Numerical simulation of turbulent flow in a cyclonic separator

Abstract

Numerical simulation of a turbulent flow of air with dispersed particles through a cyclonic separator is presented. Because of a high streamline curvature in the separator it is difficult to simulate the flow by using the conventional turbulent models. In this work the curvature correction term was included into the k – ω – SST turbulence model implemented in the OpenFOAM® software. Experimental data and results of numerical simulation by the commercial ANSYS Fluent® solver for a turbulent flow in a U-duct were used to validate the model. The numerical simulation of the flow in the cyclonic separator demonstrates that the implemented turbulence model successfully predicts the cyclonic separator efficiency.