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Enhancement of the air ejector performance: primary nozzle and mixing chamber investigation

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Abstract

Air ejectors are, practically, applicable devices used to remove air following a membrane integrity test (MIT). In the present work, investigations of the influence of geometrical parameters on the air ejector performance are performed numerically. Simulations have been performed by solving the steady compressible two-dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes together with realizable k-ε turbulence model equations. A comparison of the computed results with the published experimental data exhibits agreement in terms of entrainment ratio. Increasing amount of the air that should be removed (secondary flow) and reducing energy consumption (primary flow) are considered in this work. To achieve these issues, the effects of geometrical parameters include mixing tube diameter, length of mixing tube, and primary nozzle diameter as well as operation condition which consists of primary flow pressure on the air ejector performance which are all studied. The results show that these changes could improve the entrainment ratio; it means that the secondary flow is increased or the primary flow is decreased. The optimal range of entrainment ratio for specific values of the primary nozzle diameter declares that the air ejector operates at its highest performance.

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Abbreviations

A :

Section area (m2)

D :

Diameter (m)

E :

Total energy (J)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W/m K)

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

P:

Static pressure (Pa)

\(P_{\text{p}}\) :

Primary pressure (Pa)

\(P_{\text{s}}\) :

Secondary pressure (Pa)

r :

Radial coordinate (m)

T :

Static temperature (K)

u :

Velocity components (m/s)

x :

Independent variable (_)

y :

Dependent variable (_)

z :

Axial coordinate (m)

CR:

Compression ratio (dimensionless)

ER:

Entrainment ratio (dimensionless)

α :

Converging angle (deg)

σ k :

Turbulence kinetic energy \((m^{2} /s^{2} )\)

σ ε :

Turbulence dissipation rate \((m^{2} /s^{3} )\)

ρ :

Density \((kg/m^{3} )\)

θ :

Coordinate (deg)

μ :

Dynamic viscosity (Pa s)

C ε2 :

Turbulence constant

d:

Diffuser flow (_)

p:

Primary flow (_)

s:

Secondary flow (_)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

    Sepehr Ghorbanzadeh & Esmail Lakzian

  2. Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

    Esmail Lakzian

Authors
  1. Sepehr Ghorbanzadeh
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  2. Esmail Lakzian
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Correspondence to Esmail Lakzian.

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Technical Editor: André Cavalieri.

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Ghorbanzadeh, S., Lakzian, E. Enhancement of the air ejector performance: primary nozzle and mixing chamber investigation. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 40, 45 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-018-0975-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-018-0975-1

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