Vortex finders, thimbles and dip tubes in silicon carbide, from small cyclones to several meters in diameter.
The tube that decides what leaves the cyclone.
Cast in silicon carbide, in segments up to several meters across.
A vortex finder resists cyclone wear when its material handles both the abrasion of the incoming dust and the heat and chemistry of the process, which is why Blasch makes them in alumina bonded, oxide bonded, nitride bonded or reaction bonded silicon carbide. For calcining cyclones in cement, lime and gypsum plants, the vortex finder, also called thimble or dip tube, is cast as modular precast segments up to several meters in diameter. For hydrocyclones and micronizers it is precision cast as a single part.
The vortex finder is the tube that reaches down from the cyclone roof into the spinning flow. The cleaned gas, or in a hydrocyclone the fine fraction, leaves through it, while the coarse material travels down the wall to the outlet below.
Its outside sits in the path of the incoming stream. In a calcining cyclone it does that at process temperature, in dust that is both abrasive and alkaline.
When the tube erodes, warps or loses segments, coarse material slips into the outlet. Separation drops, and the dust that should have stayed in the cyclone wears the ducts and equipment behind it.
A vortex finder that keeps its length and shape keeps the dust inside the cyclone, and dust that stays in the cyclone cannot wear out the equipment downstream of it.
The part does the same job everywhere. Size, temperature and medium change from one cyclone to the next.
Modular precast segments for cement, lime, dolomite, gypsum and coal processes, up to several meters in diameter.
Precision cast vortex finders that fit the feed head of the hydrocyclone you already run.
The vortex finder at the center of a jet mill, where the finished fine particles leave the grinding chamber.
Large thimbles in calcining cyclones are often metallic shapes or cast refractory. Precast ceramic segments replace both: they are fired before installation, so there is no curing on site, and each segment is light enough to handle inside the cyclone.
The grades are ALTRON (alumina bonded silicon carbide), OXYTRON (oxide bonded), NITRON (nitride bonded) and InVinCer RB (reaction bonded). The choice follows the temperature, the alkali load and the abrasiveness of the dust. Oxide bonded silicon carbide
Blasch makes vortex finders for cement and lime plants, gypsum and coal processing, titanium dioxide finishing and mineral processing. Heavy industrial processing
The cement paper All-Round Ceramic Protection describes where precast ceramic parts replace metal and castable in a cement plant. Small multicyclone collectors use outlet tubes on the same principle, see dust collector components, and the full range is on wear products.
Yes. Cement plants tend to say thimble or dip tube, mineral processing says vortex finder. It is the same central outlet tube of the cyclone.
Up to several meters in diameter. Large units are built from precast segments that are assembled in the cyclone.
No. The cyclone diameter, the tube length and the mounting are enough for a Blasch engineer to design the segments.
Send the cyclone diameter, the process temperature and the dust it handles. A Blasch engineer designs the segments and picks the grade.
