Introduction

Theoretical aspects of slurry pipelining are reviewed, with the objective of identifying the current limits of knowledge. It has been said that there is nothing quite so practical as a good theory. Indeed, the ultimate test of any theory is its agreement with reliable experimental results. Nevertheless, such results cannot be known to be reliable without some prior theoretical understanding. For a practical subject like slurry pipelining, such abstractions may seem a little irrelevant, if the objective is seen simply in terms of getting the product from A to B. However, if we consider that A and B may be a long way apart and that a few per cent error in operating conditions may have critical cost implications, the need for good theory becomes apparent. In the practical hydrotransport context, a further requirement exists that the theory be accessible to and usable by the designers of slurry systems, not just the academic colleagues of the theoretician.