Dynamics of shearing in flocculating fine sediment suspensions

The variability of rheological properties in cohesive sediment suspensions are studied and related to the flocculation process. It was found that the steady state shear stress increases exponentially with increasing sediment concentration and increases logarithmically by increasing the salinity of the suspension. The salinity dependence of the shear stress was correlated with changes in the floc‐size. These results reflect the dominant influence of fluid‐sediment interactions on the flocculation behavior of the suspension. An analytic model predicting shear stress as a function of the physical and electrochemical properties of the fine sediment suspension is developed.