Neometrix / Mineral Processing & Separation Test Rigs / Hydrocyclone Test Rig / NMX-HCR-38

NMX-HCR-38 · ENGINEERED-TO-ORDER CLASS — FEED · SPLIT · SAMPLE · ANALYSE

Hydrocyclone Test Rig. A hydrocyclone has no moving parts. That is exactly why it has to be tested, not just calculated.

Name: Hydrocyclone Test Rig
Brand: Neometrix
SKU: NMX-HCR-38

A hydrocyclone is little more than a cone with two openings. There is nothing inside it to turn, wear against a bearing, or fail as a mechanism. And that simplicity is exactly what makes it hard to predict: the separation happens in a swirling flow that no formula captures exactly.

So the only honest way to know what one cyclone design will do to one exact slurry is to run it. This rig feeds the slurry, splits it, and samples both streams at the same moment, so the split is a measurement and not a guess.

Discuss a hydrocyclone test rig Capability note (PDF)

A hydrocyclone test rig: a stainless feed tank with an agitator, a single small conical hydrocyclone body on a steel frame, and a plain grey instrument cabinet, joined by pipes, and no people

Fig · 01 — A hydrocyclone test rig: a slurry feed tank with an agitator, a single cyclone body on its stand, and a plain instrument cabinet, joined by pipes — illustrative render.

The feed

the customer's own slurrykept moving and mixed

The split

overflow and underflowsampled at the same instant

The settings

apex, vortex finder, pressurethe three things that change the split

The record

particle size, every samplethe cut point, not an assumption

Status

engineered to orderno rig yet delivered

ISO 9001ISO 14001ISO 13501 hydrocyclone evaluation referenceISO 9276 particle-size reporting referenceISO/IEC 17025 calibration reference

Overview

Why simplicity is not the same thing as predictability.

Because a shape with no moving parts still hides a flow too complicated for a formula to settle on its own.

Fig · 02 — The rig in one picture: feed leads to the split, which leads to sampling, with the interchangeable inserts and the particle-size analysis standing behind them.

The cyclone has no moving parts. The rig still has to be run to find out what it does.

What the rig is for

It finds out how a hydrocyclone actually splits a customer's own slurry into a coarser, denser underflow and a finer, lighter overflow, rather than relying on a calculation to say so.

Why the vortex is hard to calculate

A hydrocyclone separates purely by a pressure-driven vortex, with nothing inside it to move. That is exactly why it is hard to predict: the flow is complex enough that its behaviour is modelled empirically, from test data, rather than derived exactly.

Why the apex and the vortex finder are fitted, not fixed

The apex, at the underflow, and the vortex finder, at the overflow, are the two openings that tune the split. Changing either changes what the cyclone does, without changing the cyclone itself, which is why both are made interchangeable on this rig.

Why feed pressure is a setting too

A higher feed pressure spins the slurry harder inside the cyclone and cuts finer. Pressure is not just a supply condition here; it is a third setting, alongside the two fittings.

Why sampling is its own discipline

A representative sample of a moving slurry is genuinely hard to take. A sample taken carelessly makes every reading that follows it worthless, however good the instrument that analyses it.

Why wear is part of the story

An abrasive slurry erodes a cyclone's internals over time, which is why linings are chosen for wear resistance and why this rig can be asked to test for wear life, not only for the split a new cyclone gives on day one.

The test

Mount, feed, split, sample, analyse, record and vary.

Six steps in a fixed order. The last two are what a calculation cannot do on its own: a real sample, and a real second trial.

FIG · 02HYDROCYCLONE TEST RIG · MOUNT / FEED / SPLIT / SAMPLE / ANALYSE / RECORD & VARY — THE SPLIT IS FOUND BY TESTING, NOT BY CALCULATION

The step people underrate is the second trial. One run gives one data point; the working picture of a cyclone comes from several.

Fig · 03 — Three things that change the split: the apex, at the underflow; the vortex finder, at the overflow; and the feed pressure — a drawing of the idea, with no values.

1 · Mount

The cyclone body is fitted with the chosen apex and vortex-finder inserts for the trial.

2 · Feed

A slurry of the customer's own material is fed in, kept agitated so it does not settle before it reaches the cyclone.

3 · Split

The rig is run steadily until both the overflow and the underflow have settled into a stable flow.

4 · Sample

The feed, the overflow and the underflow are sampled at the same moment, so the three samples describe the same event.

5 · Analyse

The particle size of every sample is measured, by the method suited to how fine the material is.

6 · Record & vary

The result is logged, then the apex, the vortex finder or the pressure is changed and the trial run again.

Work content

What the rig contains, element by element.

Read it as a checklist: a rig missing a row will buy that row back later, usually as a result nobody trusts.

A single plain grey metal hydrocyclone body on a steel bracket: a tangential inlet pipe and a vertical vortex-finder pipe at the wide top, tapering to a narrow cone with a short pipe at the apex, and no people

Fig · 04 — A single hydrocyclone body on its stand, showing the wide feed section at the top and the narrow apex at the bottom — illustrative render.

Element	What it does	What matters
Slurry feed tank & agitator	holds and mixes the feed	keeps the solids in suspension, not settling out
Slurry pump	drives the feed into the cyclone	variable speed, so feed pressure is a controlled setting
Feed instrumentation	reads pressure and flow	logged with every trial, not assumed
Hydrocyclone	separates the feed by size and density	interchangeable apex and vortex-finder inserts
Wear-resistant lining	survives an abrasive slurry	chosen for the material under test, not generic
Sample ports	let feed, overflow and underflow be sampled	positioned so a sample is representative, not a puddle
Particle-size analysis	measures every sample	the method matched to how fine the material is
Recirculation loop	returns the streams for a closed-loop trial	lets a pilot-scale rig run without a full-scale feed
Control & data acquisition	runs the sequence and logs every reading	the same sequence every time, against limits from the customer's own material
Calibration	keeps every reading trustworthy	traceable, and checked before it is relied on
Testing & documentation	prove the rig, then every trial	a calibrated rig, and a report for every run

The element that decides whether a trial means anything is not a machine at all. It is the sample. A perfectly built rig fed by a careless sample is measuring nothing worth trusting.

Fig · 05 — One rig, three slurries: a fine slurry, an ordinary slurry and a coarse, abrasive slurry, all on the same loop.

Full specification — expand

Rig	A slurry feed tank with an agitator; a variable-speed slurry pump; feed pressure and flow instrumentation; a hydrocyclone with interchangeable apex and vortex-finder inserts, in a wear-resistant lining; sample ports on the feed, overflow and underflow; particle-size analysis of every sample; a recirculation loop; a control and data acquisition system; and testing and documentation before handover
The One Idea	A hydrocyclone has no moving parts. That is exactly why it has to be tested, not just calculated
Why No Moving Parts Is Not the Same as Predictable	A hydrocyclone separates by a pressure-driven vortex alone, and that flow is complex enough that its behaviour is modelled empirically rather than calculated exactly, so the only way to know how one design will split one exact slurry is to run it
Why the Apex and the Vortex Finder	The apex, at the underflow, and the vortex finder, at the overflow, are the two openings a cyclone is tuned by, and changing either changes the split without changing the cyclone itself
Why the Feed Pressure Matters	A higher feed pressure spins the slurry harder inside the cyclone and cuts finer, so pressure is as much a setting as the hardware is
Why Sampling Is Its Own Discipline	A representative sample of a moving slurry is hard to take honestly, and a sample taken carelessly makes every measurement after it worthless
Why Wear Is Part of the Test	An abrasive slurry erodes a cyclone's internals over time, which is why linings are chosen for wear and why a rig can be asked to test for wear life, not only for an initial split
Standards	ISO 13501, developed from API RP 13C for drilling-fluid solids-control equipment, defines how hydrocyclone separation performance is measured - mass fraction of solids and separation efficiency - and the same measurements apply to a hydrocyclone whatever the slurry. ISO 9276 governs how particle-size results are reported, and ISO/IEC 17025 for calibration. None of them sets the cut point or efficiency a particular cyclone must reach: that is set by the customer against their own material. Acceptance of the finished rig rests with the customer and their inspection authority
Configurations	A single-cyclone loop for one size and static tests, a multi-size rig with interchangeable cyclone bodies, and a closed-loop pilot plant with its own conditioning and recovery
Scope Boundary	This is the pilot-scale rig that finds how a hydrocyclone actually splits a customer's own slurry. It is not a mechanical desilting machine that removes solids by water jetting (see high-pressure water jetting and desilting machines), not a pressure-loss and leak rig for a single-phase fluid circuit (see pressure loss and leak test rig), and not a general load frame for solid materials and components (see servo-hydraulic fatigue testing machine)
Status	Neometrix engineers hydrocyclone test rigs to order, and no delivered hydrocyclone test rig is claimed.

Configurations

One method, three ways to supply the rig.

The steps, the sampling and the record are shared. What changes is how many cyclone sizes the rig must take, and whether it closes the loop on its own.

Single-cyclone loop

One size, static tests

A compact loop for one cyclone size, for a laboratory that studies a single material and a single scale.

Multi-size rig

Interchangeable cyclone bodies

One loop with fittings for several cyclone sizes, so the same rig covers a scale-up programme.

Closed-loop pilot plant

Conditioning, cyclone, recovery

A rig with its own slurry conditioning and stream recovery, for a customer running trials over long periods.

Fig · 06 — Three ways to supply the rig, one method: a single-cyclone loop, a multi-size rig, or a closed-loop pilot plant.

And the part that is not equipment at all, yet decides all three: the test plan — which settings are varied, how many samples are taken at each, and the rule for reporting particle size, so that every trial is judged the same way.

Where it is used

Wherever a slurry has to be split before the rest of the process can trust it.

The common thread is a process whose next step depends on getting the coarse fraction away from the fine one.

Mineral processing

Where an ore or a mineral sand is classified by particle size as part of beneficiation.

Process design

Where a new cyclone size or lining is proved on a customer's own material before it is specified at full scale.

Research and teaching

Where the behaviour of a cyclone is the subject of study, not just its output.

Plant troubleshooting

Where an existing cyclone's performance has drifted and the cause has to be found on a bench, not guessed at on the plant.

FAQ

Common questions.

Longer answers, for readers who want the reasoning.

Q · 01 If a hydrocyclone has no moving parts, why can't its performance just be calculated?

Because the thing doing the work is a swirling flow, and that flow is genuinely difficult to describe exactly. A hydrocyclone separates purely by a pressure-driven vortex: feed enters tangentially, spins, and the difference in how far coarse and fine particles are thrown outward does the sorting. There is no mechanism to inspect, but there is a great deal of fluid behaviour to capture, and the models used for cyclone design are empirical - built from test data rather than derived from first principles - because they describe that behaviour well enough to be useful without claiming to explain it completely. The honest consequence is that a cyclone's real performance, for one particular slurry, is found by testing it, not by trusting a formula on its own.

Q · 02 What are the apex and the vortex finder, and why do they matter so much?

They are the cyclone's two openings, and between them they decide where the split falls. The apex is the narrow opening at the bottom, where the underflow, the coarser and denser fraction, leaves. The vortex finder is the tube at the top through which the overflow, the finer and lighter fraction, leaves. Narrowing the apex pushes more material out through the overflow instead; widening the vortex finder does something similar from the other side. Because both are simple fittings rather than part of the cyclone's main body, they can be changed without buying a new cyclone, which is exactly why a test rig is built to take a range of them rather than one fixed pair.

Q · 03 Why does feed pressure count as a setting, not just a supply condition?

Because it changes what the cyclone does just as much as its fittings do. A hydrocyclone's whole separating action depends on how hard the slurry is spun, and that comes from the pressure it is fed at. Raise the feed pressure and the slurry spins harder, which tends to cut finer; lower it and the cut moves coarser. A test rig therefore treats pressure as a controlled variable in its own right, read and logged on every trial, in the same way the apex and vortex-finder fittings are, rather than as a fixed condition set once and forgotten.

Q · 04 Why is sampling treated as a separate skill from analysis?

Because a slurry is not uniform from moment to moment or from one point in a pipe to another, and a sample that does not reflect the whole stream will mislead no matter how good the instrument that reads it afterwards. Taking a fair sample from a moving, mixed stream, at the right point and the right moment, and doing it for the feed, the overflow and the underflow at the same instant so the three describe one event, is its own discipline. Only once that is right does the particle-size analysis, chosen to suit how fine the material is, mean anything.

Q · 05 Is this the same as a desilting machine, a pressure-loss rig, or a general load frame?

No, and the differences are worth stating precisely. The high-pressure water jetting and desilting machines page is about removing solids mechanically, with jets of water, not about characterising a centrifugal separator. The pressure loss and leak test rig page is a fluid-circuit rig for a single-phase fluid, not a slurry, and it answers a different question: how much pressure a component loses, not how a stream splits by particle size. The servo-hydraulic fatigue testing machine page is a general load frame for solid materials and components. This page does not replace any of them, and it does not claim what they claim a second time.

Q · 06 Has Neometrix built one of these?

We would rather answer this plainly than let a page imply otherwise. Neometrix engineers hydrocyclone test rigs to order, and no delivered hydrocyclone test rig is claimed. What stands behind the offer is adjacent: Neometrix engineers fluid loops, pumps and instrumentation for pressure and flow test rigs (see the pressure loss and leak test rig page) and the fabrication and wear-resistant lining work behind solids-handling machinery (see the high-pressure water jetting and desilting machines page). The pump, the instrumentation and the particle-size analysis method are proven catalogue items and laboratory techniques, chosen with the customer, not invented. What Neometrix engineers is the loop, the fixture for the cyclone's interchangeable inserts, the sampling arrangement, the data acquisition, the lining choice and the documentation. So the honest position is that the rig is engineered to order, the neighbouring disciplines are in the building, and the first rig of this exact kind will be built around the customer's own slurry rather than lifted off a shelf.

Q · 07 Which standards apply, and who sets the pass criteria?

ISO 13501, developed from API RP 13C, is the public reference for evaluating solids-control equipment including hydrocyclones, and it defines how separation performance is measured: the mass fraction of solids in each stream and the separation efficiency between them. Those same measurements apply to a hydrocyclone regardless of what industry its slurry comes from. ISO 9276 is the public reference for how particle-size results are represented, and ISO/IEC 17025 for the calibration that makes the rig's instruments trustworthy. None of them sets the cut point or the efficiency a particular cyclone must achieve: that is set by the customer against their own material and their own process, and this page prints none of it. Acceptance of the finished rig, including its proving tests before handover, rests with the customer and whatever inspection authority they name.

Q · 08 What do you need from us to quote?

Six things, and most of them describe the slurry rather than the rig. First, the material: what the solids are, and how abrasive they are, since that sets the lining. Second, the range: the finest and the coarsest material the rig must handle. Third, the scale: a single cyclone size, several sizes, or a closed-loop pilot plant. Fourth, the analysis: the particle-size method the customer already trusts, or a recommendation if there is none yet. Fifth, the settings: which apex and vortex-finder range to build in, if known. Sixth, the site: the water, power, drainage and floor space the laboratory can offer. From that we come back with a layout drawing, a written test plan you can check, and a budgetary price.

Neighbouring test-rig disciplines, built the same way for a different question.

Three neighbours in Neometrix's wider portfolio of engineered-to-order test rigs.

↗ A mechanical answer to silt

High-Pressure Water Jetting & Desilting Machines

Removes solids by high-pressure water jetting, not by centrifugal separation.

↗ A different fluid loop

Pressure Loss & Leak Test Rig

A fluid-circuit rig for pressure loss and leakage on a single-phase fluid, not a slurry split.

↗ A different physical question

Servo-Hydraulic Fatigue Testing Machine

A general-purpose load frame for solid materials and components, not a fluid separation rig.

Browse all Neometrix product lines.

Get a quotation

Tell us the slurry, the range,
and the scale you need to trial.

The projects desk replies within two working days with a layout drawing, a written test plan you can check, and a budgetary quotation. Write to [email protected] or use the form.

Enquire — hydrocyclone test rig Capability sheet (PDF) +91 7777 876 876

ISO 9001 / 14001 ENGINEERED-TO-ORDER CLASS — HYDROCYCLONE TEST RIG MOUNT · FEED · SPLIT · SAMPLE · ANALYSE · RECORD & VARY — THE SPLIT IS FOUND BY TESTING, NOT BY CALCULATION ENGINEERED IN NOIDA · INDIA