Abstract
For the purpose of wet separation of particles differing in shape, particle settling characteristics have been investigated in a stationary liquid simultaneously subjected to centrifugal and gravitational forces. Several kinds of irregularly shaped particles were settled through viscous silicone oil at rest in a closed rectangular vessel rotated at low speeds. The settling trajectories of the particles in the liquid were measured in the laminar flow region. When the initial settling orientation of each particle was set in a given and appropriate direction, the radial settling displacement of the particle depended approximately on the particle shape, regardless of the size. By devising a simple feeding method, it was possible to make the initial settling orientation of particles automatically uniform. Continuous shape separation of particles in the liquid could be expected by applying a feeding method to the separation field receiving both centrifugal and gravitational forces as used in this paper.
