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The theoretical partition curve of the hydrocyclone

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DOI: 10.1016/j.mineng.2013.10.004

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 Minerals Engineering xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Minerals Engineering
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/mineng

The theoretical partition curve of the hydrocyclone

Johann Dueck a,b,⇑, Mohamed Farghaly c, Thomas Neesse a
a
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany
b
L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan
c
Faculty of Engineering, Al-Azhar University, Qena, Egypt

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In many cases, the hydrocyclone partition curve exhibits a non-monotonic course in the fine particle
Available online xxxx range. The so-called fish-hook effect indicates an increased separation of the fine fraction, which is of
practical interest and has a positive effect on solid/liquid separation. However, for classification purposes,
Keywords: the separation is less distinct. In this contribution an equation of a partition curve containing a fish-hook
Hydrocyclone
is derived considering the laws of disturbed settling in dense, polydisperse suspensions. The following
Partition curve
effects are considered: the entrainment of fine particles in the boundary layer of the coarse settling par-
Classification
Fish-hook ticles, the hindered settling due to the increased effective density and viscosity of the fluid, and the coun-
Fine particle separation ter flow of the displaced fluid caused by the settling particles. The calculations indicate that the fish-hook
effect is primarily caused by fine particle entrainment, which is influenced by the feed solid content and
the feed particle size distribution. An approximated analytical solution for the partition curve is pre-
sented for aRosin–Rammler–Sperling–Bennet (RRSB)-distributed feed. Experiments using 25-mm hydro-
cyclone confirm the calculations.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction The phenomenon of increased fine particle removal through the

The fundamental scheme for the hydrocyclone is shown in
Fig. 1a.
The partition curve (Fig. 1b) used to characterize the separation
efficiency of the hydrocyclones involves the mass fraction T(d) for
each particle size d, which is discharged in the coarse product
(underflow). Schubert and Neesse (1980) demonstrated that the
typical S-shaped partition curve derives from the superposition
of the settling flow and a turbulent diffusion flow in the rotating
fluid.
The so-called tapping model (Neesse et al. (1991), Schubert
(2010)), which neglects the distribution of the hydrodynamic char-
acteristics in the processing zone of the apparatus, describes the
influence of various factors on the separation characteristics. The
theoretical partition curve calculated using the free settling veloc-
ity according to the Stokes formula, increases monotonically with d
(see the dashed curve in Fig. 1b).
However, in many cases in the fine particle range, an increased
particle removal can be observed (see the continuous curve in
Fig. 1b). This so-called fish-hook effect is subject of many investi-
gations and discussions.
⇑ Corresponding author at: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nurem-
berg, Germany. Tel.: +49 9131 85 23 200.
E-mail address: johann.dueck@mbt.uni-erlangen.de (J. Dueck).
underflow leads to practical consequences. For example, increasing
the removal of fine particles is beneficial for water purification by
removing mechanical impurities. However, the fish-hook effect is
detrimental to fine particle classification because it reduces the
separation sharpness.
Although the non-monotonic separation function was described
in the scientific literature (Finch (1983), many years ago, no con-
sensus has developed regarding the physical basis of this
phenomenon.
Some researchers remain skeptical (Flintoff et al. (1987), Nage-
swararao (2000)) of this effect, believing that it has no physical ba-
sis and that the experimental observations are the result of
agglomeration phenomena, measurement errors, or the variations
in the particles size fractions relative to their shape and density.
These doubts have been analyzed and refuted by Dueck et al.
(2007).
After analyzing the statistical properties of the measurements,
Bourgeois and Majumder (2013) came to the same conclusion that
‘‘the fishhook effect is a real physical phenomenon’’.
In several publications by Finch (1983), Del Villar and Finch
(1992), and Kraipech et al. (2002), empirical correlations have been
developed to describe the fish-hook effect.
Schubert (2003, 2004) provided a qualitative explanation of the
fish-hook effect using the buoyancy acting on the particles in a
non-uniform rotational flow. The random motion of particles of

0892-6875/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2013.10.004

Please cite this article in press as: Dueck, J., et al. The theoretical partition curve of the hydrocyclone. Miner. Eng. (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.mineng.2013.10.004
2 J. Dueck et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

Nomenclature

a centrifugal acceleration (–) n parameter of the distribution function (––

ß entrainment constant (–) uin velocity of the suspension flow in the inlet (m/s)
cV total volume solid concentration (–) Dp inlet pressure (bar)
d particle size (lm) s internal variable of integration (lm)
dm characteristic particle size (lm) S volume split (–)
Dc diameter of the cylindrical portion of the hydrocyclone T(d) partition function
(mm) Vh(d) hindered settling velocity (m/s)
Do overflow diameter (mm) VS(d) settling velocity (m/s)
Din diameter of the inlet (mm) VSt,j Stokes velocity (m/s)
Dt coefficient of turbulent diffusion (m/s2) wtan maximum tangential velocity (m/s)
D(d) deceleration function for the disturbed settling (–) W_o suspension throughput at overflow (m3/s)
E(d) acceleration function (–) W_u suspension throughput at underflow (m3/s)
fe(d) entrainment function (–) qf fluid density (kg/m3)
g(cV) function of solids content (–) qp solid density (kg/m3)
q(d) density of the particle size distribution (lm1) lf fluid viscosity (kg/ms)
H depth of the fish-hook (–) C Gamma function (–)

varying sizes in a turbulent environment was considered by Wang Therefore, this work focuses on the approximated analytical
and Yu (2010). Majumder et al. (2003, 2007) attempted to explain calculation of the separation and should be presented in a conve-
the origin of the fish-hook effect using a sudden decrease in the nient form for analytical estimations that consider the collective
settling velocity of the coarser particles due to the Reynolds effects of disturbed settling in a dense polydisperse suspension.
number restriction. Roldan-Villasana et al. (1993) introduced the
concept that a turbulent dispersion could influence the motion of 2. Partition function
fine particles.
These concepts have not yet been applied in a systematic According to the tapping model of Schubert and Neesse (1980),
calculation to determine which parameters—the hydrocyclone, the partition function T(d) as a function of the particle size d can be
the particulate material and/or the operating conditions—control expressed as follows:
the characteristics of the fish-hook effect.
Kraipech et al. (2002) pointed to the mechanism of fine particle 1
TðdÞ ¼ h i: ð1Þ
entrainment by larger particles, but did not offer an appropriate Dc
1 þ Sexp  2D ðV s ðdÞÞ
t
mathematical model. This was provided by Dueck et al. (2004),
who explained the non-monotonic separation curves through the In this equation, the volume split is represented by
W_ o _ _
entrainment of fine particles caught in the boundary layer of the S¼W _ u in which W o and W u are the suspensions flows of the over-
coarse, rapidly settled particles. This model is based on experi- flow and underflow, respectively. The value of S can be determined
ments of Gerhart et al. (1999) and Kumar et al. (2000) and has using empirical formulas (Bradley (1965)).
already been implemented in the computations of Minkov and Furthermore, Dc is the diameter of the cylindrical portion of the
Dueck (2012). hydrocyclone, and Din is the diameter of the inlet.
By varying several parameters, the computer simulations This model assumes that the turbulent diffusion coefficient Dt of
require considerable effort. the particle is independent of its size. Thus, the shape of the

Overflow

Do
1
Inlet
Partition function
Partition function T(d), -

Din 0.75 Partition function

Vortex finder (after Stokes)
Dc
0.5

H
0.25

0
0 5 10 15 20
Du
Particle size d, µm
Underflow

(a) (b)
Fig. 1. (a) Principal scheme for the hydrocyclone and (b) partition curve of the hydrocyclone.

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 J. Dueck et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 3

partition function is determined primarily by the settling velocity, As demonstrated by Eq. (2), the predicted sedimentation veloc-
Vs. According to Eq. (1), T(d) is a monotonous function of d if Vs(d) is ity of a particle depends not only on its size, the medium proper-
also a monotonous function of d. The Stokes formula for Vs yields ties, and the solid-phase concentration in the suspension but also
the monotonous S-shaped line of the partition function (Fig. 1b). on the particle size distribution.
The separation curve T(d) increases monotonically from T(0) < 1
at d ? 0 to T = 1 at d ? 1.
4. Approximation for the RRSB size distribution
The partition function is typically characterized using the fol-
lowing parameters:
In the present work, specific equations are derived for a typical
case when the two-parameter RRSB (Rosen–Rammler–Bennet–
(a) d50 – the cut size with a 50% fractional recovery in the
Sperling) function for the particle size distribution is used:
underflow (Eq. (1) indicates that, for d50, V s ðd50 Þ ¼
2ðDt =Dc Þ ln S).
 n1   n 
n d d
(b) T0 – the value of T(0). qðdÞ ¼ exp  ð3Þ
dm dm dm
(c) Tmin – the minimum value of the function. When the Stokes
formula is applied to obtain Vs, T0 = Tmin. in which dm is the characteristic particle size and n characterizes the
steepness of the distribution function.
In many cases, the experimental determination of the partition For this case, the integrals in Eq. (2) can be estimated (Dueck
curve demonstrates that the curve has a minimum value for parti- et al., 2010), which leads to the following expression for the sedi-
cle sizes below 10 lm (Fig. 1b). Such separation curve behavior is mentation velocity of particles in a polydisperse suspension:
called the ‘‘fishhook’’ effect. This phenomenon can result from dis- 0 11=3
turbed particle settling due to particle interactions as described by  2 2
V S ðdÞ dm B ð6=n þ 1ÞC ð6=n þ 1Þ C
several researchers (Roldan-Villasana et al. (1993), Kraipech et al. ¼1þ gðcV ÞB C
V h ðdÞ d @ 6þn A
(2002), Dueck et al. (2004)). bd n
þ ð6=n þ 1Þ C ð6=n þ 1Þ
dm
 2   
3. Disturbed particle settling in a polydisperse suspension dm 2
 cV C þ1 ð4Þ
d n
Some experimental and theoretical results have been obtained Eq. (4) contains an integral representation of the gamma func-
regarding the settling of dense suspensions (Gerhart et al. (1999), R1
tion: Cðz þ 1Þ ¼ 0 t z ez dt. For simple engineering calculations, ra-
Gerhart (2001), Kumar et al. (2000), Dueck et al. (2004), Minkov tional functions are convenient. Taking into account that the
and Dueck (2005)). These studies focused on the settling behavior parameter n varies over a narrow range of 1–1.5, the following
of polydisperse suspensions. The settling of polydisperse approximation can be applied:
suspensions involves the following interparticle effects:
Cðz þ 1Þ ¼ 2:6  103 z6:8 :
1. Hindered settling due to an increased ‘‘effective’’ density and
viscosity of the fluid. Similarly, we can write g(cV) = 0.9c0.46.
2. Counter flow of the displaced fluid caused by particle settling. Thus, Eq. (4) can be presented as follows:
3. Entrainment of fine particles in the surrounding coarse settling V S ðdÞ
particles. ¼1þED ð5Þ
V h ðdÞ

If the particles size distribution is presented as a continuous in which the entrainment function E and the deceleration function
R1
function, q(d), such that 0 qðsÞds ¼ 1, then the settling rate D are
equation of a particle can be written as follows: 0 11=3
 2
V S ðdÞ
Z 1 dm @ 6:76  106 ð6=n þ 1Þ  ð6=nÞ13:6 A
2 2
¼ 1 þ d gðcV Þfe ðbdÞÞ  d cV ðs2 þ gðcV Þfe ðbsÞÞqðsÞds ð2Þ E¼ 0:9c0:46
V 6þn
ð6Þ
d
V h ðdÞ 0 ðdbdm Þ n
þ 2:6  103 ð6=n þ 1Þð6=nÞ6:8

in which, according to Dueck et al. (2004) and Minkov and Dueck  2 (  6:8 )
R1 1=3 dm 2
(2005) fe ðdÞ ¼ ð bd s6 qðsÞdsÞ ; gðcV Þ ¼ 94 c2=3
V expð5cV Þ, V h ¼ V St D¼ 3
2:6  10 cV ð7Þ
ad2j ðqp qf Þ
d n
ð1  cV Þ4:5 , V St;j ¼ 18lf
, and b  15(1 + 10, 5cV).
Fig. 2 illustrates the values calculated using Eqs. (5)–(7) and
The first term on the right side of Eq. (2) corresponds to the hin-
indicates that for small particles the acceleration mechanism dom-
dered sedimentation velocity of a particle (the Stokes velocity ac-
inates, but for larger particles the deceleration effect is more
counts for the impact of solid content). The second term, the
2 important.
acceleration function E ¼ d gðcV Þfe ðbdÞÞ, reflects the increase in
The comparison with Vh (the Stokes velocity, corrected relative
the particle velocity due to its entrainment by larger particles.
2 R1 to the solid content) demonstrates that small particles can settle at
The third term, the deceleration function D ¼ d cV 0
velocities several orders of magnitude higher than that determined
ðs2 þ gðcV Þfe ðbsÞÞqðsÞds, determines how the flow of the liquid dis-
using the Stokes law. For large particles, both functions E(d) and
placed by the settling solid phase influences the particle settling
D(d) are negligibly small, and the actual settling velocity VS (d) is
velocity.
slightly lower than that of Stokes because the suspension has a
In Eq. (2) the following designations are used: a – centrifugal
higher density and viscosity than water.
acceleration, ß – entrainment constant, cV – total solid volume con-
centration, g(cV) – function of the intensity of the entrainment on
the solid concentration, fe(d) – entrainment function, q(d) – density 5. Experiments and calculations
of the particle size distribution, VSt(d) – Stokes settling velocity,
Vh(d) – hindered settling velocity, qf – fluid density, qp – solid The experiments conducted by Gerhart (2001), taken for a com-
density, lf – fluid viscosity in kg/ms. parison with the calculations, are listed in Table 1.

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4 J. Dueck et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2013) xxx–xxx

1.0E+05
Entrainment function E(d)

Counter Current function D(d)

1.0E+03

Sedimentation functions,-
Total effect 1+E(d)+D(d)

1.0E+01

1.0E-01

1.0E-03

1.0E-05
0.01 0.1 1 10
Relative particle size, (d/dm)

Fig. 2. Disturbed settling functions (Eqs. (5)–(7)) defining the interaction of particles during settling in an RRSB-distributed suspension, depending on the relative particle size
(data used for calculation: n = 1.2, dm = 6 lm, cv = 0.04).

The particle size distribution for the dispersed materials used in 6. Comparison of the calculated and measured partition curves
the experiments can be approximated using Eq. (3) with the
parameters dm = 6 lm and n = 1.23 provided in Table 1. Using the values of S, Dc, Vs and Dt, the partition function in Eq.
In Eq. (1), the volume split value (S) is derived from the exper- (1) can be determined. Fig. 3 presents the calculation of the settling
imental results with a value of S = 7.5. velocities and the partition curves for two different conditions:
The centrifugal acceleration (a) was determined using the for- first, for the settling according to Stokes, and second, considering
mulas of Schubert et al. (1990) and Heiskanen (1993) as follows: the disturbed settling in dense suspensions.
The settling velocity as a function of particle size is a non-
a ¼ w2tan =Dc ð8Þ monotonous function. As previously mentioned, the shape of the
partition curve under given operational conditions depends only
in which the maximum tangential velocity is on the settling velocity. Therefore, the partition curve may have a
shape similar to that of the settling velocity curve versus the par-
Din
wtan ¼ 3:7 uin ð9Þ ticle size. Non-monotonous course of the sedimentation velocity
Dc could be the reason for the so-called fish-hook effect, which, in
practice, often manifests itself as the measured curve. This result
and the velocity of the suspension flow in the inlet is
is in agreement with the investigations of Gerhart (2001) and Due-
!0:5 ck et al. (2007).
Dof Dp A comparison between the calculated values and the experi-
uin ¼ 0:52 : ð10Þ
Din qf mental results under the conditions listed in Table 1 is presented
in Fig. 4.
For the diffusion coefficient Dt the following equation can be
The separation model indicates that there is sufficient confi-
used (Schubert et al. (1990)):
dence in the explanation of the fish-hook effect. No further accor-
dance can be expected for the deviation between the experimental
Dt ¼ 16  104 wtan Dc : ð11Þ
and calculated values given the extensive simplifications in the
Applying these formulas to the parameters listed in Table 1, the flow model.
following values can be obtained: Experimental partition functions demonstrate the fish-hook ef-
fect, which can be characterized by the depth H (the difference be-
uin ¼ 5:33 m=s; wtan ¼ 7:9 m=s; a ¼ 2490 m=s2 ; tween the value of partition function at d = 0 and the minimum
Dt ¼ 3:2  104 m2 =s: value of the separation curve) as indicated in Fig. 1b. The calculated
and measured values of H, depending on the solid content (cv) for
Using these values, Eqs. (5)–(7) can be applied to calculate the the materials provided in Table 1, are plotted in Fig. 5.
settling velocities of particles of varying sizes. The fish-hook depth (H) presents a non-monotonic curve versus
the solid content cv as predicted by the disturbed settling. Fig. 5
also indicates that the values of T(0) vary with cV in a manner sim-
Table 1
ilar to that of H.
Parameters of hydrocyclone experiments. Using this fact, the dependence of T0 on the suspension param-
eters can be analyzed as follows:
Hydrocyclone diameter Dc = 25  103 m
Inlet diameter Din = 10.5  103 m
In Eq. (5), D can completely neglected relatively to E if d tends
Overflow diameter Dof = 1  102 m toward zero as demonstrated in Fig. 2. Considering the denomina-
Feed pressure Dp = 105 Pa tor of Eq. (6), in the function E, the term containing d can be
Particle density qp = 2.6 g/cm3 neglected.
Particle size distribution of fine material (Mf) dm = 6 lm, n = 1.2
After the transformations, the settling velocity of the smallest
Particle size distribution of coarse material (Mc) dm = 11 lm, n = 1.3
particles, Vs(0) (d tends toward zero), can be obtained:

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 J. Dueck et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2013) xxx–xxx 5

1.0E+08 1
Stokes velocity

Settling velocity, µm/s

Partition function, -
1.0E+06 0.75
Settling velocity

1.0E+04 0.5
Partition function
(Stokes velocity)
1.0E+02 0.25
Partition function
(disturbed settling)
1.0E+00 0
0.1 1 10 100
Relative particle size d/dm, -

Fig. 3. Calculated partition curves and settling velocities for a 25-mm hydrocyclone using a fine particle suspension and solid content cV = 0.04. The parameters are listed in
Table 1.

1 1
Mf (calc) Mc (calc)
Mf (exp) Mc (exp)
0.8

Partition function, -
0.8 dm=6 µm
Partition function, -

0.6 dm=7 µm
0.6
dm=8 µm
0.4
0.4
dm=9 µm
0.2
0.2 T(d) after
Stokes
0
0 0.1 1 10 100
0.1 1 10 100 Relative particle size, µm
Relative particle size, µm
Fig. 6. Partition curves for different dm values at n = 0.23 (all other parameters are
provided in Table 1).
Fig. 4. Calculated and measured partition functions for a 25-mm Hydrocyclone
using a solid content cV = 0.04, a fine particle suspension Mf and a coarse particle
suspension Mc (parameter are listed in Table 1). The maximum value of VS(0) in Fig. 5 occurs at the concentra-
tion cV = 0.09, which is higher than the experimental value of
approximately 0.04.
0.8 0.6 In addition, VS(0) explicitly depends on the parameters dm and n
2
from the size distribution in Eq. (12): V S ð0Þ / dm and VS(0) / n2.26.
Mc (exp) Given VS(0), T0 can be easily estimated based on Eq. (1).
0.6 The calculated and experimental curves of H are qualitatively
Fish-Hook depth H,-

Mc (calc) 0.4 similar, but quantitative differences can arise for various rea-
sons—the simplifications included in Eq. (5), for example. Specifi-
T(0), -

Mf (exp)
0.4
cally, these variations may be caused by the difference between
the inlet solid concentration used for the calculations and the ac-
Mf (calc)
tual cV values inside the hydrocyclone.
0.2
T(0) for Mc The physically reasonable model appears to adequately de-
0.2
scribe some of the effects observed in the experiments. A paramet-
T(0) for Mf ric study using the particle size distribution Eq. (3) was performed
to clarify the effect of the constants in the equation on the value of
0 0 the fish-hook.
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 In Fig. 6, each curve is drawn by changing one variable only (dm)
with all other parameters held constant. The increase in dm causes
Solid volume concentration cV,-
a marked increase in T0 and smooth increases in the Tmin values,
Fig. 5. Comparison of calculated and measured fish-hook depths as a function of leading to an increased depth of the fish-hook effect (H), which
the solid concentration. can be interpreted as follows: the coarser the particles, the greater
the chance for small particles to enter the boundary layer of a large
particle and be captured by it.
4:5 2:26
V S ð0Þ ¼ 7:07V St ðdm Þc0:46
V ð1  cV Þ n ð12Þ This phenomenon is confirmed by the experiments of Gerhart
(2001) in which small and coarse materials were mixed in various
in which VSt(dm) is the Stokes sedimentation velocity for a particle proportions. In these experiments, the value of H increased steadily
of size dm. with the proportion of the coarse material.

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6 J. Dueck et al. / Minerals Engineering xxx (2013) xxx–xxx
1 Bradley, D., 1965. The Hydrocyclone. Pergamon Press, London.
n=1.1
0.8
Partition function, -
n=1.2
0.6
n=1.3
0.4
n=1.4
0.2
T(d) after
Stokes
0 Technology 36, 127–129.
0.1 1 10 100
Relative particle size, µm
Fig. 7. Partition curves for different n values using dm = 8 lm (all other parameters
are provided in Table 1).
Fig. 7 illustrates that the growth of parameter n leads to a weak-
ening of the fish-hook effect.
Thus, the theory predicts that the effect should be particularly
significant for a suspension with flat distribution functions and
more coarse fractions.
7. Conclusions
The presented separation model first enables the first approxi-
mated calculation of the non-monotonous course of the hydrocy-
clone partition curve. The model indicates the importance of the
disturbed settling of the particles. Even given the excessive simpli-
fications of the complicated three-dimensional turbulent flow in-
side the cyclone, the separation can be satisfactorily simulated by
considering the particle interactions.
The entrainment of the fine particles by the settling of the
coarse particles is primarily responsible for the fish-hook effect.
Consequently, the parameters of the feed size distribution and
the feed solid content were introduced into the equation for the
partition curve, providing a new element in the separation model.
Although the experimental database remains relatively small, the
experiments with a 25-mm cyclone largely confirm the calcula-
tions. One can conclude that the hydrocyclone separation in the
fine particle range is primarily limited by the fish-hook effect,
which can be explained physically. The approximated partition
function also indicates the factors influencing the fish-hook effect.
These factors can be controlled using known methods: dilution of
the feed and/or changing the feed size distribution using a multi-
stage separation. The opposite is true for thickening and success-
fully removing the finest fractions in which high fish-hook
fractions would be advantageous, and the addition of coarse
particles for that purpose is less practicable.
References
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Please cite this article in press as: Dueck, J., et al. The theoretical partition curve of the hydrocyclone. Miner. Eng. (2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/
j.mineng.2013.10.004
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