Evaliation of the efficiency of a multi-channel dust collector using numerical simulation

Abstract

Multi-channel dust collectors are based on previously known designs of vortex dryers for bulk products. However, their use for
air dust removal is promising. In earlier studies of these devices using numerical simulations, the dust capture coefficient was not evaluated, although it is the most important indicator of their efficiency. In this article, the numerical simulation of MCDC is carried out. The first stage of modeling is the calculation of the gas flow velocity and pressure fields in the device under study. At the second stage, a large number of trajectories of dust particles of different diameters were calculated with subsequent statistical processing. Dust capture coefficients and hydraulic loss coefficients were calculated. It is shown that for the reliability of the results of the numerical experiment, the number of dust particles should be at least 2000. To determine the effect of the outer half-shells on the efficiency of the device, these half-shells were discarded, as a result of which the multi-channel dust collector turned into a cyclone. The comparison of characteristics showed that, other things being equal, the devices being investigated have some advantages over cyclones in capturing of small fractions of dust. The hypothesis that the capture of particles in curved channels occurs mainly due to particle collisions with the front edges of metal half-shells
was put forward and refuted. The results of numerical modeling do not support the hypothesis that some dust particles rotate along closed trajectories and form a filter for other particles. The formulas of other authors, which do not take into account the parameters of dust particles, are recognized as unworkable. The speculations of some authors about the influence of the Ranque-Hilsch vortex effect on the process of dust capture cannot be taken into account due to the low subsonic air velocities under the operating conditions of the apparatus.