Welcome to the Southwestern Cotton Ginning Lab Cyclone Test Page!

Mr. Rutherford and Mr. Herrera demonstrate the extreme caution they use in handling the loaded fiberglass filters. Because 100% of the air exiting the cyclone passes through the filter, there is less chance of sampling error confounding our efficiency calculation.

General view of cyclone test setup for most recent experiment (June 2000) comparing entrance velocity, entrance shape, entrance angle, expansion chamber and Clifford tube modifications.

Each test cyclone is assembled from a combination of six barrel sections and two cone sections.

Installing the cyclone.

Flow is recorded for free-running cyclones, then matched to that baseline with this giant needle valve after adding the filter system with its separate suction fan.

Test pressures (venturi meter, pitot tubes, inlet, outlet, trash bucket, filter drop) and temperatures are recorded automatically.

Mr. Jose Reyes verifies pressures on a test cyclone.