A study on particle time-step and particle residence time discrepancies in 3D numerical hydrocyclone modeling

Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Faculty of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Dept., Aytepe Mevkii, Efeler, PK: 09100, Aydın, Turkiye

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Abstract

Short-circuit flow (SCF) or the flow of unseparated fluid skirting the separation process, frequently lowers the hydrocyclone effectiveness and overall efficiency. To address the problem of SCF, annular vortex finder hydrocyclone (AVFH) with an annular vortex finder (AVF) is commonplace in hydrocyclone commissioning in such applications. This study aims to uncover and investigate some of the issues that raise when it comes to configure and create a product promise for these devices via numerical methods. Two-phase, steady state, 3D AVFH models using the Standard k- ε turbulence model has been created and optimized in terms of particle residence times and separation efficiencies to conform with the published experimental data of a similar procedure. Simulations show that by adapting particle time-step parameter in a pseudo-transient discrete element modeling (DEM) setting, AVFH with different throughput properties can be confidently modeled and the results can be extrapolated to involve excessive operating conditions.