US2800230A - Magnetic separators - Google Patents

Description

July 23, 1957 THOMA Q 2,800,230

MAGNETIC SEPARATORS Filed July 14. 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 OOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO INVENTOR. HANS THOMA,

A r roe/vys Juiy 23, 1957 H. THOMA MAGNETIC SEPARATORS Filed July 14. 1954 5 Sheets-Shem. 2

INVENTOR. HANS THOMA ,MMJQUBM y 1957 H. THOMA 2,800,230

MAGNETIC SEPARATORS Filed July 14, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 00000000000 0 OO O INVENTOR. HANS THOMA,

Juiy 23, 1957 H. THOMA 2,800,230

MAGNETIC SEPARATORS I Filed July 14. 1954 s Sheets-Sheet 5 JNVENTOR. HANS THOMA,

M Ma PM A TTOIQ/VEYS United States Patent'fC,

2,800,230 Ratented July. 23, 1957 Figs. 3.and 4 show elevations of a separator element ;forming part= of the invention.

Fig; 5 shows inelevation a form" ofconstruction which 2,800,230 smaymeplacethe-ielement.shown in: Fig. 4. "MAGNETIGSEPARATQRS 5 Eigl 6 is asectionalviewlaken on line 6+6 of Fig. 5.

Hans Thoma, Zurich, Switzerland, assignor to Jean Thoma, Zurich, Switzerland Application Julys14,,:1954,:Serial LNo.s i43;319'

- ,Claimspriori y, pp icat nG r xJ ly15,1953.

1 55. Claims. (Cl. 210-423) The, present .inventionjrelates to ,magnetimseimmtors T FiQQj is a sectionaltview of a detail'of a portion of e d-mor p c a y to u tip enm epata orszwhie to,v remove .mag'netizable toreign bodiesout; of liquids, predominantly: oil, or -frprn ;circula masses, -=f0r ins ance sm ll p i les'or; igainsz' of i- Letal,

EheknQW ep t r f this type:heretot reusedshaxe the disadvantage that they allow aelargealmmbnfi': f

Pa l e en m gnetism" magnetizable inartielea, to new y; uni p -v rt ermoresuch senaratorsnare Qperation. I a 1 With the-above inwiew it is; wobi et ofizthe:present "invention to provide a magnetic separator Y$tfllvf01jgth6 rr dy r mo l otipart-ielesdromn any sys em-of feeding A-f r-x bi t o imy nv ntion is 'iQi-PLQY dea-tniagnetie separato hav n tleast on -encased K EQdrIi QESIIIOOth wniaene uwith a plu ality o poles nieasing thmziwhioh fl ws afluid; oabeisele ns du ndi inhwhi h the-teasing fonithernagn t s rves, s a eonduetor- 1 Y Fig. 6.

Fig; 8 is a vertical sectional .view of another embodiament rof .=thei invention.

::z Big-:2 is asection taken on line 9--.9. of Fig. 8.

Fig: :10is a -sectionaltviewof a battery of. separators storming part of the invention.

--Figs.s L1 and l2ishow modifications ofi the internal ararangement ofaxseparatoriunit according to. the invention, n

TFigSJ-l131"and 14.Sh0W further modification of magnetic separator-elementsarranged in the'gsanie thousing. *1- Referring nowv to a the drawings =.wherein like reference tcharacte'rsiirefer to like parts thruout, it will benoted that Figurestlaand 2 showas indicated a-lpreferred emwbodiment ofuthe invention in, cross-section wherein M is 11a: magnet bar or core which for instance has its" north 'Lpole at 'N-and its south pole at S. This magnetbar is :g'enerallyiof aroundor cylindrical cross-sectiona How- .evei'; a=:barof square or polygonal cross-section-mayalso abet used in accordance withimy invention", this=latter type of section having particularlystrong-magnetic field s'at its corners and isn-therefore ,sometimes to. he: preferred. Around' the magnet bar there isplacedaprotective jacket conforming .with or adapted to the cross-seetionof -the imagneti M I but preferably allowing for a' -slight clearance, ,asshown; -The Jacket H accordingly will have as shown-a ,rbundLtuhuIar.cross-section when a round nzagnet bar lisinsedstsaid jacket Hi consists of non-magnetic material usiichoas -brass;.-al-uminurn,- or -plastic, or a-tube of hard itteated onuntreated paper orthe like. In this-manner -there'is provided an extremely smooth; magnet bar; which .s ha'satheispecial feature that it can: be :very easily cleaned inasmuch ias'uthe smooth i non-magnetic surface'does not oppose any resistance to the: wiping ofi of the material ivhichi has rbeenvseparated out of the. fluid passing-thin ;thi?idVlG6i as shown: 7 Furthermore, ;rnagnet' is pro- ,tectedgagainsttdamage and flaking off of its parts. -Also,

- Oth r bi tsqandrfeatu es QfmYalBYQZIflQH' will-be m w r m=t ewhereintfollow d ssrin ion ta-k'einin e ni ncti nwith-aheaccompanying drawings.

, Theinventionmomprises onz h s onehand in conducting liql iiif r instance oilttq be purifi d in; anoil lubricating r mma ng=systemi inssuoh 1a :mannem byime ,use of onrniagnetic gui i swal ori t ,the magnetic; ,field which; do not e any: separating t q n e p rfll iqug byrihei i. Burthermore, h senonzma net e walls embod es; also. have ,iheiproperty qfirgreatlyafa' friableuand provided :with a roughssurface so athat the :removal of theseparated.zadherentizmaterial;isr;nonx n1y zmadendiflicultjbut; inpaddition ,-fragments of this :brittle materiahwhich are frequentlyrextremely hard, frequently flake ofi'and entervthe' oil-circuit. Somezmagriet thodie's @consist of ;acompr essed powder whichevery readilyi dis- Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2 -2 of cross seetional 'Miew of 2a titscansbe readilyremoved, with its" jacket or'housing H, which jacket has arm-upper part HAwhose top portion vhasntliread V meshingwith the -threaded portion of a suitable container B to which a liquid or'flnid" to be toleansediofi magnetic or magnetizableimpurities is ;for examplemfedinto the unitU at inlet Eiwhile the purified liquid or fluid leaves theseparatortank F at'ontlets' O. It isto beinoted and it is extremel'y irrip ortantthat tlie i'liquid ori'fiuid which is to bepurified is not introdilced rintoaanysxparts of the magnet icfield at which there does mob-exist r a isufii'cient magnetic gradient as required ac- .cording to the invention in order-to remove the impuri- :-.ties tin .a successive and continuous-manner. Such a defect would be present in the separator according to Figures 111 and=2 if thecontainer B consisted of-magnetic material, for instancetiron, inasmuch as it is obvio'us that anyferrdlrnagnetic bodies which were carried along would adh ere rto-i-itheswalls of:.the container B: when passed near'said Wl1ile: on theotherhand, it will adhere to the "itpasses close to the-latterand thereforethere accordingly exists in the center between the wall of the icontaineraB and the jacket H a: rather wide zone in which ,theoferro-magnetic hodies are attracted neither inwards tb=the2magnet M nor outward totthe outer container wall .;B.: Inasmuch as .the'maximum flow of velocityprevails precisely here in the center between-the surface of 1;he niagrietsan'd \the oonta'inen wall 'B, and -inasmuch as the viscous wall friction which is considerable, particularly in the case of oil, does not enter into appearance here,

the action of this separator is good only when the container. B is made of non-magnetic material, in which connection it may then also be advantageous to make the same preferably smaller than that shown in the drawing.

It is still more advantageous, however, to place a cylinder S made of non-magnetic material, for example of brass or of plastic material around the magnetbar M, and concentric to same, and to insert a barrier wall W which at the same time forces the liquid which is passing through ports G to enter the cylinder S, which may be perforated or consist of a screen, and pass in the vicinity of the surface of the magnet M or the jacket H.

In this connection, the perforated cylinder S at the .same

time acts as a rectifier or as a means of reducing the' turbulence in the fluid as it passes thru the unit U. Said cylinder S suppresses any unnecessary turbulence of the liquid passing through during the separating process and thus also increases, by virtue of this effect of pure fluid dynamics, the efliciency of the magnetic filter. The cylin- .-.der S can be made so that it can be readily removed or in the vicinity of the jacket H surrounding same. The barrier wall W may also, providedtit is not too thick,

be made of iron inasmuch as its disturbing influence is only local and therefore negligible.

The principle of the magnetic separator in accordance with the invention as shown in Figures 1 and 2 can be further improved in various ways, for instance on the one hand by increasing the magnetic field action and on the other hand by improving its cleaning possibilities. An increase of the magnetic field action is obtained if,

, as shown in Figure 3, instead of having only one magnet M in the jacket H which supports the magnet a plurality of magnets M1, M2, M3, is so arranged that similarly 'magnetized magnet poles face each other, thereby setting up a magnetic repulsion in said areas.

In Figure 3, for example, there is shown a removable separator element of this kind which is contained by the jacket H,

said element fitting into a separatorunit of the kindsuch .as shown in Figure l. V for purposes of illustration three magnets or plugs, M1, M2, Ma, of round or polygonal cross-section which are Said jacket H contains withinit so arranged with respect to each other. by means of the intermediate nonmagnetic separator pieces Z1 and Z2 and also an upper spacer member Z3. It will be noted 'that south and north poles always face each other; In this way there is produced, in addition to the fields which are present as in the embodiment shown in Figure 1 at the ends of a composite magnet bar, a form of magnetic field which is very suitable for the filtration, shown as F" in Figures 3 or 4, and also at two further places .of the total length of themagnetic filter element. When a larger number of plugs or magnets M is selected, the

number of these separating magnetic field concentrations can also be increased.

The intermediate members, Z1, Z2, Z3, may consist of non-magnetic material such as plastic, wood, etc., but

they may also be made of soft iron, in which case, it will be advantageous to flute them as shown for instance in Figure 4. By thus placing together the ditferent magnet pieces M held by a common packet H and having similar poles facing each other, there is produced an extremely effective separator element, i. e., a separator element in which strong magnetic fields of high magnetic gradient are arranged in a long, smoothly extending flow path,

which insures removal of magnetic particles from the l1qu1d to be treated, and which flows thru unit U and which reduces as much as possible any turbulence in the In addition to the above, further improvements relating to ease of cleaning the separator elements shown in Figures 1 to 4 are shown. In Figures 5 and 6 is shown by way of example a separator element having an internal magnetic arrangement in accordance with Figures l to 4 in connection with which there are provided a plurality of ribs R which are soldered or pressed on to the outer periphery of the jacket H. The purpose of this construction is to prevent the separator material adhering to the separator element from being scraped off upon the unscrewing or removal of the separator element, by mistake as a result of the eccentric guiding of the separator element. In this connection, it will be noted also that these ribs R in the same way as the jacket H are appropriately made of non-magnetic material, for instance of several segments .R' of pressed sheet brass riveted together, each of which segments R has a shape as shown in Figure 7. Furthermore, the ribs R are also advantageous from a standpoint of flow dynamics inasmuch as,

in a manner similar to the cylinder S, they minimize the turbulence of the flowing liquid in the same manner as a guide wall or baflie. 'Saidjacket H furthermore has a similar action inasmuch as it, in the same manner as the cylinder S, avoids unnecessary-turbulence at the ends of element U of the material which has been separated out from the fluid being treated. In this case, the jacket H, has an internal arrangement corresponding to that in Figures 1 to 4. It is, for instance, smooth on the outside and is not provided with the ribsof the jacket H shown in Figures 5 to 7. In this embodiment is'provided a scraper B which is elongated and flat or provided with a twist or bend. Preferably, band B is also non-magnetic and is arranged alongside the contour of jacket H :or placed around the jacket H in the manner of a helical thread. This scraper B can be turned from outside of "the unit U, for instance by means of the hand wheel HA connected therewith, whereby any magnetic material adhering tojacket H is wiped off from its external surface and is collected in the correspondingly large lower part 0' of the separator container B, from where it can then be removed periodically by the diagonally disposedoutlet A forming part of Unit U. An extension Sch of scraper and the same housing. Figure 10 shows for example a B having a paddle-like or propeller-like appearance or shape can in this connection facilitate the removal of the sludge which has'been separated out. In this connection see Figures 9 and 10. In accordance with the invention it is not necessary to use any special housing for each separator element, as shown for instance in Figure 1. Rather said separator elements U can very advantageously also be arranged in batteries and in one separator arrangement in which a large number of separator elements U made according to Figures 1 to 4 in a common container or housing B. Each separator element F is surrounded with a perforated sheet 'metal cylinder S in the same manner as described in connection with Figure 1, whereby a uniform passage of the liquid which is to be treated and which is as far as possible free of turbulence is efiected at each separator element. A

separator is conducted in a dependable manner through 'the active magnetic field of at least one separator element -and.thus unafiected fluid flows such as. are present in other known designs and which are not exposed at all to active parts of the magnetic field,-are avoided. Each :separator element can in this connection utilize ,'as required, additional devices for facilitating the cleaning.

in ane'e'hymeans. o 'th ili's i one c prevent'th na e 's'e lanineicfiiot he materia hfihasih en e r edxout of the. fluid hen un rew ng t separato elem s, as xp in h onne tion with Fi ur s. 5 to 7, r any m h n al l aning .deviceswhich p rmit... in the m nn r of he mbbdime t Qt Figure." thascraping or he smooth "surface oi hejaek dur g the. op ration without the necessityoftahngefiyithingapart. Iiifthis o ne tion, o th -s ke" o mpli i y, such-a clean n scraper'B as shown inlFigures S and? is not made helical .but rather developed as, ,atsmoothscraner strip and po sibly combined with the paddle Sch which mayfbelsonwwhat curved, in order to facilitate the moving'of the material which has .been separated out, to.a discharge hole Such aiseparator device can also be operated using electro-magnetsinstead of" permanent magnets, particu- :larly. a's athei preferably. .round..shape:i of thetrse'parator 1elementsgreatly..facilitates.the.provisionof coils.

t In. Figurel 11 is..sho.wn .for instance suchpan telec-tro which flows thru the unit -U'FE "The-outer surface of said jacket H may also be provided with ribs as shown in Figs. 5 to 7 or may bear a mechanical scraping or cleaning de vice such as shown in Figures 8 to 10.

Figure 11 furthermore shows that even in the case of an electro-magnetic system instead of a single bar-shaped magnet several magnets of the same polarity can be arranged in tandem exactly as is advisable in the case of the permanent-magnet separators in accordance with the embodiment shown in Figures 3 and 4. For this purpose, it is only necessary to change the direction of the electromagnetic excitation in the individual superimposed coils in each case as indicated by the horizontal arrows in Figure 11. In the case of electro-magnetic cleaning devices of this type the use of a non-magnetic jacket H is particularly advantageous as it prevents the penetration I of iron particles, which have been separated out intothe coil windings S1 to S3, and thus prevents the said Windings from being short-circuited by such particles. Instead of a rotating cleaning member as shown for instance in Figures 7 to 8, there may also be used an axially movable disc, for instance a ring R1 as shown in Figure and which can move over the jacket H with moderate clearance. When in the operating position ring R1 is approximately at the upper end of the separator element and can be moved downward as required by an axially movable actuating device Hn in order to scrape the separated material oil from the surface of the jacket H. On the other hand the device Hn can also be of such a nature that a ring may in the case of a round jacket H be of round cross-section and in the case of a polygonal jacket, be a ring of polygonal cross-section, also it can 'be arranged in a stationary manner in the housing in the vicinity of the upper end of each separator element.

In the case of a plurality of adjacent elements, a plate may be used which is adapted to the outline of the jacket. If the magnetic separator elements are then moved upwards, this plate scrapes off the material which has been separated out whereupon the separator is again entirely ready for operation. In Figure 14 is shown such an arrangement by way of example. Jackets H1 and H2 hold respectively adjacent magnetic separator elements and are arranged also in perforated cylinders S in a common container B. The arrangement of the separator elements corresponds to the embodiments shown in Figures l to 4. However. they are not screwed firmly into the antennae and of round, orp ly with the requirements as seuforth. herein. i' It a .sjtuflin'g :off.fof, the .sep-arate.d. material Lfiionith -cilitated so that under certain c rcumstancesit necessary .torprovide. .thenunscrewingi.ofieach [individual separatcrrelem n s ems as h wn' nfs' d sur s, b t. are, axial ymqveolitaine .B. by m hs' f 1 commqmyqkef Y A P ate? i prcvidedtvith recesses which" properly fit the jackets 'H,'Which plate 'may also suitablybe made of. steelsheetwithsharp edges, and which gu nd-supp r s th iaqke s H Wh ht 1 .c etslrl .j "a e nulled p ard. y-.-th' .thanttleath iplate l scrap scfithe m l-i wh chv has beenseparated ou as a resultldtwh ch th saidmat rial r psrto theihottom and can, be removedperiodically by removingth cleanout screws SAF "0 c urse-i lisnossibleinthes, toprc iideleitherom oralla enumberof senarat mea s in he 'fi1 er S id-j ckets may in this a c b .gonal cross-section, entirely n accor 'containingthelrnaguet ormagnets.

' lirthe case .of electromagnetic,separators oflth'isype,

the cleaningcan efacilitated hyshuttingofitthecurrent during thecleanin li D ets his. th scraping orishaking .eket is Ifa- -..,nct

"In the case" of separatorielement sprovided; p rmanent magnets the same procedure can however'be elfected if the magnets are removed from the jacket. In Figure 12 is shown for instance such a separator element in connection with which three magnets M1 to M3, in precisely the same manner as described in Figure 3, are arranged with like poles in the axis of the jacket H. By means of the handle HA, the entire magnet system, regardless of the number of parts of which it consists, can be then removed in an upward direction. In this case all screw connections may be eliminated at this place if the jacket H is inserted in a liquid-tight manner in the wall of the separator and if one refrains, as for instance in the case of the embodiment according to Figure 1, from providing a hole L for pressure equalization between the separator housing and the inside of the jacket H.

Figure 13 shows that such a magnetic separator, particularly when a plurality of separator elements 'are to be arranged in one and the same housing, is much simpler.- In this case, for instance three separator elements with the non-magnetic jackets H1, H2 and H3 are arranged rigidly on the cover D of the separator housing B. For the purpose of cleaning, the permanent magnet systems are pulled out of the separator jackets by means of the handle HA, whereupon the materials which have been separated out can be loosened from the jackets H, H2 and H3 even by hammer bl-ows or vibration of the cover D, without any injury to the magnets. When electro-magnets are used to produce the magnetic field, in general it is merely necessary to shut off the current since they are not damaged even by vibrations. In such case removal of the electro-magnetic separator is unnecessary. In connection with these separators any permanently magnetic field which may be present can furthermore be removed in the manner known per se by a weak current in the opposite direction.

While preferred embodiments have been described and illustrated it will be noted that changes as to form, arrangement of parts and use of materials may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as claimed herein:

I claim:

1. Apparatus for the removal of magnetizable particles in a fluid system comprising a housing thru which a fluid moves, means conducting said fluid thru the housing, a

jacket set in the path of movement of said fluid, a' magnet in thejacket' for attracting magnetizableparticles therein, {concentric screen means around the jacket, and means for removing the particles attracted were jacket by said ,magnet.

2. Apparatus for the removal of magnetizable material ina' fluid system comprising a housing through 'which a fluid enters, cylindrical perforated means in said housing permitting the fiow of fluid therethru, a jacket concentric with said perforated means, said jacket being non-magnetic, and magnetic means in said jacket for drawing particles of magnetizable material to the jacket :without contacting the surface of said magnetic means, said magnetic means and jacket being removable from 'said housing "and said cylindrical perforated means and "said jacket being provided with scraping means for the fremoval' of adhering, magnetizable material from the exterior of said jacket.

3. In a magnetic separator, :an outer enclosing casing, a fluid inlet and outlet openings" in said casing spaced from each other, a magnet within said casing, a non- I, magnetic impermeable jacket enclosing said magnet and having a smooth outer surface, a perforate ba'file of nonmagneticv material surrounding said jacket, said baflie f' being spaced from andloc-ated between the inner surface of said casing and the/outer surface of said jacket, said inlet being upstream of said baffle and said bathe serving I to guide the fluid in directed non-turbulent flow'over the surface of said jacket.

4. The combinationaccording to claim 3 in which the 30 jacketis provided with a plurality of outwardly extending ribs having smooth outer surfaces.

' the jacket.

j a non-magnetic jacket containing said atleast one magnet,

said jacket having a smooth outer surface which permits 'the liquid passed through the vfilter to 'be conducted smoothly and without unnecessary turbulence through the magnetic field produced by said at least one magnet, to-

I'gether with a movable scraper ring jclosely embracing said jacket and normally located near the top of said jacket and means for at will moving said scraper ring axially along the smooth outer surface of said jacket for scraping separated material from said outer surface of References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,806,001 Simms May 19, 1931 1,806,002 Simms May 19, 1931 2,117,361 Rohrbach May 17, 1938 2,149,764 Frei Mar. 7, 1939 2,452,220 Bower Oct. 26, 1948 2,466,839 Caldwell Apr. 12, 1949 2,583,522 'WillSlOW Jan. 22, 1952 2,596,743 Vermeiren May 13, 1952 2,597,561 Blind May 20, 1952 2,678,729 Sp0dig May 18, 1954 y FOREIGN PATENTS 562,175 Great- Britain June 21, 1944 584,392 Great Britain Jan. 14, 1947

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