Rotating separator with housing preventing separated liquid carryover

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9545591-B2
Application number	US-201514880003-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 9, 2015
Priority date	Jan 27, 2010
Publication date	Jan 17, 2017
Grant date	Jan 17, 2017

Abstract

A rotating separator has a housing preventing separated liquid carryover. A plenum between the annular rotating separating filter element and the housing sidewall has one or more flow path separating guides minimizing the flow of separated liquid to the outlet. The flow path guides may include one or more fins and/or swirl flow dampers and/or a configured surface.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A rotating separator for separating liquid from a fluid mixture, the rotating separator comprising:
a housing having a sidewall with an inner surface;
an annular rotating separating filter element positioned within the housing and rotatable about an axis extending along an axial direction in the housing, the annular rotating separating filter element having an inner periphery defining a hollow interior, and having an outer periphery facing the inner surface of the housing and spaced along a radial direction radially outwardly from the inner surface thereby defining a plenum therebetween, the housing including:
an inlet for supplying the mixture to the hollow interior,
an outlet delivering a separated component of the mixture from the plenum, and
a drain delivering separated liquid from the plenum, the direction of flow through the annular rotating separating filter element being inside-out from the hollow interior through the annular rotating separating filter element to the plenum; and

one or more flow path separating guides causing a tortuous flow path through the plenum, the one or more flow path separating guides including a swirl flow damper positioned in the plenum, the swirl flow damper is a vortex tube having a trapezoidal cross-section and structured to allow the fluid mixture to pass through the vortex tube, thereby creating a low shear recirculation zone upstream of the vortex tube.

2. The rotating separator of claim 1 , wherein the plenum has an upper portion and a lower portion, the lower portion being gravitationally below the upper portion, and wherein the swirl flow damper is at the upper portion of said plenum.

3. The rotating separator of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of swirl flow dampers in the plenum.

4. The rotating separator of claim 1 , wherein the swirl flow damper is adjacent the inner surface of the sidewall of the housing.

5. The rotating separator of claim 1 , wherein the swirl flow damper is upstream of the outlet in a flow direction.

6. The rotating separator of claim 1 , wherein the vortex tube is configured to break down secondary flow in the plenum to create the low shear recirculation zone for collection of separated liquid.

7. The rotating separator of claim 1 , wherein the annular rotating separating filter element is a first annular rotating separating filter element, and wherein the rotating separator of claim 1 further comprises a second annular rotating separating filter element in the flow path positioned between the inlet and the outlet.

8. The rotating separator of claim 7 , wherein the direction of flow through the second annular rotating separating filter element is outside-in from the plenum and through the second annular rotating separating filter element.

9. The rotating separator of claim 7 , wherein the first annular rotating separating filter element and second annular rotating separating filter element are both rotatable about the axis extending along the axial direction in the housing.

10. The rotating separator of claim 9 , wherein the first annular rotating separating filter element and second annular rotating separating filter element are adjacent to each other.

11. The rotating separator of claim 10 , wherein the direction of flow passes from the hollow interior through the first annular rotating separating filter element to the plenum, and from the plenum through second annular rotating separating filter element.

12. The rotating separator of claim 1 , further comprising an annular shroud along positioned an exterior of the annular rotating separating filter element, the annular shroud circumscribing the annular rotating separating filter element and is rotatable about the axis.

13. The rotating separator of claim 12 , wherein the annular shroud is conical in shape and tapers along a conical taper relative to the axis such that a first end of the annular shroud is adjacent to the annular rotating separating filter element and a second end of the annular shroud is spaced apart from the annular rotating separating filter element.

14. The rotating separator of claim 13 , wherein an inner surface of the annular shroud includes a plurality of ribs circumferentially spaced therearound and extending axially and along the conical taper.

15. The rotating separator of claim 13 , wherein the second end of the annular shroud is scalloped.

Assignees

• Cummins Filtration Ip Inc

Inventors

• Parikh Chirag D
• Janakiraman Arun
• Dawar Saru
• Moy Jerald J
• Deshpande Himani
• Schwandt Brian W
• Meyer Bridgette L
• Feng Shiming
• Balazy Anna
• Varghese Vincil A
• Scheckel Benjamin L

Classifications

• B01D50/002

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• F01M2013/0477

  by separating water or moisture · CPC title

• B01D46/0056 Primary

  with rotational movement · CPC title

• B01D46/0031

  with collecting, draining means · CPC title

• B01D46/0024

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic