Design of sediment-transporting pipeline

Pipe flow is preferred for the bulk transport of granular materials as it is both economical and reliable. It finds application in the transport of minerals, especially ocean minerals, carried in water suspension and the transport of food grains carried in air suspension. The disposal of solid waste through pneumatic pipes is also gaining importance. Although the necessary equations for sediment transport through pipes are available, design equations have not been attempted as yet. In this paper a sediment-carrying pipeline design has been formulated as a geometric programming problem with a single degree of difficulty. The solution of the problem yields the optimal design having flow at the limit deposit velocity.