Abstract Predictive modeling of natural sediment-laden flows requires rheometric protocols that are both reproducible and time-aware of sediment dynamics. This study establishes a standard measurement protocol for homogeneous sediment slurries using concentric (coaxial) cylinder geometry under laminar, steady-state conditions. Sediment properties – density, mineralogical composition, and grain-size distribution – were used to calculate terminal settling velocities in quiescent media, thereby constraining the maximum allowable test duration; across samples, the resulting maximum settling times were 6–30 min. A Staircase shear-rate function from 10 −2 to 10 2 s −1 , interleaved with brief homogenization intervals, was adopted. Logarithmic ramp protocols were discarded because they exclude homogenization and exacerbate time-dependent sedimentation during acquisition. The protocol yielded apparent viscosities from 10 −2 to 10 2 Pa s and shear stresses from 10 −1 to 10 1 Pa, resolving two operational shear-rate zones: 10 −1 –10 0 s −1 for yield-stress identification and 10 0 –10 2 s −1 for constitutive characterization of the flowing regime. The resulting, reproducible workflow enables robust parameterization of slurry rheology and strengthens the basis for hazard-oriented flow models.
Tranquilino et al. (Thu,) studied this question.