MODELING OF HIGH EFFICIENCY CYCLONE SEPARATOR

Abstract

In the present work a study has been undertaken to find a new optimized set of dimensions of geometrical part of cyclone separator with an aim to design a high efficiency cyclone with minimal pressure drop and maximum efficiency using CFD modelling and statistical analysis. For this purpose the standard design of Stairmand cyclone model has been considered and optimization study has been performed to develop a high efficiency model. Cyclone separator performance is highly dependent on the geometrical parameters as well as operating conditions. In this present work design optimization is based on the geometrical parameters such as inlet duct dimensions, cyclone height, vortex finder size, barrel and cone height etc. Minimum and maximum variation in different design parameters is considered. Design of experiment method has been used to make a possible assembly of different geometrical parameters and based on these parameters using Design of Experiments different arrangements in cyclone designs are evolved and these designs are simulated using CFD technique. The efficiency and pressure drop data obtained from these CFD simulations are used to quantify the effect of the design parameters on cyclone efficiency and pressure drop. Based on the results obtained from CFD simulation, design parameters are optimized for desired response. For the purpose of optimization of parameters, Response Surface Methodology has been performed. Further, analysis of variance (ANOVA) is also performed to see the significant effect of design parameters on the performance of cyclone separator. From the ANOVA, it is found that inlet duct dimensions, vortex finder size and cyclone height have a strong effect on the cyclone performance. Second order model is fit to study the interaction between responses and geometrical parameters. Based on the optimization using Response Surface Methodology a new model is suggested for minimal pressure drop and maximum efficiency. New set of geometrical ratio is obtained and this new design is compared with standard design of Stairmand. Pressure drop for optimized model is 37% less than that of standard model with increased efficiency by 8.5%. Compared result confirms that the new design is superior to the Standard model.