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Experimental and numerical study of Stairmand cyclone separators: a comparison of the results of small-scale and large-scale cyclones

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Abstract

Gas cyclone separators are employed to separate particles from gas. In this study, the effect of the vortex finder diameter, inlet velocity and particle size on the flow field and the performance of a large industrial Stairmand cyclone has been studied both experimentally and numerically. The vortex finder diameters used are 0.40, 0.45, 0.50 and 0.55 times the cyclone diameter. Cyclones with body diameters of 700 mm and 254 mm are used. Cyclone inlet velocity is changed from 11.5 m∙s−1 to 19 m∙s−1. Particle size is varied between 1 and 13 μm. Whether the correlations obtained for small-scale cyclones are valid for large-scale cyclones has been investigated. The three-dimensional numerical study is carried out by using ANSYS Fluent 17.0 software package for incompressible turbulent flow condition. Reynolds stress model is chosen as the turbulence model. Sawdust ash is used as particles. The results of numerical study are compared with the results of experimental study and literature. Results are found to be consistent with each other. It is seen that cyclone collection efficiency and pressure drop increase when both vortex finder diameter decreases and inlet velocity increases, but 50% cut-off diameter decreases. Results show that the correlations obtained for small sampling cyclones may not be appropriate for large-scale cyclones.

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Abbreviations

a :

cyclone inlet height, m.

b :

cyclone inlet width, m.

B :

cone-tip diameter, m.

c :

length of inlet section, m.

CD :

the drag coefficient, −.

D :

cyclone body diameter, m.

Dc :

core diameter of cyclone, m.

De :

vortex finder diameter, m.

Dh :

hydraulic diameter, m.

Dp :

particle diameter, m.

D50 :

particle cut-off diameter, m.

gi :

gravitational acceleration in i-direction, m∙s−2.

h :

height of cyclone cylinder part, m.

he :

vortex finder length outside the cyclone, m.

ΔH :

dimensionless parameter, −.

H :

cyclone height, m.

I :

turbulent intensity level, −.

k :

fluctuating kinetic energy, m2∙s−2.

ΔP :

pressure drop, Pa.

\( \overline{\mathrm{P}} \) :

mean pressure, Pa.

P :

fluctuating kinetic energy production, m2∙s−3.

Pij :

turbulence production term, m2∙s−3.

Q :

volume flow rate, m3∙s−1.

R :

radius of cyclone, m.

Rc :

core diameter, m.

Re :

Reynolds number, −.

Rep :

particle relative Reynolds number, −.

Rij :

Reynolds stress tensor, m2∙s−2.

s :

extension vortex finder inside the cyclone, m.

t :

time, s.

Uavg :

average velocity, m∙s−1.

\( \overline{{\mathrm{u}}_{\mathrm{i}}} \) :

mean velocity in the i-direction, m∙s−1.

ui :

i-component fluid velocity, m∙s−1.

Uin :

inlet velocity, m∙s−1.

u′i :

ith fluctuating velocity component, m∙s−1.

upi :

particle velocity in i-direction, m∙s−1.

Vtmax :

maximum tangential velocity, m∙s−1.

xi :

coordinate system, m.

δij :

Kronecker delta, −.

ε:

turbulence dissipation rate, m2∙s−3.

μ:

dynamic viscosity, kg∙m−1·s−1.

ρ:

gas density, kg∙m−3.

ρp :

particle density, kg∙m−3.

ν:

kinematic viscosity, m2∙s−1.

νt :

turbulent (eddy) kinematic viscosity, m2∙s−1.

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Acknowledgments

Analyzing of particle size using Malvern Mastersizer E instrument was carried out by third author. The remaining parts of the present study were performed by first and second authors.

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  1. Engineering Faculty, Department of Mechanical Engineering & Clean Energy Research and Application Center (TEMENAR), Gazi University, 06570, Ankara, Maltepe, Turkey

    Halil I. Erol, Oguz Turgut & Rahmi Unal

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  1. Halil I. Erol
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Correspondence to Oguz Turgut.

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Erol, H.I., Turgut, O. & Unal, R. Experimental and numerical study of Stairmand cyclone separators: a comparison of the results of small-scale and large-scale cyclones. Heat Mass Transfer 55, 2341–2354 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-019-02589-y

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