Characteristics of Mud Flow Caused by Water Flow and Its Hydraulic Modelling

Abstract

Experiments concerning physical properties of the mud enable us to treat the mud as a Bingham fluid, and also show that the yield shear stress and viscosity of mud are related to the water content. We make a hydraulic model of mud flow under the flowing water based on the governing equations for Bingham fluid, which takes into account the space- and time-distribution of water contents of the mud. Using this model, we analyze the velocity profile of mud flow and investigate the influence of shear stress acting on the mud surface and water content of the mud on the flowing-layer depth and mud velocity.