Title: Cyclone-ejector coupling and optimisation

Authors: Wayne Strasser

Addresses: Worldwide Engineering and Construction, Eastman Chemical Company, P.O. Box 511, Kingsport, TN 37660, USA

Abstract: Unsteady flow features of a plant-scale (>1.5 m diameter) cyclone-ejector system have been studied numerically and validated experimentally. Complexity arises from the fact that the transient pressure field within the Lapple cyclone governs the operation of the annular ejector, and vice versa. Eight geometric configurations for improving the system operation were evaluated. Simple geometric changes were shown numerically to make operational improvements while incrementally improving particle collection efficiency. It was also found that compressible, time-dependent CFD results were extremely sensitive to the pressure discretisation approach and to the differential Reynolds Stress pressure strain formulation.

Keywords: turbulence; anisotropy; particles; cyclone ejector coupling; CFD; computational fluid dynamics; RSM; quasi-steady; compressible flow; pressure strain; pressure discretisation; unsteady flow; optimisation; response surface methodology.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2010.030423

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2010 Vol.10 No.1, pp.19 - 31

Published online: 15 Dec 2009 *

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