WEAR AND PROTECTION OF SLURRY TRANSPORTATION PIPES.

To develop steel pipes suitable for slurry transportation, tests were conducted on the transportation of a water-silica sand slurry by loop pipeline. The wear mechanism of steel pipes by slurry is discussed based on the test results, and the measures to be taken for the wear protection of steel pipes is described. The wear of steel pipe by slurry is accelerated corrosion by the slurry at stretches and is abrasion by solid particles at bends. Hardness is thus not a very important property of the slurry transport steel pipes. For protection against wear by slurry, flow design should be performed based on the wear mechanism, and the slurry pipeline should be constructued of pipe made of steel with increased corrosion resistance in straight sections and pipe lined with an elastic material in curved sections.