Numerical analysis of multiphase flow through axial vortex tube cyclone separators

Axial cyclone separators are used as primary filtration components in many internal combustion engine applications. A numerical study of gas-solid flow through an axial cyclone separator is carried out by Eulerian-Lagrangian CFD approach, which uses discrete phase modelling (DPM) of particles and solution of incompressible turbulent Navier-Stokes equations with RNG k-c closure model. The effective filtration of inlet air from dust particles is an important requirement for prolonged engine life cycle. In axial cyclone separators, a helical swirl generator is used for imparting swirling motion to the particle laden flow and particles are filtered by centrifugal separation and then scavenged using a vortex tube. In the present work, the modelling done in OpenFOAM successfully captures the features of the swirling flow, along with particle-gas and particle-wall interactions for a varying size distribution at the inlet. Studies were aimed at analysing the effect of particles and its effect on improving the performance of the filter.