Liquid–solid two-phase flow and separation behavior in a novel cyclone separator

Abstract

In response to the prevalent issue of sand presence in liquid, particularly prominent in petroleum engineering, a novel cyclone separator has been meticulously engineered for fine-particle separation. Experiments and numerical simulation methods have provided a profound understanding of the flow-field characteristics and separation efficacy of this device. The internal architecture of the swirling flow inside the separator features a distinctive central vortex core, complemented by a turbulent secondary vortex formation in the lower section of the underflow. As the axial height increases, the secondary vortex gradually dissipates. An analysis of pressure and velocity distribution within the cyclone separator confirms the establishment of a stable cyclone field in the built-in cyclone and a tendency for the flow field within the tank to exhibit uniformity with increasing height. These flow-field characteristics show that the cyclone separator has a good separation effect on fine-rust particle impurities. Furthermore, the separation efficiency of the novel cyclone separator demonstrates a positive correlation with increasing particle size. Of the parameters studied, variation of the inlet velocity is the best method for obtaining optimum separation efficiency for a cyclone desander with a fixed particle size. Specifically, when the inlet velocity reaches 3 m/s, the desander attains an impressive separation efficiency of up to 70%.