Abstract: An abrasion resistant pipe bend or elbow for slurry pipelines is disclosed. The bend or elbow has a wall of enlarged thickness disposed in the exterior of the turn of the fluid flow, in the area where impingement of the interior wall of the elbow by solid particulate material is most likely to occur. The wall of enlarged thickness includes a plurality of spaced protrusions which form a plurality of indentations or pockets. Openings of the pockets are disposed in substantial alignment with the instantaneous trajectory of solid particulates transported in the slurry. The pockets become filled with captured solid particles when slurry is transported through the elbow. The particles act as a shield or buffer against further bombardment of the wall of the elbow by the particles. Leading edges of the protrusions optionally have a cladding of an abrasion resistant material, such as a hardfacing composition, and are disposed to have a favorable, usually large, impact angle with the solid particles.

Abstract: A throttling and shut-off valve assembly for slurry pipelines and the like takes advantage of a gravity induced concentration and velocity gradient which develops in a substantially horizontal flow of coarse slurries. The throttling and shut-off valve assembly includes a conduit which is disposed substantially horizontally and wherein a valve body is mounted in an elongated streamlined housing to seat against a valve seat. The valve body is actuable to move substantially axially in the conduit. Both the valve body and the streamlined housing are disposed substantially along the longitudinal center line or axis of the conduit, which is upwardly offset relative to the longitudinal axis of the pipeline from which the flow is directed into the valve assembly. The bottom wall of the conduit is level with the bottom wall of the upstream portion of the pipeline.

Abstract: A densitometer apparatus is disclosed which is adapted for accurately measuring the density of a liquid and particularly of a slurry flowing in a pipeline. The apparatus includes a pipe section which is coupled to the rest of the pipeline by substantially friction and resistance free hydrostatic bearings in such a manner that the pipe section is able to move, at least to a limited extent, in a direction parallel with the earth's gravitational field. The weight of the pipe section is accurately measured together with the weight of the slurry or liquid contained therein by load cells, strain gauges or the like. A unique flow velocity meter is also disclosed. The flow velocity meter includes two densitometers positioned at a predetermined distance from one another on the pipeline, and measures the time it takes a density fluctuation pattern to travel from one densitometer to another.