Influence of cyclone combustor structure on the motion behaviors of solid fuel particles

Abstract

A coarse-grained computational fluid dynamics-discrete element method (CFD-DEM) was established to investigate the influence of cyclone combustor structure on the motion behaviors of solid fuel particles. Four structural parameters, i.e., primary inlet number (Pn), secondary inlet number (Sn), secondary inlet location (SL), and guide blade angle (α), were examined. Compared to the base structure with a single primary inlet, the addition of extra primary inlet, secondary inlet, or diversion structure elevates the global parcel location. Increasing Pn and Sn decreases the average parcel residence time, while augmenting SL and α generally lengthens it. Meanwhile, increasing Pn, Sn, and SL or decreasing α broadly reduces the wall parcel-hold ratio. Furthermore, the inclusion of secondary inlet and diversion structure increases the probability of small parcels occurring in the near-wall zone. These observations are helpful for optimizing the design and operation of cyclone combustors.