Similarity Analysis of Gas Phase Flow Field in the Cyclone Separator

The gas flow field in a cyclone separator with a volute inlet is numerical simulated based on the Reynolds stress model on the platform of commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. The effect of the diameter parameter and the flow parameters on the dimensionless velocity were investigated. The results show that the flow fields are similar for different cyclone diameters or different flow parameters, but the dimensionless tangential velocities are different, the flow field is not strictly similar. But, as the diameter and flow parameters are increasing, the flow field develops from the weak similarity to strong similarity, until self-similarity. The mechanics of the self-similarity of flow field is analyzed based on the energy losses and the relationship between Euler number and Reynolds number. The self-similarity of the flow field reflects the contribution of the inertia resistance loss and viscous friction loss to the total energy loss.