ABSTRACT
Another aspect of solids flow rate control is described by Burnett et al. (6): a helical inducer has been developed as a self-controlling slurry pump for use at the booster stations of long pipelines. This centrifugal pumping device, which eliminates the need for sumps, level controls and variable speed drives, incorporates an air core vortex vented to atmosphere and automatically adjusts to different back pressures (i.e. to different concentrations and flow rates). The designers claim that the device, which is suitable for coarse or fine slurries, eliminates the need for 'complicated and possibly troublesome feedback control systems'.
