Rheologycal and Tomography Studies of Consolidation of Kaolinite Suspension

The settling-consolidation process for kaolinite suspensions is useful representation of the settling behaviour of cohesive sediments. It can be applied to clay sedimentation in natural environment such as the seashore or rivers and also to the sedimentation or flocculation of wastewater in settling tanks. The behaviour of such systems also provides a useful basis for studies of the mixing or blending to make composite pastes, where the changes in viscosity or plasticity are important. The knowledge of the behaviour of dense suspensions is also of use in the design of containers for storage and transportation. A study of the yield stress was made under acid and alkali conditions over a range of concentration between 5 - 50 percent weight concentration. Techniques used in the study are electrical impedance tomography and yield stress rheology. The result of the imaging techniques using sensitivity distributions is clearly seen through the settling image of a 10 percent kaolinite suspension. The results of both tomographic imaging systems and rheological expement are used to describe the settling behaviour of kaolinite suspensions.The combined techniques provide a powerful tool for such analysis.