Title: Numerical modelling of flow field in a recycling cyclone

Authors: Lanyi Sun; Fei Bai; Jian Wang; Zhen Wang; Mingwei Cui

Addresses: State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266555, China ' State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266555, China ' State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266555, China ' State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266555, China ' State Key Laboratory of Heavy Oil Processing, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, Shandong Province, 266555, China

Abstract: This paper shows the results of numerical modelling of the flow field in a recycling cyclone. The high separation efficiency of recycling cyclone has been proved by experiments recently. However, owing to many restrictions, the information of flow field in recycling cyclone is difficult to obtain. In this paper, tangential velocity, axial velocity, radial velocity and pressure have been obtained and analysed through numerical simulation in different positions of the recycling cyclone. A good agreement has been obtained between the simulation and the experimental results. The special design of flow path in the recycling cyclone can improve the symmetry of the flow field, shorten the moving distance of the fluid, and reduce the generation of turbulence. The simulation results also confirm the applicability of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) as a promising tool to study the flow field of cyclone.

Keywords: recycling cyclone; numerical modelling; flow field; tangential velocity; axial velocity; radial velocity; pressure; simulation; fluid flow; computational fluid dynamics; CFD.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIC.2014.060728

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control, 2014 Vol.21 No.3, pp.244 - 252

Published online: 07 Jun 2014 *

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