Numerical Investigation the Effects of Cone Diameters on the Flow Pattern and Separation Efficiency in a Cyclone Separator

Abstract

In this work, the impact of cone diameters on the flow field and separation efficiency in a cyclone separator is examined numerically employing Reynolds Stress Model for eight various geometries of cyclone separators. The motion of solid particle in the flow field is modelled utilizing the Eulerian-Lagrangian method. Three-dimensional simulation of the air flow with solid particles in the cyclone is carried out by a commercial computational fluid dynamics software, ANSYS Fluent 18.2. The outcomes depict that by augmenting the small cone diameter, the maximum tangential velocity, static pressure, and collection efficiency decrease, however, cut-off diameter rises. Moreover, the axial velocity has steady trend throughout the cyclone. In addition, according to the obtained results, increasing the large cone diameter causes an increase in the tangential velocity and static pressure and improves the collection efficiency. While, the higher large cone diameter, the lower cut-off diameter. Growing the cyclone's cone small diameter leads to a decrease in the collection efficiency. At a constant particle diameter, four microns, as the cone small diameter ratio augments by 150%, collection efficiency declines by about 10.42%. Augmentation the cyclone's cone small diameter causes an increase in the cutoff diameter. By increasing the cone small diameter by about 150%, the cut-off diameter value increases by about 75%. Furthermore, the collection efficiency rises by growing the cyclone's cone large diameter. At a constant particle diameter, four microns, as the cone large diameter augments by 50%, the collection efficiency increases by about 18.75%. Also, in all considered cone large diameter, the collection efficiency increases as the particle diameter rises. The cut-off diameter decreases by growing the cyclone's cone large diameter. By augmenting the cone large diameter by about 50%, the cut-off diameter value declines by about 57.69%.