Extended cyclone theory for gas flows with high solids concentrations

Large recirculation cyclones with high concentrations of particulate solids have gained considerable importance in the field of circulating fluidized bed technology. To calculate a combustion process, the influence of the cyclone on the circulating quantity of solids and their grain size distribution must be known. Measurements in a 105-MW-plant in 1989 showed that the existing cyclone theory was not sufficient for this purpose. In a laboratory cyclone (900 mm in diameter), the separation and classification of solids in a gas flow was investigated. The cyclone was fed from a fluidized bed and operated with cold air and quartz of various grain size distributions. Based on this experimental device and the theory of momentum transfer between solids and gas flow, a new, more accurate method of calculating the separation efficiency was developed.     

流化床中旋风下料管的物理模型

In most industrial fluidization units, two- or three-stage cyclone systems are used to clean the product gases. To return the solids to the bed, these cyclones are fitted with diplegs. By pass of gas from the bed through the dipleg is partially overcome by the back pressure build-up in the dipleg and by adding a trickle valve at the bottom of the dipleg. Diplegs of primary cyclones, operating at a high solid loading behave differently from diplegs of secondary and tertiary cyclones which operate at low solid loading. Both types have been investigated by pressure drop measurements, visual observation and by measurements of the air flow rate flowing up the riser. The primary dipleg was also studied using electrical capacitance tomography. The results are reported hereafter and will give a first indication towards the right design of the dipleg and the selection of the trickle valve. The influence of gas flow in the dipleg on the conversion in a catalytic fluidized bed reactor is found to be negligible.     

气-液旋流器内部流场的CFD模拟

对气-液旋流器内流场进行了CFD模拟。通过改变不同的入口高度、进液速度和入口管的截面形状,比较了不同的分离效果。通过对气体的体积分数分布的分析,可以方便快捷地预测CFD模型的分离性能。     

高入口浓度下PV型旋风分离器的分离效率计算

基于Muschelknautz 分离模型,以PV型旋风分离器为对象,针对高入口浓度的分离效率的计算,将旋风分离器分离空间的气固分离过程划分为2个区域,提出了串级分离模型。当入口浓度大于临界入口浓度时,旋风分离器内有器壁附近的颗粒支配区和中心区域的气体支配区。颗粒支配区内颗粒速度大于气体速度,颗粒夹带气体沿器壁螺旋下行进入灰斗被全部捕集,形成了颗粒的一级分离;气体支配区内气体速度大于颗粒速度,气体携带颗粒做旋转运动进行离心分离过程,形成了颗粒的二级分离。旋风分离器总的气固分离过程是一级分离和二级分离的叠加。通过高入口浓度的实验对串级分离模型进行了验证,基于串级分离模型给出的PV型旋风分离器的分离效率与实测值较吻合。研究表明旋风分离器临界入口浓度对总效率的计算影响较大。串级分离计算模型包含了结构参数和气、固相物性等参数,具有很好的通用性,可以满足PV型旋风分离器的工程计算和设计要求。     

入口抽滤预团聚提高旋风分离器性能试验研究

分析了旋风分离器对细粉捕集效率低的原因,并提出了对传统旋风分离器的改进方案,即将传统旋风分离器的排气芯管改进为一个过滤筒,并在滤筒内部加装转动清灰刷,这样的设计充分利用了旋风分离器和过滤除尘器各自的优点,使过滤除尘和旋风除尘有机结合在一起,节约了设备空间,提高了其综合性能,实验结果表明除尘总效率一般都在99.94%以上,完全除去了1.6μm以上的细粉尘。     

并联旋风分离器的旋流稳定性分析

分别选用2台和4台直径300 mm的相同PV型旋风分离器作为分离元件,共用进气管、集气室和排尘室,以中心对称方式组成两种并联分离器,并通过数值模拟比较单分离器与两种并联方案中各分离元件气相流动的特点. 气体介质为常温常压空气,入口气速15~30 m/s. 结果表明,2台或4台并联时各分离元件流量偏差分别不超过0.35%和0.28%,压降最大偏差为0.79%和0.43%,流量分配均匀,灰斗内窜流返混不明显,且4台并联时效果更好. 4台并联时分离元件排尘段的稳定性指数比2台并联或单分离器降低过半,旋流稳定性显著增强. 对称排列的分离元件在公共灰斗中会形成具有自稳定性的对称涡系,对分离元件内旋进涡核的摆动有约束作用,旋流稳定性增强.     

Effect of the Solid Loading on a PFBC Cyclone with Pneumatic Extraction of Solids

This paper presents the effects of solid loading on the performance of a cyclone with pneumatic extraction of solids. The cyclone is a non‐conventional design, especially used for hot‐gas cleaning applications such as pressurized fluidized bed combustors (PFBC). A scaled‐down cold‐flow model was employed for the research. Experiments were conducted at 9–14 m/s inlet gas velocities, inlet solid loadings ranging from 30 to 230 g/kg gas, and bottom gas extraction percentages from 0.3 to 1.5%. Experimental results of pressure drop resistance coefficients and collection efficiency were compared with literature predictions. At PFBC operating conditions, cyclone geometry and solid concentration are the main parameters influencing cyclone pressure drop and collection efficiency. The vortex penetration in dipleg causes lower pressure drop values and higher collection efficiencies than predicted. These parameters can be suitably predicted for PFBC cyclones by introducing a modified penetration length in Muschelknautz's model [1]. For the present cyclone design, a new correlation of pressure drop, including the influence of solid loading, is proposed. A new method for detecting cyclone fouling, not previously addressed, is also presented, based on the evolution of the pressure drop resistance coefficient. An enhanced separation efficiency has been found, related to collection efficiency, which is especially important for particle sizes below 10 μm revealing agglomeration effects.     

旋风分离器内颗粒运动规律的数值模拟

采用单颗粒动力学模型计算了旋风分离器内颗粒的运动轨迹。计算结果表明：进入旋风分离器的颗粒绝大多数在环形空间内就被甩向器壁；从入口上部进入的部分较小颗粒由于局部二次流作用而上升形成顶灰环；还有少量颗粒进入下部分离空间。在下部分离空间内，有灰斗返气夹带上来的颗粒，处于内旋流的颗粒则有可能随上升气流而逃逸，所以一定的分离空间高度有利用颗粒的二次再分离。     

Analytical Approach for Calculating the Separation Efficiency of Uniflow Cyclones

An approach for calculating the separation efficiency of uniflow cyclones for the separation of solid particles from gases is proposed. The analytical model is based on an equilibrium orbit concept, similar to that used in the Barth‐Muschelknautz model for conventional reverse‐flow cyclones, which has been proven to be successful for designing and calculating cyclones in a wide range of industrial applications. The proposed model takes into account the special flow pattern of uniflow cyclones, which differs substantially from that in reverse‐flow cyclones. The model provides correct dependencies of the separation efficiency on the main geometry and operation data of low‐loaded uniflow cyclones. Applying the calculation method to uniflow cyclones operated in test facilities indicates good agreement with experimental data.     

An Extended Model for Determining the Separation Performance of a Cyclone

Most models on the working of cyclones are based on cylinders and cones whereby the vertical tube and dustbin should also be included in their geometries. These separation models of conventional cylinder‐on‐cone cyclones do not consider the effect of the dust collection system on the flow field. In actual fact, the inclusion of the dust collection system had a considerable effect on the flow pattern in the gas cyclone as well as on the separation efficiency. In this paper, an extended model is presented, which is based on the time‐of‐flight approach. In this model, the gas residence time is modified so that the entire cyclone geometry is used. The lift force of a particle in the boundary layer is considered because of the larger velocity gradient here. The availability of the extended model is verified by comparison of the calculated grade efficiency with experimental data and theoretical counterparts in the literature.     

Study of the gas circulation patterns in a uniflow cyclone

A uniflow cyclone is being studied to achieve the separation of hot solids from the gaseous products of ultra-rapid fluidized (URF) processes. An experimental method with hot wire probes was developed to study the gas flow around the gas outlet, where the solids exit. The vortex penetration in the solids exit could be determined. The presence of solids greatly reduced the vortex penetration in the uniflow cyclone. Restricting gas circulation around the gas outlet dramatically impaired the cyclone collection efficiency. Therefore, good cyclone performance requires a proper design below the gas outlet.     

Numerical and experimental study on the effect of solid particle sphericity on cyclone pressure drop

The continuous flow inside cyclone separator is usually simulated by solving the Reynolds averaged Navier–Stokes equations in Eulerian reference frame whereas the dispersed phase is modeled using Lagrangian approach. Although these methods have had a remarkable success, more advanced ideas are needed to model particulate phase in cyclones, especially the non-spherical shaped particles. Numerical simulation is verified with experimental results for the gas-solid flow in a cyclone separator. Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANS) employing the RNG-based k–ε turbulence model are used to simulate the gas phase. 3-D particle tracking procedure is used for the solid phase. Three different equations for the drag coefficient are utilized in the numerical modeling to acquire more understanding of the behavior of non-spherical particles in cyclones. Computations resulted in the difference of pressure between the inlet and exit of the cyclone, and results are compared with experimental data. Experiments included measuring the separation efficiency of different shapes and sizes of particles. The results indicate that the CFD simulation can effectively reveal the pressure drop behavior as well as separation efficiency of gas-non-spherical particle flow in cyclone.     

Experimental investigation of the performance of a large-scale scrubber operating at elevated pressure on live natural gas

Experimental results for the performance of a near-full-scale natural gas scrubber operating on a live natural gas system at high pressure are given in this article. The scrubber configuration has three types of internals in series: an inlet vane, a mist-mat and an axial cyclone bank. The variations with pressure of the fluid properties of the natural gas system are calculated and given, and the performances of the over-all scrubber and of the individual internals at a range of gas and liquid flows and at three different pressures up to 113 barg are shown. The results show that beyond a Souders-Brown K-value of 0.15 m/s, the primary separation efficiency breaks down and that beyond this value of K, the scrubber relies on the cyclones for satisfactory separation. However, at a K-value of 0.26 m/s, the cyclone separation efficiency was poor at high pressure and decreased with increasing pressure. The liquid distribution to the cyclones was highly non-uniform, the outer cyclones receiving much more liquid than the inner ones.     

Ungewöhnliche Zyklonabscheider

Unusual cyclone separators. Conventional cyclone separators are seldom suitable for dust cleaning of gases according to present standards. The reason is secondary flow within the body disturbing the process of separation based on elementary cyclone theory. This can be avoided by special design of the cyclone e. g. geometry of the separation chamber, the position of openings, flow guides within the cyclone, dimension and geometry of the bin, bleeding and bypass of the gas, switching of cyclones, and means for dust agglomeration.     

Design of parallel cyclones based on stability analysis

The uniform distribution of gas solids flow across parallel cyclones is required for high efficiency. In this study, we introduced mass flow rate ratio between solids and gas (C_T) to present multi‐phase interaction. And the direct Liapunov method is used to detect the instability of uniformity. Due to the special symmetry in this system, the criterion can be simplified into identifying the concavity (concave or convex) of pressure drop across a single cyclone with respect to C_T. Then, based on the stability analysis of uniformity, a novel design principle is provided to prevent non‐uniform distribution at dense phase. The effect of geometrical factor, i.e. dimensionless vortex finder diameter d_r, on the stability of uniformity has been further investigated. The phase diagram, illustrating the effects of both operational parameter (C_T) and geometrical parameter (d_r) on stability of uniformity is calculated to give a clue of designing a robust parallel cyclones system. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 4251–4258, 2016     

A Mathematical Model to Compare the Efficiency of Cyclones

Tangential cyclones modified to form spiral cyclones are very efficient in separating solid particles from dust laden gases. They offer a lower gas pressure drop and higher particle separation efficiency when compared to basic tangential cyclones. Their high performance is believed to be related to their special structure. A mathematical model is introduced to explain why a spiral cyclone is more efficient than a tangential one. An experimental apparatus is designed to compare both the performances of spiral and tangential cyclones and to check the effectiveness of the model equations. The experimental data were found to be consistent with the model predictions.     

Effects of separation space diameter on the performance of a novel reverse flow cyclone

ABSTRACT

A numerical study was carried out to investigate the effect of separation space diameter on the performance of a novel reverse flow tangential inlet cyclone design by using the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach. The design of this cyclone is based on the idea of increasing vortex length and decreasing pressure drop compared with traditional cyclones. This novel cyclone differs from the traditional cyclones with separation space and vortex limiter instead of the conical part. A qualitative numerical study was performed to analyze the effect of separation space diameter on the cyclone performance at different flow rates by evaluating velocity profile, pressure drop, fractional and overall efficiencies. The results show that the collection efficiency of smaller particles increases while pressure drop decreases significantly with the increase in separation space diameter for D₁/D < 0.5.     

An evaluation of the pneumatic transport reactor

In a pneumatic transport reactor, a dilute suspension of the reacting solid particles is conveyed by the gas stream through the reactor. The system is characterized by very short particle residence times. The relative flow rates of gas and solids are determined by the thermodynamic and kinetic requirements of the reacting conveyed systems. Design considerations for co-current gas and solids flows are presented and a comparison between co-gravity and counter-gravity flow reactors is discussed for the case of iron ore reduction by hydrogen. Kinetic data from single particle studies have been used to predict the performance of a pilot-scale reactor.     

Performance of a large-cone-angle hydrocyclone—I: Hydrodynamics

As opposed to “normal” hydrocyclones, large-cone-angle hydrocyclones can be used to separate solids with equal free-fall velocities but with different densities. One of the applications of these cyclones is the recovery of heavy minerals from sand.In order to investigate the hydrodynamical behaviour of such a cyclone the following experiments have been carried out on two cyclones of diferent dimensions: determination of solids distribution at steady state operation; measurement of the residence time distribution of the liquid; pressure gradient and pressure drop measurements.From the experimental results it follows that at the bottom a bed of suspended solids rotates, which more or less seems to be fluidized. Similar to the derivation of an expression of the pressure gradient in a one-phase vortex flow from the Navier-Stokes equation, an expression of the pressure gradient in such a solid-liquid vortex flow has been obtained from two-phase momentum equations. From this theory it follows that in the rotating bed a secondary solids flow has to occur; solids are moving towards the centre at the bottom and away from the centre at the top.     

旋风分离器进口涡旋感生速度场的减阻增效作用

旋风分离器进口段管路的结构关系着进口气速的分配,直接影响到下游分离空间三维速度场的形式,合理设计进口管的样式是挖掘分离器分离潜力的可能入手之处。采用实验及数值模拟手段,对环管和直管2种进口管路下轴对称双进口分离器的性能与流场作了对比研究。结果表明,环管进口的分离器分离总效率比两侧进口的平均高1.5个百分点,而压降损失降低25%以上。前者阻力小的原因在于进口环管内气流为局部的涡旋,与分离器内旋涡流动的形式接近,两股气流交汇时碰撞程度轻,附加的额外能耗较小;而总效率提高的原因为,环管进口的分离器切向速度比两侧进口的分离器约高0.15倍进口气速,能增强颗粒受到的离心作用、减小切割粒径,从而提升分离器总效率。根据涡旋理论,局部区域的涡旋会对整个流动空间产生感生的速度场,由于环管进口的分离器进口管内局部涡旋的存在,整个分离空间的切向速度场被增强。这种由涡旋感生速度场提升分离器切向速度的方式,加深了分离器运行过程中压头向速度转换的程度,不会消耗额外的能量。因此,采用旋涡流的进气方式,并合理提高进口涡旋的强度,是分离器分离性能进一步提升的新途径。