Influence of Operating Parameters of a Cylindrical Hydrocyclone on Separation Factor of Nonlinearly Viscoplastic Suspensions

Abstract

A mathematical model of the process of separation of suspensions with a nonlinearly viscoplastic medium, describable by Herschel–Bulkley law, in a cylindrical hydrocyclone, which takes account of the action of Coriolis force on solid-phase particles, has been developed. A system of differential equations in partial derivatives, which describes the separation process, is reduced to a system of ordinary differential equations and solved by numerical method. The influence of the separation factor on the hydrocyclone operating parameters for various plastic properties of the medium under separation is analyzed. It is established that the solid-phase particle concentration in the thickened fraction of the suspension increases with increase of Froude number. The degree of suspension thickening increases also with improvement of plastic properties of the dispersing medium.