Effect of Overflow Depth of a Hydrocyclone on Particle Separation

Abstract

In recent years, the hydrocyclone separation technique has been used in an increasing number of applications. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is also feasible for estimating the hydrocyclone performance at various operating conditions, as demonstrated in previous works. This study discusses the impact of overflow depth on separation efficiency through simulation and experiment. Both results showed that separation efficiency was optimal when the overflow depth was above the middle section of the cylindrical portion of a hydrocyclone.

Keywords:

• CFD
• Hydrocyclone
• LES
• Overflow depth
• Particle

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank the National Science Council of the Republic of China, Taiwan, for financially supporting this research under Contract No. NSC 95-2214-032-051.