Vortex capture in high gradient magnetic separators at moderate Reynolds number

The authors report on an experimental investigation of the effect of increasing the slurry velocity in a single-wire cell to achieve a working-wire Reynolds number, Re, in the range 4-30. Attention is focused on this range because the slurry velocities are high enough for the boundary layer to have detached itself from the wire and for stable standing vortices to have formed at the rear of the wire. The particle-wire interaction and the flow domain around the wire are considered. The possibility of a turbulent contribution to rear wire capture due to the introduction of turbulence generators in the flow regime is explored. The interaction studied is basic to high-gradient magnetic separation