Numerical investigations of cyclone separators with different cylinder-to-cone ratios
Ravi Shastri, R. P. Sharma, Lakhbir Singh Brar
Abstract
The objective of the present research is to evaluate the effect of changing the length of the cylinder and cone such that the total cyclone length remains unaltered. For this purpose, five different cyclone models with increasing lengths of cylindrical section (Hc/D = 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5) have been considered. A comparison is made among different flow variables as well as the performance parameters. Unlike general engineering flows, cyclonic flows possess strong swirl, resulting in high streamlined curvatures and rapid change in strains that makes it anisotropic in nature. Therefore, we use the Reynolds stress model (RSM)—a closure model to Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes equation—to account for such anisotropies in the flow. The Navier-Stokes equations are discretized using finite volume methods and solved using commercial code Fluent. Conclusive results indicate that the collection efficiency, pressure drop, and tangential velocity are maximum for cyclone with Hc/D = 0.5 and minimum for Hc/D = 2.5. It has also been observed that at higher inlet velocities heavier dust particles accumulate near the cyclone roof, which may result in high rates of wall erosion.