Modeling of swirling turbulent flow in a separator with biconical plates

Turbulent swirling flow in the gap between rotating cones, which represents the working element of a plate-type centrifugal separator, is modeled numerically. On the basis of the introduced orthogonal biconical coordinate system, numerical solution of the Reynolds equations is modeled; these equations are closed using the well-known Wilcox differential two-parameter k–ω turbulence model. The results of the numerical solution are represented in the form of the distribution of the averaged velocity components and the characteristic turbulence parameters as functions of the operating and geometric parameters in the separator’s working element; the reliability of the results is confirmed by comparing to test calculations and to the existing experimental data.