Experimental study and 3D-CFD investigation on optimization of aerodynamic parameters and energy separation of convergent vortex tube separator

The VT cyclones separators are widely used in the separation processes such as purification of the hydrocarbon mixtures and specially to remove the particles from the air entering to the helicopter engines. The aim of this investigation is study on the separation phenomenon inside the special cyclone separator affected by structural factors including; throttle angle (30-90 deg), throttle diameter (4-6.5mm) and convergence main tube angle (2-12deg), as well as the optimization of these structural and physical parameters in terms of separation efficiency using experimental and 3D-CFD methods (using RSM turbulence model). The results show that, the separation process improves extremely with an increase in the throttle diameter up to Dth=5.5mm, then beyond Dth=5.5mm, the separation capabilities are decreased. Also, the cyclone air separator equipped with throttle angle of α=60 deg provides 43.76 % and 50.60 % higher separation efficiencies as compared to basic model. The results show that there are the optimum values for the convergence angle and the length of convergent main tube as β=10deg and L=195mm. As a result, the stagnation point is closer to the valve in Dth=5.5 mm as compared to other cyclones. So, the cyclone air separator with Dth=5.5 mm has the smallest distance between the stagnation point and the conical valve as well as the highest separation ability. Finally, this result can be picked up that the higher the maximum tangential velocity and pressure drops, the higher the separation quality. The comparison between the computed and the laboratory outputs presents a favorable agreement with the maximum and minimum relative differences of 6.25% and 0.91%, respectively

کلیدواژه ها:

Experimental approach ، Numerical computation ، Separation process ، Convergent air separator ، Optimization ، Throttle diameter ، Convergent main tube