The effect of cyclone inlet dimensions on the flow pattern and performance

Abstract

The effect of the cyclone inlet dimensions on the performance and flow field pattern has been investigated computationally using the Reynolds stress turbulence model (RSM) for five cyclone separators. The results show that, the maximum tangential velocity in the cyclone decreases with increasing the cyclone inlet dimensions. No acceleration occurs in the cyclone space (the maximum tangential velocity is nearly constant throughout the cyclone). Increasing the cyclone inlet dimensions decreases the pressure drop. The cyclone cut-off diameter increases with increasing cyclone inlet dimension (consequently, the cyclone overall efficiency decreases due to weakness of the vortex strength). The effect of changing the inlet width is more significant than the inlet height especially for the cut-off diameter. The optimum ratio of inlet width to inlet height b/ a is from 0.5 to 0.7.