OIL CENTRIFUGE

• US 20080173592A1
• Filed: 01/24/2007
• Published: 07/24/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: FRAM Group IP, LLC
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: PATEL, VIPUL P., MacKNIGHT, ALLEN K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,959,546 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 210/787
• CPC Class Codes: B04B 1/00 Centrifuges with rotary bowls provided with solid jackets for separating predominantly liquid mixtures with or without solid particles
• CPC Class Codes: B04B 11/06 Arrangement of distributors or collectors in centrifuges
• CPC Class Codes: B04B 5/005 Centrifugal separators or filters for fluid circulation systems, e.g. for lubricant oil circulation systems

Abstract

A centrifuge is employed to continuously remove particulates from a fluid. In one embodiment, the centrifuge removes small particles of soot from lubricating oil of large diesel engines. The fluid in introduced into the centrifuge through an inducer so that vortexes are not propagated in the fluid. Flow constrainers and flow straighteners maintain laminar flow of the fluid as it passes axially through the centrifuge. An exducer decelerates the fluid prior to its exit from the centrifuge. The exducer thus contributes to maintaining laminar flow conditions. Laminar flow may contribute to the soot-removal effectiveness of the centrifuge.

Claims

1. A centrifuge for extracting particulates from a continuous flow of fluid, comprising:

a rotor;

a passage for constraining at least a portion of the flow of the fluid as laminar flow; and

the passage adapted to direct the laminar flow orthogonally to centrifugal forces imparted to the fluid by rotation of the rotor.

2. The centrifuge of claim 1 wherein the fluid flow drives a turbine that imparts rotational force on the rotor and the portion of the flow that is subjected to centrifugal forces comprises about 10% to about 15% of the fluid flow.

3. The centrifuge of claim 1 wherein the passage has an Equivalent Hydraulic Diameter (De) no greater than that which provides for flow of the fluid at a Reynolds number no greater than about 1000.

4. The centrifuge of claim 3 further comprising a plurality of the passages.

5. The centrifuge of claim 1 wherein the rotor has a radius no greater than about 5 inches.

6. The centrifuge of claim 1 further comprising an inducer with acceleration regions in which direction of the fluid is gradually changed from a radial flow direction to a tangential flow direction.

7. A centrifuge adapted to capture soot from lubricating oil comprising:

a rotor with a laminar flow passage therein; and

the laminar flow passage being oriented parallel to an axis of rotation of the rotor.

8. The centrifuge of claim 7 further comprising an inducer for introducing the fluid into the rotor as laminar flow.

9. The centrifuge of claim 8 further comprising:

a hollow spindle with a passageway therethrough;

the spindle having a spindle exit port;

the inducer attached to the spindle and adapted to rotate therewith;

the inducer having an inducer exit port contiguous with the spindle exit port;

the inducer having at least two curved inducer vanes with at least one of the vanes positioned so that the inducer exit port is located therebetween; and

a fluid acceleration region between the at least two curved inducer vanes.

10. The centrifuge of claim 9 wherein the inducer vanes are curved along an arc that generally merges from a radial direction to a direction that is tangential to a direction of rotation of the inducer.

11. The centrifuge of claim 7 further comprising an exducer for decelerating the fluid within the rotor prior to exit of the fluid from the rotor.

12. The centrifuge of claim 7 further comprising a capture surface for soot at an inner surface of the rotor.

13. The centrifuge of claim 7 further comprising a turbine adapted to impart a rotational speed of at least about 10,000 rpm to the rotor.

14. The centrifuge of claim 7 wherein the rotor has a radius no greater than about 5 inches.

15. The centrifuge of claim 7 wherein its axial length is no greater than about 10 inches.

16. A method for removing particulates from a fluid comprising the steps of:

producing a laminar flow of the fluid; and

imparting centrifugal force on the fluid in a direction orthogonal to a direction of the laminar flow of the fluid to capture the particulates from the fluid.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of producing laminar flow comprises producing the flow with a Reynolds number no greater than about 1000.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the step of imparting centrifugal force comprises applying centrifugal acceleration to the fluid of at least about 10,000 g'"'"'s.

19. The method of claim 16 wherein the fluid is lubricating oil and the particulates are soot particles having a size of about 2 μ

m or smaller.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein an equilibrium concentration for the particles is maintained at about 1% or less.