Flow visualization in models of high speed centrifugal separators

The modern centrifugal separator is a fluid machine where the high ''G'' forces set up by rotation are utilized to separate phases of different densities. The fluid dynamics of the separator is complex and poorly known. Hundred years of (practical) experience has, however, turned the separator into an efficient machine. The present report shows how straight forward visualization experiments in model rigs provide valuable information on the flow inside the separator. The report concentrates on describing the flow between the closely spaced discs in a separator disc stack