Experimental and Numerical Investigations of a Dual-Stage Cyclone Separator

Cyclone separators can be utilized in parallel to increase particle collection efficiency. However, this leads to a maldistribution problem that causes separation performance deterioration. To improve the flow distribution, a dual-stage multicyclone separator (DSCS) was designed, containing a tangential-inlet circle pathway cyclone array, an axial-inlet radiation pathway cyclone array, and a cylindrical outer chamber. Experimental and computational fluid dynamics results revealed the gas-particle flow distribution through multicyclone arrays. Effects of flow distribution on particle deposition were investigated experimentally. Particle trajectories inside the cyclone separators were also observed. The multicyclone array proved to generate a uniform inlet velocity distribution. The proposed cyclone separator can be considered as an option to accomplish dilute gas-particle separation.