Centrifugal separator

Claim 1

In a centrifugal separator for the separation of a substance dispersed in a liquid, comprising a rotor having a separation chamber, an inlet for a dispersion, an outlet for separated liquid, a stack of conical separation discs arranged coaxially with the rotor in the separation chamber and having interspaces between them, and flow influencing members situated in at least part of the interspaces between the separation discs, which members in each of said interspaces are arranged in contact with the surface of the one of the separation discs, from which the dispersed substance moves away during operation of the rotor as a consequence of centrifugal force but at a distance from the other separation disc towards which the dispersed substance moves during operation of the rotor as a consequence of centrifugal force so that a space is formed between the members and said other separation disc admitting flow of dispersion in the circumferential direction of the rotor past the members, said flow influencing members forming flow paths between themselves extending between radially outer and inner areas of said one separation disc, the improvement in which said flow influencing members are formed and positioned to prevent to a substantial degree the formation of Ekman layers along the surface of said one separation disc and so that the relation (L/H), where L is the distance between adjacent flow influencing members, seen in the circumferential direction of the rotor, and H is the distance between the surfaces of the separation discs, and the relation (1/H), where 1 is the extension of each flow influencing member in the circumferential direction of the rotor and H is the distance between the surfaces of the separation discs, are greater than zero but less than 2; and the surface of said other separation discs, opposite to the flow influencing members is formed to promote the formation of an Ekman layer along the same during operation of the rotor.