Simulation of mass-loading effects in gas-solid cyclone separators

Three-dimensional, time-dependent Eulerian-Lagrangian simulations of the gas-solid flow in a cyclone separator have been performed. The Eulerian description of the gas flow is based on lattice-Boltzmann discretization of the Navier-Stokes equations, and a Smagorinsky subgrid-scale model. Through this largeeddy representation of the gas flow, solid particles with different sizes are tracked. By viewing the individual particles (of which there are some 107 inside the cyclone at any moment in time) as clusters of particles (parcels), we study the effect of particle-to-gas coupling on the gas flow and particle behavior at appreciable mass-loading (0.05 and 0.1). The presence of solid particles causes the cyclone to lose some swirl intensity. Furthermore, the turbulence of the gas flow gets strongly damped. This has significant consequences for the way the particles of different sizes get dispersed in the gas flow. It is anticipated that also the collection efficiency is significantly affected by mass-loading.