Particle Motion Characteristics in W-Shaped Hydrocyclones
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Geometrical Structures
2.2. Model Description
2.2.1. Turbulence Model
2.2.2. TFM Model
2.3. Simulation Conditions
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Forces Acting on the Particles in the W-Shaped Hydrocyclone
3.1.1. Effect of the Particle Size on the Forces Acting on the Particles
- (1)
- Effect of the Particle Size on the Radial Force
- (2)
- Effect of the Particle Size on the Axial Force
3.1.2. Effect of the Particle Density on the Forces Acting on the Particles
- (1)
- Effect of the Particle Density on the Radial Force
- (2)
- Effect of the Particle Density on the Axial Force
3.2. Particle Movement Behaviour in the W-Shaped Hydrocyclone
3.2.1. Effect of the Particle Size on Particle Movement Behavior
3.2.2. Effect of the Particle Density on the Particle Movement Behavior
4. Conclusions
- (1)
- The radial centrifugal inertia and pressure gradient forces in the W-shaped hydrocyclone are hundreds of times the gravity force, and the radial drag force reaches an order of magnitude of 106, which is the main driver of radial motion. Moreover, with increasing particle size, the radial drag force acting on the particles exponentially decreases.
- (2)
- In the main separation region, the magnitude of the axial drag force reaches an order of magnitude of 105, but with decreasing axial position, the axial drag force on the particles gradually weakens. In the bottom region of the hydrocyclone, the order of magnitude of the axial drag force decreases to 102, and the buoyancy and gravitational effects on the particles gradually increase.
- (3)
- In the main separation region, the radial centrifugal force gradually increases with increasing particle density, while the pressure gradient force is basically unaffected by the particle density. However, at the bottom of the hydrocyclone, the change in particle density imposes no obvious effect on the radial centrifugal force, while the pressure gradient force decreases with increasing particle density.
- (4)
- With increasing particle size, the aggregation position of the particle population gradually approaches the apex, the easier the particles enter the underflow and the higher the recovery rate to the underflow is.
- (5)
- Particle density and size changes greatly impact the movement and distribution of coarse particles, but no significant change occurs in fine particles. With increasing particle density, the cut size decreases, and the fractionation accuracy increases.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Structural Parameters | Size |
---|---|
Diameter of upper cylinder section D1 (mm) | 75 |
Diameter of under cylinder section D2 (mm) | 70 |
Height of body H (mm) | 315 |
Diameter of inlet a∗b (mm) | 15∗20 |
Diameter of underflow Du (mm) | 15 |
Diameter of vortex finder Do (mm) | 25 |
Height of vortex finder H1 (mm) | 75 |
Height of upper cylinder section H2 (mm) | 120 |
Height of under cylinder section H3 (mm) | 97 |
Height of underflow H4 (mm) | 43 |
Cone angle θ (°) | 150 |
Size Interval/μm | Mean Size/μm | Yield/% | Volume Fraction/% |
---|---|---|---|
0–5 | 1 | 4.88 | 0.2440 |
5–10 | 5 | 7.21 | 0.3605 |
10–25 | 10 | 9.55 | 0.4775 |
25–50 | 25 | 15.33 | 0.7665 |
50–75 | 50 | 20.88 | 1.0440 |
75–100 | 75 | 16.59 | 0.8295 |
100–125 | 100 | 11.38 | 0.5690 |
125–150 | 125 | 8.31 | 0.4155 |
150–200 | 150 | 5.87 | 0.2935 |
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Jiang, L.; Liu, P.; Zhang, Y.; Yang, X.; Li, X.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, H. Particle Motion Characteristics in W-Shaped Hydrocyclones. Separations 2021, 8, 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/separations8080121
Jiang L, Liu P, Zhang Y, Yang X, Li X, Zhang Y, Wang H. Particle Motion Characteristics in W-Shaped Hydrocyclones. Separations. 2021; 8(8):121. https://doi.org/10.3390/separations8080121
Chicago/Turabian StyleJiang, Lanyue, Peikun Liu, Yuekan Zhang, Xinghua Yang, Xiaoyu Li, Yulong Zhang, and Hui Wang. 2021. "Particle Motion Characteristics in W-Shaped Hydrocyclones" Separations 8, no. 8: 121. https://doi.org/10.3390/separations8080121