Investigation into the effects of various parameters on the performance and classification potential of a cyclone classifier

Classification of particles efficiently is one of the issues in powder industries. A mini cyclone which may also be used as a classifier was designed and built to investigate its separation and classification performances. Efficiency, pressure losses, and triple classification potential of the cyclone classifier were experimentally investigated at different flow rates and configurations. Calcite powder with an average diameter of 14 mu m was used in the experiments. The results of the study show that the performance of the cyclone as a classifier is very close to the cyclone performance used as a separator. The use of cyclone as a classifier does not have a negative effect on the collection efficiency. According to the results of experimental studies performed in different configurations of the same cyclone length, the effects of configuration change on total efficiency and pressure loss are <3%. However, the classification potential and the average diameter and mass ratio of the classes are significantly affected by the configuration change. The effect of inlet velocity is similar to the behavior of a classical cyclone separator, i.e., the efficiency and pressure loss increase as the velocity increases. Separation efficiency, pressure losses, and roughness effects were also examined by using a theoretical approach. The theoretical results were seen to be consistent with the experimental results. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.