

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,v}=\frac{V_s}{V_{sl}}}$

and in a minerals processing context where the specific gravity of the liquid (water) is taken to be one:

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,v}=\frac{\frac{M_s}{S{G}_s}}{\frac{M_s}{S{G}_s}+\frac{M_l}{1}}}$

So

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,v}=\frac{M_s}{M_s+M_{l}S{G}_s}}$

and

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,v}=\frac{1}{1+\frac{M_{l}S{G}_s}{M_s}}}$

Then combining with the first equation:

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,v}=\frac{1}{1+\frac{M_{l}S{G}_s}{{\varphi }_{sl,m}{M}_s}\frac{M_s}{M_s+M_l}}}$

So

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,v}=\frac{1}{1+\frac{S{G}_s}{{\varphi }_{sl,m}}\frac{M_l}{M_s+M_l}}}$

Then since

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,m}=\frac{M_s}{M_s+M_l}=1-\frac{M_l}{M_s+M_l}}$

we conclude that

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,v}=\frac{1}{1+S{G}_s(\frac{1}{{\varphi }_{sl,m}}-1)}}$

where

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,v}}$ is the solids fraction of the slurry on avolumetric basis

${\displaystyle {\varphi }_{sl,m}}$ is the solids fraction of the slurry on amass basis

${\displaystyle M_s}$ is the mass or mass flow of solids in the sample or stream

${\displaystyle M_{sl}}$ is the mass or mass flow of slurry in the sample or stream

${\displaystyle M_l}$ is the mass or mass flow of liquid in the sample or stream

${\displaystyle S{G}_s}$ is the bulk specific gravity of the solids

• Grout
• Slurry pipeline
• Slurry transport
• Slurry wall

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSlurry.

Look upslurry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Bonapace, A.C.A General Theory of the Hydraulic Transport of Solids in Full Suspension
• Ravelet, F.; Bakir, F.; Khelladi, S.; Rey, R. (2013)."Experimental study of hydraulic transport of large particles in horizontal pipes"(PDF).Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science.45:187–197.Bibcode:2013ETFS...45..187R.doi:10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2012.11.003.S2CID 55554454.
• Ming, G., Ruixiang, L., Fusheng, N., Liqun, X. (2007).Hydraulic Transport of Coarse Gravel—A Laboratory Investigation Into Flow Resistance.

• Environmental engineering
• Materials
• Fluid mechanics

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