Minerals Engineering 22 (2009) 412414

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Minerals Engineering
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Technical Note

Hydraulic and sediment removal performance of a modied hydrocyclone

H.P. Pandit a,*, N.M. Shakya a, H. Stole b, N.K. Garg c
a b c

Department of Civil Engineering, Institute of Engineering, Tribhuvan University, Lalitpur, Nepal Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, India

a r t i c l e

i n f o

a b s t r a c t
Traditionally, settling basins have been used to exclude suspended sediment in hydropower plants. However, due to the inability of such basins to exclude ne sediment (predominantly hard minerals such as quartz and feldspar) and the excessive sediment loads in Himalayan Rivers, hydro-mechanical equipment and accessories in these plants have been severely damaged. Not only does this involve huge maintenance costs, but there is also a substantial revenue loss due to reduced equipment efciencies. Thus, more efcient devices such as hydrocyclones are required to remove sediment particles. However, the geometry of a hydrocyclone plays an important role in hydraulic and sediment removal efciency, and this paper analyses the experimental results of a test rig consisting of a hydrocyclone, 0.38 m in diameter, with a modied geometry. The results were compared with those of other investigators, and show that the modied hydrocyclone gives better hydraulic and sediment removal. The implications for suspended sediment exclusion in hydropower plants of Himalayan region are pointed out. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Article history: Received 26 January 2008 Accepted 19 September 2008 Available online 18 November 2008 Keywords: Sediment Particles separation Removal efciency Hydrocyclones

1. Introduction The steep catchments of the Himalayan Rivers endowed with abundant water offer a huge potential of hydropower generation. However, the inherent and incessant rainfall in this rugged and fragile region generates extreme sediment load (Stole, 1993; Galay et al., 2003). Sediment concentration as high as 25,000 ppm is regularly recorded on major rivers such as the Narayani (Carson, 1985) and 50,000 ppm on smaller rivers like the Jhimruk in Nepal (Basnyat, 1997). Settling basins, usually designed to exclude sediment coarser than 200 lm are commonly used to minimize wear and tear in hydro-mechanical equipment. Nevertheless, enormous damage of equipment and reduced efciency are experienced due to excessive sediment load consisting of very hard minerals such as quartz and feldspar (Brekke et al., 2002; Bajracharya, 2007) leading to huge maintenance costs and revenue loss (Naidu, 1996; Hydro Lab, 2004). This necessitates more efcient devices, such as hydrocyclones which have been successfully used for classication, de-sliming, de-gritting, thickening and washing of ne coal (Svarovsky, 1984; Wills, 1985). In such devices, a strong centrifugal acceleration is created by introducing a higher velocity ow tangentially into a cylindrical body. As a result, materials heavier than water move along a long helicoidal path and are removed through the outlet located at the
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +977 1 4281573; fax: +977 1 5525830. E-mail addresses: hpandit@wlink.com.np, hari_pandit@yahoo.com (H.P. Pandit), nms@ioe.edu.np (N.M. Shakya), haakon.stole@bygg.ntnu.no (H. Stole), nkgarg@ civil.iitd.ac.in (N.K. Garg). 0892-6875/$ - see front matter 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2008.09.005

apex of the cyclone. The removal of nest particles by this device is much higher than that due to other classiers working under the action of gravity. But the geometry of the hydrocyclones is very sensitive to its hydraulic and particle removal capability. Despite their excellent performance, hydrocyclones are often criticized for the huge amount of energy they require for processing the ow and the short-circuiting of ow near the inlet (Bradley, 1965). The signicant energy loss incurred in the hydrocyclone has been observed near the inlet and outlet (Boadway, 1984; Pandit et al., 2007). The migration of coarse particles due to short-circuiting is also believed due to the excessive turbulence near the inlet. Therefore, the present study was intended to identify a new geometry which improves both the hydraulic as well as sediment removal performance. 2. Experimental investigations Hydrocyclone having a diameter of 0.38 m and a length of 2.25 m with a modied geometric conguration was considered for the present study. Experiments were carried out in a pressurized rig for a turbulent ow under steady ow conditions. The hydraulics of the conventional hydrocyclone was enhanced by modifying its inlet, outlet and roof. Further, the approach ow to the inlet was gradually accelerated by contracting the inlet opening. Similarly, the high velocity ow leaving the cyclone was retarded to normal velocity. Inclined (10), involute inlet geometry was identied to let the inlet streamlines join those inside cylindrical part with similar inclination (based on authors earlier

H.P. Pandit et al. / Minerals Engineering 22 (2009) 412414

200 SEDIMENT FEEDING BOX 300 20 FROM OVERHEAD TANK 200 FLOW MEASURING VALVE (EMV-1) FLOW CONTROL VALVE -1 FROM CITY WATER SUPPLY 150 RECEIVING CONDUIT 260X260 (INNER) AIR RELEASE VALVE 200

413

55X110 INLET VORTEX FINDER 380 250

FLOW CONTROL FLOW VALVE -2 MEASURING VALVE (EMV-2)

SAMPLES OU T

SAMPLES OUT

100 UNDERFLOW SAMPLES OUT UNDERFLOW COLLECTION OVERFLOW COLLECTION

Fig. 1. General arrangement of experimental setup.

3. Results and discussion The results of test runs have been compared with that of Arterburn (2002) and Turner et al. (2001), in terms of hydraulic performance. The cut sizes observed have been compared with that derived by Dahlstrom (1954), Bradley and Pulling (1959) and Plitt (1976). The relation due to Bradley and Pulling was developed based on equilibrium orbit theory. On the other hand, the empirical relation developed by Plitt was based on extensive data covering wide range of design and operating variables, whereas the prediction of Dahlstrom was based on extensive study in a hydrocyclone having 23 cm diameter.

Discharge (lps)

observation on 0.20 m hydrocyclone). Additionally, the roof of the hydrocyclone was also designed with inclined prole to further streamline the ow and minimize the short-circuiting effect. The geometry of remaining part of the device was similar to that of gMax prole (Krebs Engineers, 2000). The discharge from the overhead tank of the laboratory was admitted to the test rig. From the center of the box the discharge was diverted to the hydrocyclone through a pipe, 0.15 m in diameter (Fig. 1). The discharge passing through the respective outlets was collected in separate reservoirs. The sediment into the system was injected through a box by creating a differential pressure between the box and the test rig. Two electronic ow measurement valves were installed to monitor the discharge entering the system and leaving the overow conduit. Seven piezometers were installed along the conveyance to monitor the pressure and headloss during each test. The sediment removal of the hydrocyclone was studied for different ow conditions by varying discharge and sediment concentration. The inlet discharge varied from 0.4 lps to 19.9 lps, whereas the ow ratio, Rf varied from 2.5% to 25.5%. Similarly, the feed concentration varied from 125 ppm to 4295 ppm. Sediment particles having a median diameter of 201 lm with a specic gravity as 2.63 were used in the experiment. The samples from 29 test runs were collected from both underow and overow outlets before the ow was mixed into the respective collection tanks. Particle size distribution analyses of samples and sediment received in collection tanks were carried out using Coulter LS 230, a device working on Laser diffraction principles. The sediment recorded in collection tanks was considered as total sediment input to the hydrocyclone and subsequent estimation of the sediment concentration for each test.

3.1. Hydraulic performance The hydraulic performance was judged in terms of ability of device in processing discharge for given head losses. The results of the experiments show that the hydraulic performance of the modied hydrocyclone is better for entire headloss range under study (Fig. 2). For the given ow rate, the headloss in the modied hydrocyclone relative to the Standard and gMax cyclone is less by 30% and 21% (for a reference headloss as 3.5 m) respectively. The results, therefore justify that gradual changes in magnitude and direction of velocity leading to better streamlining of inlet ow into main course of ow inside cylindrical and conical parts of the cyclone have minimized turbulence losses and increased the hydraulic performance. As the performance improvement due to the involute type of entry and modied conical part over the Standard cyclone has been already described in gMax series, the energy saved due to the modication of cyclone should be the only factor to exhibit improved hydraulic performance over the gMax series. 3.2. Particles separation performance The sediment removal performance of a hydrocyclone is assessed in terms of cut size. The experimental data of gMax series

20 18 16 14 12

D15LB-gMax
10 8 0.0

Modified Geometry Standard Geometry

1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

Headloss (m)
Fig. 2. Comparison of hydraulic performance of modied geometry with Standard and gMax hydrocyclones.

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100 90 80 70 Cut size (micron) 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 1.16 2.14 2.31 2.35 2.73 2.88 3.46 3.81 Headloss (m)

1 Bradley & Pulling's Prediction Dahlstrom's Prediction Plitt's Prediction Experiment Mass Split to underflow Flow Ratio 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 Rf= Qu/Q & qsu /q

 A new geometry of the hydrocyclone with modication of inlet, outlet and the roof was identied, which has been found more efcient than conventional hydrocyclone. The same amount of ow in the modied hydrocyclone can be processed with a reduction of headloss by 30% and 21.5% compared to Standard and gMax cyclones respectively.  With the better hydraulic performance of the modied hydrocyclone, there is no compromise on the sediment removal performance.  The hydrocyclone thus has the potential of implementation in hydropower system, where construction of larger settling basins involves huge cost.

Acknowledgements The writers wish to sincerely thank Department of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering NTNU, Norway for the nancial assistance to carry out this research.

Fig. 3. Comparison of cut size of the hydrocyclone under study with the cut size predicted by other investigators (for HL > 2.2 m, d50avg = 24.3 lm, Std. Dev = 5.44 lm).

References
Arterburn., R.A., 2002. The Sizing and Selection of Hydrocyclones. <www.krebs.com> (retrieved December 22, 2005). Bajracharya, T. (2007). Correlation Between Sand Led Erosion of Pelton Buckets and Efciency Losses In High Head Hydropower Scheme, Doctoral Dissertation, Inst. of Eng., Tribhuvan University, Nepal. Basnyat, S., 1997. Monitoring sediment load and its abrasive effects in Jhimruk Power Plant, 2nd International Course on Small Hydropower Development, Kathmandu, pp. 323330. Boadway, J.D., 1984. A hydrocyclone With Recovery of Velocity Energy. In: Proc. 2nd Int. Conf. on Hydrocyclones, Bath, England, pp. 153162. Bradley, D., 1965. The Hydrocyclone. Pergamon, London. Bradley, D., Pulling, D.J., 1959. Flow patterns in the hydraulic cyclone and their interpretation in terms of performance. Trans. Inst. Chem. Eng. 37, 3445. Brekke, H., Wu, W.L., Cai, B.Y., 2002. Design of hydraulic machinery working in sand laden water. Abrasive Erosion and Corrosion of Hydraulic Machinery. Imperial College, London. 156171. Carson, B., 1985. Erosion and sedimentation process in the Nepalese Himalayas. ICIMOD Occasional Paper No. 1, Kathmandu, Nepal. Dahlstrom, D.A., 1954. Fundamentals and application of the liquid cyclone. Chem. Eng. Prog. Symp. 50 (15), 4161. Galay, V.J., Schreier, H., Bestbier, R., 2003. Himalayan sediments issue and guidelines, Water and Energy Commission Secretariat, Nepal. Hydro Lab, 2004. Sediment and efciency measurements at Jhimruk Hydropower Plant Monsoon 2003, Kathmandu, Nepal. Krebs Engineers, 2000. Krebs gMaxTM Cyclones for ner separations with larger diameter cyclones. <www.krebs.com> (retrieved July 16, 2004). Naidu, B.S.K., 1996. Silt Erosion Problems in Hydropower Stations and their Possible Solutions. In: Proc. Int. Conf. on Silt Damages to Equipment in Hydropower Stations and Remedial Measures. New Delhi, India, pp. 153. Pandit, H.P., Shakya, N.M., Garg, N.K., Stole, H., 2007. Sediment Handling in Himalayan Rivers using Hydrocyclones. In: Proc. Workshop NUFU Supported Doctoral Research in Inst. of Eng., Kathmandu, pp. 3962. Plitt, L.R., 1976. A mathematical model of the hydrocyclone classier. CIM Bull. 69, 114123. Stole, H., 1993. Withdrawal of Water from Himalayan Rivers, Sediment Control at Intakes. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim. Svarovsky, L., 1984. Hydrocyclones, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, London. Turner, P., Olson, T., Wedeles, M., Kelton, G., 2001. Hydrocyclone design for large sag mill circuits, Krebs Engineers. <http://www.krebs.com> (retrieved July 16, 2004). Wills, B.A., 1985. Classication, in Mineral Processing Technology. Pergamon. 259 300.

were not available for comparison. Therefore, the d50 values observed in the present experiment have been compared with those predicted by three other investigators (Fig. 3). The corresponding headloss, ow ratio and mass split to underow are also presented along with the d50 values. Unlike those predicted by previous investigators, there is a considerable variance in the cut size. This is believed due to the feed material near the cut size being in a very small quantity. When the hydrocyclone is operated under low pressure (<2.2 m), the d50 values are comparable to those predicted by previous investigators. However, beyond that limit the cut sizes are much smaller than what were predicted by Bradley and Pulling (1959) and Plitt (1976). Furthermore, except for one test result, which was obtained under extremely low ow ratio (3%), the d50 values observed in the present study are ner than those predicted by Dahlstrom (1954). Plitt (1976) used the data of smaller as well as larger cyclones. The predictions of Dahlstrom (1954) and Bradley and Pulling (1959) were based on much smaller diameter. These facts suggest that the d50 values predicted by these investigators should have been smaller than what were observed in the present study. Nevertheless, d50 values observed in the present study, especially for higher heads have been found to be smaller suggesting no compromise on the sediment removal performance of the modied hydrocyclone. This is believed due to the minimization of turbulence near the inlet and better streamlining of ow due to modied geometry leading to reduction of short-circuiting effect. 4. Conclusions The investigation of the modied hydrocyclone leads to the following conclusions: