Cyclonic fluid separator equipped with adjustable vortex finder position

Abstract

A cyclonic fluid separator for separating one or more condensable components, such as water, and/or solids, such as smoke or sand particles, from a fluid mixture has a tubular housing having a fluid inlet section in which the fluid mixture is accelerated to a supersonic velocity and thereby expanded and cooled such that condensable components condense and/or solidify, one or more wings for inducing the fluid mixture to swirl within a central section of the tubular housing, a fluid separation section in which a tubular vortex finder is movably arranged, a condensables enriched fluid outlet which is connected to an annular space surrounding the tapered tubular vortex finder and a condensables depleted fluid outlet which is connected to the interior of the tapered tubular vortex finder. The vortex finder may be movable in a radial and/or longitudinal direction within the housing to align the entrance of the vortex finder with the centre of rotation of the swirling fluid, which center of rotation may be unaligned to and/or spiral about the central axis of the tubular housing as a result of the radial fluid displacement by the wing(s).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.