| Recent studies suggest that a double-cone hydrocyclone is more suited to the separation of dilute light dispersions than a shorter single-cone design. To explore further the capabilities of the single-cone design, a comparison of the separation performance of the two hydrocyclones at the same length was undertaken.; Flow visualization tests (at low overflow ratios) for both hydrocyclones revealed dynamic instabilities in the reverse flow vertex. Transitions from a stable reverse flow vortex to a through flow vortex were observed over periods as short as ten seconds and as long as twenty minutes.; When separating a dispertion with a small density difference (.025 g/cm{dollar}sp3{dollar}), the double-cone design achieved a higher underflow purity. However, by fitting model parameters using this efficiency data, theoretical calculations suggest comparable efficiencies for the two designs when separating a suspension with a density difference typical of oil-water dispersions (0.1 g/cm{dollar}sp3{dollar}). |
