Critical shear stress for incipient motion of non‐cohesive particles in open‐channel flows of pseudoplastic fluids

The results of a theoretical and experimental study on the conditions of incipient motion of non‐cohesive solid particles in laminar flows of pseudoplastic fluids are presented in the article. It is concluded that, for practical purposes, using a modified particle Reynolds number that includes the consistency coefficient and the flow index, the motion threshold condition is well defined by the Shields diagram, with a slight modification to that presented by Mantz for low Reynolds numbers. The range of particle Reynolds numbers covered in the study was from 0.026–12.56.