Is the fish-hook effect in hydrocyclones a real phenomenon?

Although the fish-hook effect has been reported by many for a very long time, scientists and practitioners alike share contradictory opinions about this phenomenon. While some believe that it is of physical origin, others opine that it is the result of measurement errors. This article investigates the possibility that the fish-hook effect could indeed be measurement error related. Since all the experimental errors are embedded in the raw size distribution measurements, the paper first lays down the steps that lead to estimation of the partition function and confidence bounds, which are seldom reported in hydrocyclone literature, from the errors associated with the experimental size distribution measurements. Using several data sets generated using a 100 mm diameter hydrocyclone operating under controlled dilute to dense regimes, careful analysis of the partition functions following the developed methodology yields unambiguous evidence that the fish-hook effect is a real physical phenomenon. An attempt is also made to reunite some of the major contradictory views behind the existence of the fish-hook based on sound statistical arguments. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.