# Solids Database

Solids properties are entered directly into the Solids database via the Solid Editor fields shown below. FluidFlow is issued with a database of solids already defined. If however you wish to add new solids to this database, select Add to create a new solid and enter a unique name. Settling Solids
Settling Solids Data Entry
Solid Name | Descriptive name for this record.
Solid Density | The density of the solids without including the spaces between the particles, i.e., the density of the compressed particles. The value for Solid Density is used to determine the slurry specific gravity/density.
Bulk density | This is a property of particulate materials. It is the mass of many particles of the material divided by the volume they occupy. The volume includes the space between particles as well as the space inside the pores of individual particles. Bulk density is not an intrinsic property of a material; it can change depending on how the material is handled. For example, sand poured in a cylinder will have a particular bulk density; if the cylinder is disturbed, the sand particles will move and settle closer together, resulting in a higher bulk density. Note, the value for bulk density is the DRY bulk density.
Solid Specific Heat | The specific heat capacity of the solids can be defined here. This value will be used when carrying out heat transfer studies. If you wish to model a slurry system without heat transfer and do not have this value available, you can enter an arbitrary value of a similar solid already in the database.
Solid Thermal Conductivity | The thermal conductivity of the solids can be defined here. This value will be used when carrying out heat transfer studies. Note, heat transfer of slurry pipelines is not very prominent in the mineral processing industry and as such, it is unlikely that this value will be used in the plant design. If you wish to model a slurry system without heat transfer and do not have this value available, you can enter an arbitrary value of a similar solid already in the database.
Solid Shape Factor | This takes into account the difference in settling velocity between a solid of the same functional diameter in the shape of a sphere and the same solid of an irregular shape. There are many shape factor definitions in the literature; FluidFlow uses the Clift or Heywood shape factor which is defined as: (volume of the particle) / (particle diameter)3. The Calculation Dialog tab 'Non-Newtonian and Slurry' has a tick box allowing the shape factor to be ignored in a calculation, thereby assuming the particle is spherical.
Solid Bed Sliding Coefficient | This is the coefficient of friction between the sliding bed and the pipe wall. This value is normally around 0.4 and is only used in the WASC Correlation.
TAPPI Pulp and Paper Solids
Pulp Data Entry
Pulp Type | This is the description of the pulp defined in the Pulp and Paper Solids database.
Velocity Limit Constant K' |
Velocity Limit Constant Sigma |
Numerical Constant K | The numerical coefficient for a given pulp.
Alpha Index | The alpha (α) exponent for a given pulp.
Beta Index | The beta (β) exponent for a given pulp.
Gamma Index | The gamma (γ) exponent for a given pulp.