Background. Magnetic fluid separators (MFS) are widely used for high-precision separation of non-magnetic materials in various industries. The key characteristic that determines the separation efficiency is the buoyant force acting on the particles in the working gap. The characteristics of the magnetic fluid separation process, especially in the alternating current supply mode, have been insufficiently studied. So, it determines the relevance of this study, which focuses, in particular, on the analysis of energy consumption. The purpose of the study is to conduct a comprehensive experimental study integrating the power and energy characteristics of an electromagnetic MFS.
Materials and methods. A specialized measuring system based on a strain gauge, HX711 chip and Atmega328P microcontroller has been developed for accurate measurement of the buoyant force. Power consumption measurements have been carried out using powermeter. Experiments have been performed on a physical model of an electromagnetic MFS with a laminated core using magnetic fluids based on mineral oil with saturation magnetizations of 15, 20, 25, and 30 kA/m. Analytical calculations of the buoyant force have been performed to verify the methodology.
Results. A specialized measuring complex has been developed to measure the buoyant forces in the separator gap. Detailed dependencies of the buoyant force on the excitation current and the magnetic fluid saturation magnetization have been obtained. Comparison of the obtained experimental data with the calculated ones has shown good agreement (the average relative error does not exceed 4,3 %). It has been found that to achieve the same value of the buoyant force, the AC power mode requires 40–180 % more power compared to direct current (DC).
Conclusions. The developed method to measure the buoyant force has shown high accuracy and is suitable to diagnose the condition of the MFS. The main conclusion is the significantly lower energy efficiency of the electromagnetic MFS in the AC power mode compared to DC, which calls into question the feasibility of its use in this mode without compensating technological advantages.