A Lagrangian study of liquid flow in a reverse-flow hydrocyclone using positron emission particle tracking

Abstract

In this study the liquid flow in a reverse-flow hydrocyclone is studied experimentally using the Lagrangian approach. Resin beads with densities that are close to the density of the liquid in which they move, i.e. neutraldensity particles, are used to model a fluid element in the highly turbulent flow in a hydrocyclone separator and tracked using PEPT with a temporal resolution of up to 0.5 ms. A method of producing neutral-density particles for PEPT was developed. The data processing algorithm was improved for the extra challenging tracking conditions that were encountered. The components of velocity,which reveal the detailed velocity field of the fluid, were calculated from the positions of the tracers. Various noise-removal methods, again to cope with the challenging tracking conditions, were applied and discussed.