Hydrocyclone roping detector and method
An ultrasonic sensor is mounted on the splash skirt at the underflow outlet of a hydrocyclone to detect a change in the underflow discharge from the normal conical shape in which the discharge impacts upon the splash skirt to a more cylindrical shape associated with roping.
1. A hydrocyclone, comprising:
a separation chamber including an apex adapted to produce an underflow discharge with a cone angle;
a splash skirt connected to the apex adapted to receive the underflow discharge; and
a vibration sensor mounted on the splash skirt adapted to produce an output signal indicative of a variation of the cone angle of the underflow discharge;
wherein the vibration sensor produces an output signal relative to a baseline threshold set to a level corresponding to a magnitude of vibration produced by a normal impact of the underflow discharge on the splash skirt.
2. The hydrocyclone of claim 1 , wherein said normal impact corresponds to a pre-determined cone angle.
3. The hydrocyclone of claim 2 , wherein the vibration sensor is an ultrasonic sensor.