نوع مقاله : مقاله پژوهشی
عنوان مقاله English
نویسندگان English
In this study, the performance of a hydrocyclone is analyzed using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) combined with the Discrete Phase Model (DPM) to predict the trajectories and fate of solid particles. The working fluid consists of water mixed with ferromagnetic powder, with an effective density of 2850 kg/m³, while the injected solid particles are copper (density 4000 kg/m³) and rock (density 1800 kg/m³), both with a diameter of 25 mm. Baseline simulation results show that all copper particles are discharged through the underflow, as expected, whereas a portion of the rock particles, due to having a lower density than the underflow fluid, become trapped in recirculation regions and a significant fraction exits through the overflow, which is undesirable for the separation process. To enhance separation efficiency, several geometric modifications are introduced, including extending the overflow pipe (vortex finder), reshaping the inlet cross‑section to a rectangular form while keeping the hydraulic diameter constant, and increasing the length of the conical section. After applying these modifications and injecting a larger number of particles (1398 copper and an equal number of rock particles), the results indicate a marked improvement in rock particle separation: the number of particles leaving through the overflow decreases by about 3%, and the fraction of rock particles discharged via the underflow increases by approximately 40–50% compared with the baseline configuration. These findings demonstrate that extending the vortex finder and optimizing the inlet and cone geometry can intensify the swirling flow field and promote the settling of lower‑density particles, thereby improving overall hydrocyclone performance.
کلیدواژهها English
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