Numerical prediction of cyclone efficiency curve using an Eulerian-Eulerian approach

Predicting the efficiency curve plays a decisive role in cyclone separator design, and a way to do this is through numerical simulations. However, the use of an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach requires high com-putational cost. Thus, this study proposes an Eulerian-Eulerian approach in which the characteristic diameter is calculated using a population balance equation. Monodisperse and polydisperse simulations with two to eight quadrature points were carried out for the cyclone presented by Huang et al. (2018), and the results were compared with their experimental data. The worst polydisperse simulation shows a global efficiency error of 3.4%, while the monodisperse error was 27.3%. The efficiency curve error was less than 3% for simulations with more than seven quadrature points. The use of the four-way and two-way coupling models resulted in an efficiency curve error of 2.1% and 4.4%, respectively. The efficiency curve errors lower than 3% for the different cases show the feasibility of the proposed model. (c) 2021 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier BV and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study proposes a new numerical simulation method to predict the efficiency curve of cyclone separators by calculating the characteristic diameter. Simulations were conducted for different cases and compared with experimental data, demonstrating the accuracy and feasibility of the proposed model.