Hydrocyclones are versatile centrifugal separators widely used across various industries, including the petroleum sector. However, their performance is significantly hindered when processing highly viscous and pseudoplastic slurries, such as drilling fluids. This study addresses this challenge by optimizing key geometric parameters─including inlet and overflow diameters, total length, and conical section angle─to enhance separation performance. Using experimental data from a suspension that mimics the rheology of drilling fluids, the Differential Evolution algorithm was employed to design two optimized hydrocyclones. The first configuration, HCON-OT1, was developed to maximize separation efficiency and achieved a performance comparable to the best conventional geometry in the database while exhibiting markedly lower energy consumption. Its improved performance is primarily attributed to a smaller vortex finder diameter combined with an extended body length. The second configuration, HCON-OT2, was tailored for thickening applications and delivered effective underflow concentration mainly due to a larger overflow diameter that promoted a lower water split. Overall, the geometric optimization methodology applied in this work proved to be an effective strategy for developing high-performance hydrocyclones specifically suited to the complex rheological behavior of non-Newtonian fluids.
Morimoto et al. (Thu,) studied this question.