Experimental and CFD study on effects of spiral guide vanes on cyclone performance

This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on a tangential inlet cyclone separator with a spiral guide vane which is not often researched. Numerical pressure drop results were in close agreement with the experimental data. The spiral guide vane was also found to considerably influence the velocity distribution, turbulence intensity, pressure drop and collection efficiency in the cyclone. A critical value of spiral guide vane turns appeared below or above which there was a marked increase in collection efficiency, pressure drop, and tangential velocity. Compared to a cyclone with zero spiral guide vane turn, the maximal decrease in collection efficiency in the cyclone with the critical spiral guide vane turns (one turn) was 2% approximately. The maximum-efficiency inlet velocity appeared to exist independent of spiral guide vane turns, as inlet velocity affected the radial distance traveled by the rebounded particles from the inner wall. The analysis of flow field in cyclones indicated that the flow field was improved with the spiral guide vanes employed to some extent. The results presented here may provide a workable reference for the effects of spiral guide vanes on the flow field and corresponding performance in cyclone separators.