Transportation of Sand and Gravel in a Four-Inch Pipe

Tests on 4-in. pipe, transporting water mixed with sand and small gravel, are described in this paper. Although a description of the flow characteristics of sand and water mixtures and gravel and water mixtures in a 4-in. pipe constitutes the main part of the paper, an attempt is made to generalize the findings in regard to other sizes of pipe in so far as it is believed to be applicable. A discussion is given of existing general formulas for the transportation of materials in pipe lines, and it is attempted to prove that the type of material to be transported and the experience of the designer should have more bearing on the solution of a problem than any solid-transportation formula now extant.

No new formulas are presented. An insufficient number of investigations have been made to justify the use even of the formulas now in existence. The attempt is made, however, to consolidate all known facts concerning the transportation of sand and water mixtures in order to show that, at present, only general characteristics can be determined for this phenomenon