Numerical Simulation of Micro Double Volute Gas-Liquid Cyclone Separator

In order to study the internal flow field and separation characteristics of micro double volute gas-liquid cyclone separator,a physical model of the separator was established by Fluent software.Based on numerical simulations for the distribution of gas flow field and the trajectory of droplet particles,the influences of droplet size and inlet velocity on the separation efficiency were investigated.It is found that short circuit phenomenon is obvious near the inlet of exhaust pipe,the tangential velocity and axial velocity are distributed uniformly along the radial direction,radial velocity is of small order of magnitude with complex distribution,and the static pressure and dynamic pressure are distributed symmetrically.In the process of gas-liquid two-phase flow,most droplets move to the side wall of the separator under the action of centrifugal force to be separated,and some droplet particles escape upwards via the exhaust pipe due to short circuit and back mixing.Within the scope of the study,larger droplet size contributes to higher separation efficiency.The critical droplet size of the separator is 1.0 μm.For droplets equal to or larger than 1.0 μm,the separation efficiency increases with the increase of inlet velocity; for droplets smaller than 1.0 μm,the separation efficiency increases first and then decreases with the increase of inlet velocity and the highest separation efficiency could be reached if proper inlet velocity is selected.The study results provide reference for the development of high-efficiency micro gas-liquid cyclone separators.