The Effect of Magnet Magnetization Vector Orientation in Halbach Arrays on the Effectiveness of Separation

Magnetic separation is one of the methods that are used to separate magnetic and non-magnetic components from an input mixture. Its effectiveness strongly depends on the strength and distribution of magnetic field in the separator. It is economical to use Halbach permanent magnet arrays to create a suitable magnetic field, since they do not change their properties during separation and do not need electrical energy. During real magnetization process, however, there can be a problem with correct orientation of their magnetization vector. The work based on 2D computer models shows the influence of different orientations of magnetization vectors of individual elements of Halbach arrays on the size and distribution of the magnetic field in the considered separator space. Several model systems that contained four to six typical AlNiCo, SmCo and NdFeB cube shaped magnets with the dimensions 50×50×50 $mm^3$ were used for the analysis.