Computational Study of the Multiphase Flow and Performance of Hydrocyclones: Effects of Cyclone Size and Spigot Diameter

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical study of multiphase flow in hydrocyclones with different configurations of cyclone size and spigot diameter. This is done by a recently developed mixture multiphase flow model. In the model, the strong swirling flow of the cyclone is modeled using the Reynolds stress model. The interface between liquid and air core and the particle flow are both modeled using the so-called mixture model. The solid properties are described by the kinetic theory. The applicability of the proposed model has been verified by the good agreement between the measured and predicted results in a previous study. It is here used to study the effects of cyclone size and spigot diameter when feed solids concentration is up to 30% (by volume), which is well beyond the range reported before. The flow features predicted are examined in terms of the flow field, pressure drop, and amount of water split to underflow, separation efficiency and underflow discharge type. The simulation results show that the mult...