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Hydrocyclone Design

This program sizes a hydrocyclone, or a number of units in parallel, for a given duty. The design is based on an inertial model and two dimensionless groups (Euler number and Stokes number), the product of which is constant for a geometrically similar family of cyclones, are expressed as functions of Reynolds number and of the feed concentration.

Hydrocyclone design opening screen

The geometry used is the optimum set of proportions proposed by Rietema and the correlations employed in the program are those obtained recently in a research programme at the University of Bradford and published in the literature.

Concentration effects are included, up to 10% by volume, but for two specific materials (chalk or aluminium hydrate); some of the constants may need adjustment for other materials. The program first converts the task given, via three different input options, into the operating cut size required. The three options are for classification, clarification or thickening duties. It then calculates, from the given operating conditions and the required cut size, the design options available (number of cyclones in parallel, their diameter and the operating pressure drop necessary) and lets the user choose a suitable set. If the task specified leads to unreasonable design options, the user may select to go back and change the task. If one of the design options is selected as acceptable, the final design proportions of the hydrocyclones may also be obtained.