Size Classification of Submicron Powder by Air Cyclone and Three-Dimensional Analysis

Abstract

Experimental and theoretical studies were made of the separation efficiency of an air cyclone separator. The results of numerical calculations of three-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations indicate that the flow field changes with circumferential angle. The upward and downward velocity components merge strongly near the entrance of the dust box. Large particles are collected on the upper wall, small particles on the conical wall.
It is also confirmed that particles with small inertia enter the dust box first, but finally exit from the cyclone because of the upward velocity component. The experimental partial separation efficiencies obtained agree well with the numerical calculations when the data are rearranged according to the particle inertia parameter.