The Impact of Increasing the Length of the Conical Segment on Cyclone Performance Using Large-Eddy Simulation

Abstract

In cyclone separators, the asymmetrical coherent structure significantly influences the velocity fluctuations and hence the cyclone performance. This asymmetric rotating vortex in the core region precesses around the cyclone axis with a frequency that depends on the cyclone geometry and operating conditions. In the present work, we studied the impact of increasing the length of the conical segment on the performance of cyclone separators as well as the precessing frequency of the asymmetrical structure. For this, five different cone lengths were considered such that the total cyclone length equalled 3.0D, 3.5D, 4.0D, 4.5D, and 5.0D (here, D is the main body diameter of the cyclone). The study was performed at three different inlet velocities, viz. 10, 15, and 20 m/s. Throughout the work, the angle of the conical segment was held fixed and resembled the reference model (which had a total cyclone length equal to 4.0D). The cyclone performance was evaluated using advanced closure large-eddy simulation with the standard Smagorinsky subgrid-scale model. Conclusive results indicate that with an increase in the cone length, the pressure losses reduce appreciably with small variations in the collection efficiency, followed by a reduction in the precessing frequency of the asymmetric vortex core. The results further indicate that the apex cone angle (or the bottom opening diameter) must be carefully adjusted when increasing the cone length.