Abstract
A device was proposed to separate sponge balls from water, used in the cleaning system of heat exchangers. This experimental study was conducted to investigate the operational behavior of the centrifugal separator, aiming at improving its efficiency. The circulation behavior of a single particle (simulating the sponge ball) in the rotating flow generated inside the transparent scale-down model of the centrifugal separator was examined. It was observed that the tendency of the particle moving away from the circulation center in radial direction became stronger with increasing flow rate. Furthermore, the separation efficiency was found to depend strongly on the ratio of the flow rate conveying particles to the inlet flow rate. This dependence became less significant with the increase of the inlet flow rate.
