11

Hydrodynamic Simulation
of Cyclone Separators
Utikar1, R., Darmawan1, N., Tade1, M., Li1, Q, Evans2, G.,
Glenny3, M. and Pareek1, V.
1Department of Chemical Engineering, Curtin University of Technology, Perth, WA 6845,
2Centre for Advanced Particle Processing, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308,
3BP Kwinana Refinery Pty Ltd, Mason Road, Kwinana, WA 6167,

Australia

1. Introduction
Cyclone separators are commonly used for separating dispersed solid particles from gas
phase. These devices have simple construction; are relatively inexpensive to fabricate and
operate with moderate pressure losses. Therefore, they are widely used in many engineering
processes such as dryers, reactors, advanced coal utilization such as pressurized and
circulating fluidized bed combustion and particularly for removal of catalyst from gases in
petroleum refinery such as in fluid catalytic cracker (FCC). Despite its simple operation, the
fluid dynamics and flow structures in a cyclone separator are very complex. The driving
force for particle separation in a cyclone separator is the strong swirling turbulent flow. The
gas and the solid particles enter through a tangential inlet at the upper part of the cyclone.
The tangential inlet produces a swirling motion of gas, which pushes the particles to the
cyclone wall and then both phases swirl down over the cyclone wall. The solid particles
leave the cyclone through a duct at the base of the apex of the inverted cone while the gas
swirls upward in the middle of the cone and leaves the cyclone from the vortex finder. The
swirling motion provides a centrifugal force to the particles while turbulence disperses the
particles in the gas phase which increases the possibility of the particle entrainment.
Therefore, the performance of a cyclone separator is determined by the turbulence
characteristics and particle-particle interaction.
Experimental and numerical studies have been carried out in the last few decades to
develop a better understanding of the flow field inside the cyclone separators. In the early
years, empirical models were built (e.g. Shepherd & Lapple, 1939; Lapple, 1951; Barth, 1956;
Tengbergen, 1965; Sproul, 1970; Leith & Licht, 1972; Blachman & Lippmann, 1974; Dietz,
1981 and Saltzmann, 1984) to predict the performance of industrial cyclones. However,
these models were built based on the data from much smaller sampling cyclones therefore;
they could not achieve desired efficiency on industrial scales as the industrial cyclone
operates in the turbulent regime while sampling cyclones operate under the transitional
conditions. One of the major drawbacks of these empirical models is the fact that they ignore
two critical factors that determine the performance of a cyclone namely the unsteadiness
and asymmetry. Many flow phenomena such as high turbulence, flow reversal, high
Source: Computational Fluid Dynamics, Book edited by: Hyoung Woo OH,
ISBN 978-953-7619-59-6, pp. 420, January 2010, INTECH, Croatia, downloaded from SCIYO.COM

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242 Computational Fluid Dynamics

vorticity, circulating zones and downflow also occur. The empirical models do not include
these phenomena in their analysis and hence are limited in their application.
Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models on the other hand can accurately capture these
aspects and thus can take a significant role in analyzing the hydrodynamics of cyclone
separators. A validated CFD model can be a valuable tool in developing optimal design for
a given set of operating conditions. However, cyclone separators pose a peculiar fluid flow
problem. The flow in cyclone separators is characterized by an inherently unsteady, highly
anisotropic turbulent field in a confined, strongly swirling flow. A successful simulation
requires proper resolution of these flow features. Time dependent turbulence approaches
such as large eddy simulation (LES) or direct numerical simulation (DNS) should be used
for such flows. However, these techniques are computationally intensive and although
possible, are not practical for many industrial applications. Several attempts have been
made to overcome this drawback. Turbulence models based on higher-order closure, like
the Reynolds Stress Model, RSM, along with unsteady Reynolds averaged Navier – Stokes
(RANS) formulation have shown reasonable prediction capabilities (Jakirlic & Hanjalic,
2002). The presence of solids poses additional complexity and multiphase models need to be
used to resolve the flow of both the phases.
In this chapter we review the CFD simulations for cyclone separators. Important cyclone
characteristics such as the collection efficiency, pressure and velocity fields have been
discussed and compared with the experimental data. Several significant parameters such as
the effect of geometrical designs, inlet velocity, particle diameter and particle loading, high
temperature and pressure have also been analysed. The chapter discusses peculiar features
of the cyclone separator and analyses relative performance of various models. Finally an
example of how CFD can be used to investigate the erosion in a cyclone separator is
presented before outlining general recommendations and future developments in cyclone
design.

2. Basic design of cyclone separators

A cyclone separator uses inertial and gravitational forces to separate particulate matter from
gas. Accordingly various designs have been proposed in literature (Dirgo & Leith, 1986).
Figure 1 shows a schematic of widely used inverse flow cyclone and depicts main parts and
dimensions. The particle laden gas enters the cyclone separator with a high rotational
velocity. Different inlet configurations like tangential, scroll, helicoidal and axial exist to
provide high rotational velocity. Of these, the tangential and scroll configurations are most
frequent. The rotational flow then descends near the wall through the cyclone body and
conical part until a reversal in the axial velocity making the gas flow in the upwards
direction. Where this occurs is called as the vortex end position. The upward rotating flow
continues along the cyclone axis forming a double vortex structure. The inner vortex finally
leads the flow to exit through a central duct, called the vortex finder. The vortex finder
protrudes within the cyclone body. It serves both in shielding the inner vortex from the
high inlet velocity and stabilizing its swirling motion. The solids are separated due to the
centrifugal force and descend helicoidally along the cyclone walls and leave the equipment
through the exit duct.

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 243

Fig. 1. Typical design of cyclone separator

Stairmand Stairmand Lapple Swift Swift Swift

Source
(1951) (1951) (1951) (1969) (1969) (1969)
High High General High General High
Duty
efficiency throughput purpose efficiency purpose throughput
D 1 1 1 1 1 1
a/D 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.44 0.5 0.8
b/D 0.2 0.375 0.25 0.21 0.25 0.35
De/D 0.5 0.75 0.5 0.4 0.5 0.75
S/D 0.5 0.875 0.625 0.5 0.6 0.85
h/D 1.5 1.5 1 1.4 1.75 1.7
H/D 4 4 4 3.9 3.75 3.7
B/D 0.375 0.375 0.25 0.4 0.4 0.4
Table 1. Standard Geometrical Design of Industrial Cyclone Separator
For convenience, the dimensions of various cyclone parts are usually stated in
dimensionless form as a ratio to the cyclone diameter, D. This method allows a comparison
between the cyclone designs, without using the actual size of each individual part. Table 1
lists a few examples of industrial cyclone types (Leith and Licht, 1972). A more
comprehensive range of designs can be found in Cortes and Gil (2007). The performance of
a cyclone separator is measured in terms of the collection efficiency defined as the fraction
of solids separated and the pressure drop. By nature, the flow in a cyclone separator is
multiphase (gas–solid) and shows strong gas–solid–solid interactions. The gas–solid
interactions can only be neglected at very low solid loadings. Early CFD models focused on
single phase flow and turbulence interactions inside the cyclone. Multiphase CFD
simulations that account for the gas–solid and gas–solid–solid interactions and its
immediate results concerning cut sizes and grade-efficiency are relatively scarce in the

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244 Computational Fluid Dynamics

literature. The subsequent sections discuss available CFD models and their predictive
capabilities with respect to the flow field, pressure drop and collection efficiency.

3. Computational fluid dynamics models for cyclone separators

The flow inside a cyclone separator is inherently complex and poses many practical
difficulties for numerical simulations. The primary difficulty arises from the fact that the
turbulence observed in cyclones is highly anisotropic. This renders most of the first order
turbulence closures, like the popular k-ε model, unusable for reliable prediction of the flow
characteristics. Several attempts were made to overcome this limitation. Boysan et al. (1982,
1983) were one of the first to report CFD studies of cyclone flows. These early studies
realized that the standard k-ε turbulence model is not able to accurately simulate this kind
of flow and that at least a second-order closure, e.g., RSM is needed to capture the
anisotropy and achieve realistic simulations of cyclone flows. The authors found reasonable
agreement between the experimental data and simulations using a mixed algebraic-
differential, stationary RSM. Many studies have since been performed to capture the
turbulence characteristics accurately. The next section will review these in detail.
Selection of numerical parameters, especially the discretization of the advection terms, poses
an additional difficulty and plays an important role on the accuracy of simulations. First
order discretization is prone to numerical diffusion and often produces misleading results in
cyclone separator simulations. The use of hexahedral grids for the main flow region
(Harasek et al., 2004) and a second order accurate advection scheme (Bunyawanichakul et al.
2006) has shown a significant improvement in CFD predictions. The flow in a cyclone
separator is characterized by unsteady structures like secondary eddies and the precessing
vortex core (PVC). An adequate resolution in space and time is necessary to capture these
dynamic features. Early CFD studies focused on the steady state solution of the flow
(Boysan et al. 1982) due to limited availability of computational power and low spatial
resolution that resulted into artificial dampening of instabilities. With increasing
computational power, unsteady state simulations with a sufficiently resolved mesh have
become standard (Derksen et al. 2006).
Finally, the complexity arises from the presence of solids and their interaction with the gas
phase flow. Two approaches, namely the Eulerian-Eulerian approach and the Eulerian-
Lagrangian approach have been adopted in the literature to predict the multiphase flow. In
the Eulerian–Eulerian approach both the solid particles and the fluid are treated as the
interpenetrating continua. The governing equations are then formulated and solved for each
phase. This approach can account for the complex phenomena such as the agglomeration
and break-up by using a population balance model. The Eulerian-Eulerian approach
requires that the interactions between the phases are modelled and are accounted for. These
interactions are not yet well understood. The Eulerian-Eulerian approach also requires a
specification of the boundary conditions for the particulate phase mutual interaction
between particles, and interactions with the wall. In many situations, this information is not
readily available. Due to these inherent drawbacks this approach has found limited
application in cyclone separator simulation (See for example, Meier et al. 1998 and Qian et
al. 2006).
In the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach, particle trajectories are obtained by integrating the
equation of motion for individual particles, whereas, the gas flow is modelled using the
Navier-Stokes equation. The flow structures in dispersed two-phase flows are a direct result

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 245

of the interactions between the two phases. Accordingly, a classification based on the
importance of the interaction mechanisms has been proposed (Elghobashi, 1994). Depending

namely dilute and dense two-phase flow can be distinguished (See figure 2). For αp < 10–6
on the existence of mutual, significant interaction between particles, two different regimes

and L/dp > 80, the influence of particles on the gas can be neglected. This is known as ‘‘one-
way coupling’’. The influence of the particle phase is pronounced at higher volume fractions
and has to be accounted for. This is known as ‘‘two way coupling’’. For larger particles at
higher volume fraction (αp > 10–3, L/dp < 8), the interparticle interactions become important,
both through the physical collisions and indirect influence on the nearby flow field. The
collisions can lead to coalescence and break-up, which must then be considered. This regime
is frequently called the ‘‘four-way coupling’’regime. The Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is
more suited to dilute flows with one- or two-way coupling. The approach is free of
numerical diffusion, is less influenced by other errors and is more stable for the flows with
large gradients in particle velocity. The treatment of realistic poly-dispersed particle systems
is also straightforward. These attributes make Eulerian-Langrangian approach more suitable
for the simulation of gas – particle in cyclone separators. The Eulerian-Lagrangian approach
is discussed in section 1.3.2.

Fig. 2. Regimes of dispersed two-phase flow as a function of the particle volume

fraction/interparticle spacing. Adapted from Elghobashi, 1994.

3.1 Choice of turbulence model

The preceding discussion makes it clear that the choice of the turbulence model is the most
critical aspect of CFD simulation of cyclone separators. An appropriate turbulence model
should be selected to resolve these flow features. As mentioned previously, the models
based on first order turbulence closure have a limited ability for capturing the real flow.
Generally it is thought that at least a second-order closure is needed to capture the

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246 Computational Fluid Dynamics

anisotropy and achieve realistic simulations (Hoekstra et al., 1999). While stressing the need
for a higher order turbulence model, one needs to keep in mind that as we resolve larger
ranges of time and length scales, the computational requirements escalate tremendously. A
trade-off between the accuracy and speed of computation is therefore needed for practical
simulations.
Of the three available approaches to capture the turbulent characteristics, namely RANS,
LES and DNS, RANS approach are the oldest approach to turbulence modeling. In the
unsteady RANS, an ensemble averaged version of the governing equations that also
includes transient terms is solved. Turbulence closure can be accomplished either by
applying the Boussinesq hypothesis, i.e. using an algebraic equation for the Reynolds
stresses or by using the Reynolds stress model (RSM), i.e. by solving the transport equations
for the Reynolds stresses. In the LES approach, the smaller eddies are filtered and are
modeled using a sub-grid scale model, while the larger energy carrying eddies are
simulated. The DNS solves fully-resolved Navier – Stokes equations. All of the relevant
scales of turbulent motion are captured in direct numerical simulation. This approach is
extremely expensive even for simple problems on modern computing machines. Until
sufficient computational power is available, the DNS will be feasible only for model
problems; leaving the simulation of industrial problems to LES and RANS approaches.
Although LES of full-size equipment is possible, it is still costly partly due to the escalating
computational cost near the wall region. The unsteady RANS approaches are comparatively
far less expensive.
Within the RANS approach, comparative studies have been performed for different
turbulence models. Hoekstra et al. (1999) compared the relative performance of the k-ε
model, RNG k-ε model (a variation of the k-ε model based on renormalization group theory)
and Launder, Reece, Rodi and Gibson (LRRG) models (a differential RSM model). The
simulations were compared with Laser Doppler Anemometry (LDA) velocity
measurements. Tests were performed with three different vortex finder diameters, which
produced three different swirl numbers. The results for the tangential velocity are shown in
Figure 3. For all runs, the k-ε model predicted only the inner vertex structure clearly
contradicting the experimental observations showed two distinguishing vortices. The RNG
k-ε model showed significant improvement, while the RSM exhibited the best behavior.
Pant et al. (2002) and Sommerfeld and Ho (2003) have also reported similar observations.
Gimbun et al. (2005) studied the effect of temperature and inlet velocity on the cyclone
pressure drop. They compared four different empirical models, the k-ε model, and the RSM
with the experimental data. Their study of the effect of the inlet velocity on the pressure
drop found that the RSM gave the closest agreement with the experimental results. The
superiority of the RSM over other models has been established by Meier et al. (1999), Xiang
et al. (2005), Qian et al. (2006), Wan et al. (2008) and Kaya et al. (2009). These investigations
of various characteristics of cyclone separator flow field, such as velocity profiles, pressure
drop, effect of particle size, mass loading, separation efficiency, effect of pressure and
temperature, have reemphasized the ability of the RSM for realistic prediction of the flow
field inside cyclone separators.
Although, the superiority of the RSM over the other models has been established, it is still
not clear which is the most suitable form of the RSM for cyclone separator simulations as
both algebraic and differential RSMs have been employed. Between these two, the
differential form of the RSM is more accurate and should be preferred over the algebraic

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 247

Fig. 3. Comparison of tangential velocity profiles (Adapted from Hoekstra et al., 1999)
form when the extra cost of the calculation is affordable (Hogg & Leschziner, 1989). Within
the differential RSMs, the difference between a basic and an advanced differential RSM is
also of relevance. For example, Grotjans et al. (1999) compared the predictions of various
turbulence models with LDA measurements for the tangential velocity profile in an
industrial hydrocyclone. Turbulence models including two differential RSM
implementations, the basic Launder, Reece, Rodi (LRR) implementation and the advanced
Speziale, Sarkar and Gatski (SSG) implementation along with the standard k-ε and a k-ε
model modified to account for the streamline curvature (the k-ε cc model) were tested. They
found the flow field to be highly sensitive to the model choice, whereas the pressure
distribution predictions were relatively robust. The typical Rankine profile was obtained
only by means of the RSMs. The SSG model produced more acceptable results compared to
the LRR model in the lower part of the cyclone. The LRR model also underpredicted
tangential velocity near the cyclone center.
Despite a number of advances, the ability of unsteady RANS simulations with advanced
RSM to accurately predict complex flow structures has not been fully established. Only
relatively stable and ordered flows have been simulated. In order to fully establish their
viability for cyclone separator simulations, these models should be tested for conditions of
highly incoherent and variable PVC. Meanwhile, LES simulation of swirling and cyclone
flows is presently becoming a new standard (Derksen, 2008). Derksen and van den Akker
(2000) were among the first to simulate the PVC phenomenon by means of LES simulations.
The capabilities of LES to simulate the turbulent flow in a cyclone separator have been
reported by Shalaby et al. (2005), Derksen (2003), Derksen et al. (2006) and Shalaby et al.
(2008). Early simulations (Derksen & van den Akker, 2000) were limited to small scale
cyclones at a moderate inlet Reynolds number. With increasing computational power,
simulation of industrial scale equipment (with Re = 280000) have been reported (Derksen et
al. 2006). The LES approach seems to offer a very realistic simulation. However due to the
scale and complexity of today’s industrial cyclone separator simulations, the unsteady
RANS approach with higher order turbulence closures is the only practical approach that

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offers affordable realistic predictions of flow inside cyclone. It is only a matter of time that
resolved simulations using LES will become the preferred alternative. The behavior of
particles and their interaction with continuous phase is paramount in cyclone separators
and should be accounted for regardless of the turbulence models.

3.2 Eulerian–Lagrangian approach for multiphase flow

The Eulerian-Lagrangian approach is generally more suitable for cyclone separator
simulation over the Eulerian-Eulerian approach. In the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach, the
gas is treated as a continuum while the solid phase is resolved by tracking individual solid
particles (Lagrangian tracking) through the flow field. Lagrangian tracking essentially
applied the Newton’s second law of motion to a particle to determine its position. The forces
generally considered are the drag force, gravity buoyancy, virtual mass and Basset forces.
For cyclone separators only the drag and gravity forces are of significance due to the large
gas-particle density ratio. Of these, drag force, due to the relative slip between the particle
and gas, is the dominating force and is typically modeled using an empirical correlation like
the Morsi Alexander model (Morsi & Alexander, 1972).
Depending on the volume fraction, either one-way or two-way coupling is applied to
account for the interactions between the two phases. For dilute flows, the gas phase flow is
not influenced by the solid flow and Lagrangian tracking decoupled from the gas flow
calculation is sufficient. The advantage of this is that the Lagrangian tracking can be
performed as a post-processing step as a calculation using the converged and time averaged
single phase simulation. To achieve a statically meaningful solution in the simulation, a
large number of tracked particles (at least 3 × 105 particles) are required (Sturgess et al.,
1985). Furthermore, the time averaged gas flow field smooth out all the turbulent
fluctuations. Only particles of large size will behave as exclusively influenced by the time-
averaged gas flow. While very small particles will tend to fluctuate following turbulent
fluctuations (known as turbulent diffusion) of the gas velocity there will be a complete range
of intermediate behaviors between these two extremes. Turbulence fluctuations are random
functions of space and time and several ways are available to accommodate them, mostly by
including additional terms in the time averaged equation. Amongst these, the stochastic
discrete random walk model is the most popular. In this model a prefixed probability
distribution of velocity is assumed. The equation of motion for the discrete velocities and
particle sizes is solved and the average of the forces is obtained (Gosman & Ioannides, 1981).
The Stochastic Lagrangian model has been used successfully by many researchers including
Yuu et al. (1978), Boysan et al. (1982), Hoekstra et al. (1999), Sommerfeld and Ho (2003) and
Wang et al. (2006). The one-way coupling approach assumes negligible effect of particles on
the gas flow. As a result of the collection process, high local solid concentration is observed
in the near wall regions. These regions are not effectively modelled using one-way coupling.
Hence in most of the Lagrangian tracking results the computational simulations show larger
cut-sizes than those observed experimentally.
The effectiveness of the LES to accurately predict the gas flow field in cyclone separators has
been established (Derksen, 2003). Subsequently, the Lagrangian tracking has been applied to
calculate the particle flow in the LES simulations (Narsimha et al., 2006). The dynamic
nature and enormous quantity of time dependent data generated by the LES prohibits post-
priori calculation of the Lagrangian tracking and demands instantaneous tracking of a large
number of particles. Moreover, since all the turbulence length scales are not fully resolved,
the stochastic model for turbulent particle diffusion still needs to be applied. This leads to an

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 249

extremely intensive method for predicting the cyclone performance. Several alternatives
have been proposed, based on average, frozen and periodic LES-velocity fields. Amongst
these methods, the periodic approximation produces closest match to experimental data,
however, it is the most costly costly method in terms of computational requiremnts. Using
this approximation, the simulation results are much closer to the experimental data than the
classical Lagrangian tracking (Derksen, 2003).
Depending on the particle size distribution, agglomeration may also become an important
factor in predicting the cyclone efficiency. Particle sizes ranging from 1 to 10 μm tend to
agglomerate due to the turbulent flow. For this range of particle size the turbulence induced
motion is more dominant compared to that of both Brownian motion and gravitational
motions. Van der Waal forces are considerably strong enough between the particles to result
in particle agglomeration and bigger size particles. Sommerfeld and Ho (2003) observed that
the separation efficiency increased considerably for smaller particles in an agglomerating
regime. Although, the predictions were not in a perfect agreement with the measurements
regarding the grade efficiency curve, they revealed the importance of particle agglomeration
on the total separation efficiency.
At higher solid concentrations, the interactions between the two phases become significant
and a two-way coupling for the momentum between the particulate and fluid phases needs
to be considered. Traditionally, the particle-source-in cell (PSIC) model (Crowe et al. 1977) is
used for this purpose. In this model, the flow field is calculated first without the particle-
phase source terms until a converged solution is achieved. A large number of ‘‘parcels’’ (i.e.
discrete particles representing large groups with the same properties) are then tracked
through the flow field. The source terms are then obtained from these tracks for a second
Eulerian calculation of the gas flow. The procedure is repeated iteratively until convergence
is achieved. The accuracy of this method depends on the number of parcels. Typically a
minimum of 10000 to 20000 parcels are used. Computational effort also escalates as the
number of particles needed to represent the dispersed phase increases. For this reason, two-
way coupling therefore is still uncommon. Derksen et al. (2008) studied the effect of mass
loading on the gas flow and solid particle motion in a Stairmand high efficiency cyclone
separator using a two-way coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian simulation. They observed that
compared to one-way coupling the two-way coupled simulation yield higher overall
efficiencies. They found that the dependence of the separation efficiency on the inlet solid
loading is the result of two competitive two effects namely, the attenuation of the swirl,
which lowers the efficiency due to a lowered centrifugal force, and the attenuation of
turbulence, which augments the efficiency through a decreased turbulent diffusion of
particles.
The standard Lagrangian approach neglects the particle-particle interactions. However at
higher solid concentration, these interactions must be included. The discrete element
method (DEM) solves the force balance on individual particles and takes into consideration
both the particle-particle and particle-gas interactions and has been used to simulate the
motion of particles for highly dense flows (Zhu et al. 2007). This approach gives information
about the position and velocities of individual particles. Conventional DEM approaches
assume a simplified flow field and are not suitable for simulating the particle flow in
cyclone separators. Recent advances in DEM and its coupling with the CFD codes has
allowed simulation of particle flow within complex flow fields (e.g. Chu et al. 2009), but at
this stage the method remains very costly and is limited by the number and size of particles.

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4. Cyclone flow and pressure fields

The collection efficiency and pressure drop performance of the cyclone separator are a direct
result of the flow patterns of gas and solid and pressure field inside the cyclone. In a time-
averaged basis, the dominant flow feature in a cyclone separator is a vortical flow that can
be described as the Rankine vortex, which is a combination of a free outer vortex and a
forced inner vortex. Apart from the inlet gas velocity and geometrical parameters, the wall
friction and solid loading also influence the strength of the vortex. The empirical models
often neglect the later two aspects and hence are limited in their application. Computational
modelling is needed to resolve the velocity and pressure fields (Kim et al., 1990, Hoekstra et
al., 1999, Ma et al., 2000, Slack et al. 2000 and Solero et al 2002).

4.1 Axial velocity

The axial velocity of the gas phase is a major influence in the transportation of particles to
the collection device. Empirical models based on the double vortex structure postulate
radially constant values for the downward flow in the outer vortex and upward flow in the
inner vortex. Both these values are zero at the axial position where the vortex ends. In
reality, the profiles are not flat but exhibit maxima and minima. Typically the downward
flow shows a maximum near the walls, while the upward flow shows either a maximum or
a minimum at the symmetry axis. The diameter of the swirl of gas entering the vortex finder
is larger than the vortex finder diameter itself. Consequently, the gas velocity expected to
increase and peak at the vortex finder either on the centre or at the sides. This results in an
inverted V or an inverted W shaped profile as seen in figures 4a and 4b for the inner vortex.
The V pattern forms an axial velocity maximum at the vortex core of the cyclone while the
W pattern forms an axial velocity maximum at the vortex finder radius with a minimum at
the vortex core.
Figures 4a and 4b show the axial velocity profile in a cyclone separator at a horizontal
position of 0.125 m below the vortex finder for two De/D ratios of 0.3 and 0.375,
respectively. It can be seen that with relatively small difference in the dimensionless length
parameters, the axial velocity in the inner vortex region shift from a V pattern to a W
pattern. Harasek et al. (2008) studied this phenomenon by investigating the effect of the
vortex finder diameter on the axial velocity profile. Their simulation findings could not
determine the conditions when there is a transition in the velocity profile. For smaller De/D
ratio (< 0.45) the V shaped axial velocity is more stable was dominant. They also observed
temporary W patterns due to turbulent fluctuations. At higher De/D ratio (> 0.53), the
possibility of back flow occurring increases and the air from outside is more likely to be
drawn into the core due to the low pressure at the centre of the vortex. Thus, a W pattern is
more stable.
The De/D ratio is not the only factor that affects the axial velocity profile. The downstream
exit conditions, at both gas and particle outlets, have been shown to significantly affect the
reversed flow to the vortex finder and the whole internal flow. For example, Hoffmann et al.
(1996) showed that for cyclone separators with diplegs, the upward flow has a V-shape
profile. This was confirmed by the numerical study by Velilla (2005). The V-shape profile is
expected to have greater separation efficiency due to a narrower ascending flow region with
higher swirl. Some observation by Wang et al. (2006) and Liu et al. (2006) indicate that the
centre of the upward flow does not always coincide with the centre of the geometrical
cyclone. This is attributed to the chaotic flow within the cyclone. In such cases, an eccentric
vortex finder can be designed to reduce the pressure drop and weaken the chaotic flow.

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 251

(a) (b)
Fig. 4. Typical axial velocity profile (a) V pattern and (b) W pattern (Adapted from Harasek
et al. 2008)

4.2 Radial velocity

The radial velocity affects the particle bypass and is an important factor in analyzing the
particle collection and losses of efficiency. Frequently the radial velocity is assumed to be of
much lesser magnitude than the other components. However, this is valid only in the outer
vortex, and especially near the vortex finder, the radial velocity increases rapidly towards
the vortex core (Muschelknautz, 1972).
A typical example of radial velocity field is shown in figure 5. The plots are at the center of
the cyclone (figure 5a) and at cut of sections B-B and C-C (figure 5b). The radial velocity
profile at section D-D of the cyclone (figure 5c) has a helical shape. The axis of the vortex is
slightly curved and not aligned with the geometrical axis of the cyclone. It can be seen from
figure 5a that the distribution of the radial velocity is positive on one side and negative at
the other side. This is due to the non-symmetrical shape of a conventional tangential inlet
cyclone. It is also observed that the radial velocity increases sharply towards the vortex core.
Alekseenko (1999) suggests that this phenomenon is the result of vortex rotation along the
flow, in a helical shape, around the geometric axis of the cyclone. Points A and D in figure 5
show a short circuiting flow that can hinder the cyclone separator performance. Point A is
called ‘lip leakage”. It is located below the rim of the vortex finder where a radial
component of velocity flows inward directly to the vortex finder instead of flowing down
the outside wall and returning in the central core. Point D is located near the inlet duct and
the vortex finder. Just outside the vortex finder the radial velocity indicates an inward flow
from the inlet (a negative value) but due to the effect of the centrifugal force around the
vortex finder its value rapidly changes to zero and becomes positive. This results in an
instability in the cyclone and it may affect the cyclone performance.

4.3 Tangential velocity

The flow within a cyclone is dominated by the tangential velocity and strong shear in the
radial direction which results in a centrifugal force that determines the particle separation.
Subsequently, much discussion within cyclone separator studies is focused on the tangential
velocity (Cortes & Gil, 2007).

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252 Computational Fluid Dynamics

C C

D D

D
A

B B
-23.3 m/s 13.0 m/s
(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 5. (a) Contours of radial velocity at a vertical plane (b) Contours of radial velocity at
horizontal cut off section B-B and C-C (c) radial velocity profile at section D-D

B B

-7.9 m/s 5 0.95 m/s

(a) (b) (c)
Fig. 6. (a) Contours of tangential velocity at a vertical plane (b) Horizontal cut off section at
Line B-B (c) Example of comparison of numerical and experimental results for tangential
velocities (Adapted from Wang et al., 2006)

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 253

Typical contour plots of the tangential velocity in both vertical and horizontal planes are
shown in figures 6a and 6b, respectively. Figure 6c shows comparison of numerical and
experimental results for tangential velocities from Wang et al. (2006). The cyclone has an
asymmetrical shape and as can be seen from figure 6a, the axis of the cyclone does not
exactly coincide with the axis of the vortex. The Rankine vortex can also be visualized.
Figure 6b shows the plot of the tangential velocity across horizontal lines. It is observed that
the inlet speed is accelerated up but then it decreases when the gas spins down along the
cyclone wall. At a certain point flow reversal takes place and the gas flows in the reverse
direction to the exit. Before entering the vortex finder, the gas collides with the follow-up
flow and velocity decreases sharply. This causes energy loss and pressure drop. The
tangential velocity is highly dependent on the geometrical design, wall friction and particle
loading. Wang et al. (2006), Wan et al. (2008) and Raoufi et al. (2009) have demonstrated the
use of CFD in reasonably predicting the tangential velocity under varied conditions.
The temperature also has an effect on the tangential velocity (Shi et al., 2006). A minor
decrease is noticed at the area of the inner vortex with increasing the temperature. The
overall and maximum tangential velocity is also decreases on increasing the temperature. As
the gas moving toward the vortex finder, the area of inner vortex become narrower and the
outer vortex become wider. The main reasons for the changes are that on increasing the
temperature the gas density decreases and viscosity increases. Furthermore, the centrifugal
force is proportional to the square of the tangential velocity, therefore higher temperature
causes the centrifugal force to decrease hence the lower separation efficiency.

4.4 Pressure field

The pressure drop across the cyclone is a significant variable since it is directly related to the
operating costs. The pressure drop is defined as the difference between the static pressure at
the inlet and outlets. Conventional tangential inlet cyclone operations induce a spinning
motion that creates radial pressure gradients, which provide a curvature for the gas flow.
The particles usually follows these trajectories directed toward the cyclone wall. The
Pressure drop within a cyclone is contributed to by both local losses and frictional losses.
Local losses include the expansion loss at the inlet and the contraction loss at the outlet
while the frictional losses include the swirling loss due to gas to wall friction and the
dissipation loss of the dynamic energy of gas.
The total pressure drop, comprising both static and dynamic pressure, decreases on
increasing the wall friction coefficient, particle concentration and cyclone length. The
combination of the static pressure and the kinetic energy of the vortex is called the total
pressure. The viscous dissipation of the kinetic energy in the vortex finder dominates the
pressure loss within the cyclone (Dirgo, 1988 and Coker, 1993). Thus the pressure loss is
directly proportional to the dynamic pressure. About 40% of the pressure drop is due to the
swirl energy losses while the rest is from the sudden expansion at the inlet and the
contraction at the outlet duct. Any influence that increases the vortex strength will increase
the pressure loss. For example, an increase in the wall friction coefficient will increase the
pressure loss as it will decrease the velocity magnitude and will lead to decreased loss in the
vortex finder. Similarly, an increase in the wall friction will decrease pressure drop
(Hoffman et al. 1992). At increased particle concentration, the tangential velocities will be
lower and accordingly will yield a lower pressure drop.
Gimbun et al. (2005) studied the effect of the inlet velocity and particle loading on pressure
drop. They compared experimental values by Bohnet (1995) with empirical models by

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254 Computational Fluid Dynamics

Shepperd and Lapple (1939), Casal and Martinez (1983), Dirgo (1988), Coker (1993), as well
as with CFD predictions using the k-ε model and the RSM model. The result showed that
the RSM model produced the closest pressure drop prediction. The k-ε results showed a
reasonably good prediction at about 14% -18% deviation. The CFD studies on gas-solid flow
in a cyclone separator by Wang et al. (2006) using the RSM model also showed an acceptable
agreement with experimental data for Stairmand high efficiency cyclone Hoekstra et al.
(1999).

1. 77 × 105 Pa 1.82 × 105 Pa

(a) (b)
Fig. 7. (a) Contours of total pressure (b) Pressure drop comparison of CFD RSM
measurement and experimental data (Stairmand cyclone) for various inlet gas velocities
(Adapted from Wang et al., 2009)
Figures 7a and 7b show the contours of the total pressure and the pressure drop comparison
between RSM model predictions and experimental data for the Stairmand cyclone at various
inlet gas velocities, respectively. The total pressure increases in the radial direction from the
the centre to the wall of the cyclone. Flow reversal in a cyclone is due to the low pressure
centre. It can be seen from Figure 7b that the CFD simulations underpredict the pressure
drop, across the cyclone only the static pressure is considered with the dynamic pressure
being neglected. In reality swirl dissipation continues further down the cyclone outlet so
that dynamic pressure will be lost without any chance to be recovered. Consequently, the
actual pressure drop will be higher.
Any factors that may cause change in the absolute magnitude of the velocity, which in turn
changes the strength of the vortex, will affect the pressure drop in the cyclone. Generally,
the pressure drop will increase with increasing vortex strength. The pressure drop will
decrease with an increase in the wall friction coefficient, particle loading or cyclone length
(Yu et al., 1978, Parida & Chand, 1980, Hoffman et al., 1992). When the wall friction
coefficient is increased, the swirl in the separation space decreases and causes an increase in
the pressure loss. However, it also decreases the absolute velocity magnitude which results
in a decreased pressure loss at the vortex finder. The latter effect is always much higher than
the first effect and any increase in the wall friction decreases the pressure drop.
Some important processing industries such as pressurized fluidized bed combustion
(PFBC), Integrated gasification and combined cycle (IGCC) and Fluid Catalytic Cracking

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 255

(FCC) operate at high temperatures and pressures. The operating temperature and pressure
will influence the gas density and viscosity and their effect on the drag force. Therefore, for
these industries, the operating temperatures and pressures are the important parameters
that determine the pressure drop in the cyclone. Shin et al. (2005) (See figure 8) conducted
numerical and experimental study on the effect of temperature and pressure on a high
efficiency cyclone separator. They found that the pressure drop decreases at a higher
pressure and lower temperature. Higher pressures and lower temperatures increase the gas
density which in turn creates a higher dynamic pressure hence the higher pressure drop.
This trend is confirmed by similar experimental and numerical studies by Gimbun et al.
(2005) and Shi et al. (2006)

Fig. 8. Comparison of experimental and numerical result for pressure drop at a given flow
rate in a elevated pressure and temperature ( Adapted from Shin et al., 2005)

5. Collection efficiency
The fraction of solids separated at the outlet is defined as the collection efficiency. Since
cyclone separators usually handle various sizes of particles, the efficiencies are defined
according to a continuous narrow interval of particular group size particles. The swirling
motion within the cyclone separator causes large particles to travel swiftly to the cyclone
walls and roll down to the outlet. On the other hand, the smaller particles are often drifted
in upward spiral flow due to the slower speed and escape through the gas outlet. This
typically yields an S shaped curve for the collection efficiency. Particle collection is the net
effect of various forces acting on the particles. It is well known that the collection efficiency
is governed by the centrifugal, gravitational and drag forces (Blachmann & Lipmann, 1974).
Factors such as the particle-particle and particle-wall interaction also influence the cyclone
efficiency. Their effect is not yet fully understood and hence often neglected in empirical
modelling. Further, the empirical models are based on the lab scale data. Depending on the
operating conditions, the flow inside the cyclone can be laminar, transitional or turbulent for
the lab scale equipment. The actual industrial cyclones operate in the turbulent regime
where the friction and its corresponding outcomes are significant. Therefore the particle
collection efficiency models based on the lab scale data may not accurately predict the
collection efficiency for industrial cyclones. At lower mass loading (<5-10 g/m3) the

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empirical models perform reasonably well (Cortes and Gil, 2007). Many cyclone separator
systems of industrial interest such as the FCC, PFBC and CFBC are well known for handling
high particle loadings, where, the interphase and interparticle processes become important
and the predictive ability of the conventional models is poor. Numerical studies then
become necessary to achieve a better understanding of the cyclone collection efficiency.

Fig. 9. Collection efficiency model comparison: theoretical, numerical and experimental

(Adapted from Zhao et al., 2006)
A typical comparison of relative performance of computational models and conventional
models in predicting the cyclone efficiency is shown in figure 9 (Zhao et al. 2006). The
collection efficiency in a cyclone with conventional inlet (CI) and a spiral double inlet (DI)
configuration is evaluated using the unsteady RANS model with the RSM turbulence
model. These predictions are compared with the experimental data and empirical models.
Both these profiles follow the S shape with lower collection efficiencies for the smaller
particles and almost total capture of larger particles. The comparison also clearly
demonstrates the superiority of CFD model over the empirical model in calculating the
collection efficiencies. The collection efficiency is a primary measure of the performance of a
cyclone separator and depends on the operating conditions and the geometrical
characteristics. In the following subsections we look at how these affect the collection
efficiencies.

5.1 Effect of mass loading, particle diameter and inlet velocity on cyclone efficiency
Qian et al. (2006) investigated the effect of mass loading on the collection efficiency. The
results of their simulation are shown in figure 10. The collection efficiency is defined as the
ratio of mass flow rate at the inlet and outlet for a converged steady condition. It is clearly
evident that the collection efficiency increase on increasing the particle loading. The result is
consistent with most of the previous studies (like Stern et al. 1955). Different mass loading
for various particle group-sizes affect the grade efficiency differently. Smaller particle group
sizes show a higher efficiency increase compared to the larger particle size groups. These
findings are also confirmed by the simulation and experimental study by Luo et al. (1999)

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 257

and Ji et al. (2009). The increase in cyclone efficiency with solid loading is more pronounced
at lower gas velocities (Hoffmann et al. 1991, 1992).

Fig. 10. Separation efficiency simulation result for various inlet particle concentration with
constant inlet velocity (Adapted from Qian et al., 2006)
Mass loading effect is usually coupled with the particle diameter. At lower mass loadings,
the smaller particles (< 10μm) tend to be dispersed and hauled by the gas flow and escape
from the vortex finder at the top of the cyclone separator (Derksen 2003 and Wan et al.
2008). But on increasing the particle mass loading, a sweeping effect of the coarser particle
that sweeps away the smaller particles to the cyclone wall is observed. The swept particles
then roll down and are collected at the bottom of the cyclone. This effect is also responsible
for the formation of agglomerates. Agglomeration causes increased centrifugal force on the
smaller particles improving their collection efficiency. Wan et al. (2008) also note that on
increasing the particle loading, both the downward flow and the axial velocity at the centre
(in upward direction) increase. This aids in higher collection efficiency in the cyclone
separator.
The inlet gas velocity also has an effect on the collection efficiency. The effect is also tightly
related to the particle mass loading. Figure 11 shows the effect of increasing the inlet gas

efficiency increases with the inlet gas velocity. For smaller particle sizes (< 10 μm), the
velocity on the collection efficiency for a given solid loading (Ji et al. 2009). The collection

increase in the efficiency with respect to the gas velocity is more pronounced. As the particle
size increases, the effect of the inlet velocity becomes insignificant. These observations are in
line with the experimental work of Fassani et al. (2000) and Hoffmann et al. (1991). The
higher inlet velocity, results in the higher tangential velocity, thus leading to a higher
centrifugal force and collection efficiency. Patterson and Munz (1989) analyzed the effect of
several parameters including the gas temperature (300K - 2000K), inlet gas velocities (3 m/s
– 42 m/s) and particle loadings (up to 235.2 g/m3) on the cyclone efficiency. Their analysis
showed that there is an increase in the cyclone efficiency especially under high temperature
condition.

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258 Computational Fluid Dynamics

Fig. 11. Grade efficiency for different inlet velocity (Adapted from Ji et al., 2009)

5.2 Effect of geometrical configuration on cyclone efficiency

The geometrical configuration is probably the most crucial aspect affecting the performance
of a cyclone separator. The cyclone separator performance is sensitive to the smallest of
geometrical changes. Through meticulous experimentation, optimal designs of cyclone
separators have been proposed. One of the most commonly used designs is the Stairmand
high efficiency cyclone (Stairmand 1951). After almost 60 years, this design is still popular
since it manages to maintain the velocity profile at every axial point well and achieves very
high collection efficiency. The key for Stairmand high efficiency cyclone design lies on the
optimal geometrical ratio of cone length to diameter (L/D=4). Unfortunately, it is impossible
to always accommodate Stairmand cyclone in the industrial processes, therefore an optimal
design best suited for the need has to be explored. Cyclone peripherals like the dipleg and
the vortex finder also affect the performance.
Several studies on the effect of dipleg on the cyclone performance have been reported
(Hoffmann et al., 1996, Gil et al., 2002, Obermair et al., 2003 and Kaya et al., 2009). Hoffman
et al. (1996) found that the L/D ratio of 5.65 is optimal, after this, the collection efficiency
starts decreasing. Kaya et al. (2009) extended the effect of dipleg to investigate various inlet
velocities and particle diameters for smaller cyclones. They showed that cyclone
performance can be improved by adding a correct length of dipleg at the particle outlet. A
prolonged cyclone improves the collection efficiency by providing additional space for the
separation. According to their results, the optimum dipleg length would be approximately
half the height of the cyclone. Placing the vortex end – the location at which the outer vortex
changes its direction, exactly at the end of dipleg leads to high collection efficiency.
Increasing the length further causes the vortex to fall short and leads to the re-entrainment
of particle to the vortex finder thus decreasing the efficiency. Similar observations were
made by Gil et al. (2002).
The vortex finder provides another avenue for optimizing the cyclone design. The size of the
vortex finder is critical since it determines the inner and outer swirling flow pattern within a

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 259

cyclone separator. Concrete methodology is not yet available to optimize the vortex finder.
Saltzmann et al. (1984) and Iozia et al. (1989) studied the effect of vortex diameter on the
cyclone performance. Kim and Lee (1990) provide information on how the vortex finder and
cyclone body diameter affects the cyclone performance. Lim et al. (2004) evaluated different
geometries of the vortex finders to optimize the performance. Their results concluded that
with smaller vortex finder diameters, the tangential velocity in the inner region of the
cyclone increases resulting in a higher collection efficiency. These findings were supported
by Raoufi et al. (2009) using CFD modelling.
CFD modelling has opened an avenue for the cost effective optimization of the cyclone
geometry. Many geometrical designs have been proposed using CFD studies that can be
used to improve the performance of cyclone separators. The list of these modifications
include, (i) the use of different inlet types (scroll, helicoidal, axial spiral double inlet and
square cyclone inlets) can be found in Cortes and Gil (2007), Wang et al. (1999) and Zhao et
al. (2006), (ii) including a long coned (Lee et al., 2006), and (iii) the variation in body and
cone height (Xiang et al., 2005).

6. Erosion in cyclone separator

The erosion often poses a serious problem in industrial cyclone separators. It is caused by
the friction between the particles and the cyclone walls due to the continuous motion of the
particles along the cyclone wall. The erosion often leads to a physical damage to the
equipment (holes) and costly unscheduled shutdowns. Even pinholes in the wall can disrupt
the pressure balance and can cause increased emissions. The eroded wall material may also
contaminate the particles collected at the outlet. The erosion occurs due to directional or
random impingement of the solid particles and due to friction of the sliding particles against
the cyclone wall. Assuming a perfect elasticity, a particle colliding with the cyclone wall will
rebound at the same angle (in opposite direction) as it hits the wall, the erosion is minimal at
larger angles, however, at very acute angles of impingement, severe erosion results along
the cyclone wall circumference. On a flat and ductile target the greatest erosion occurs at
around 15° impingement angle (Noppenberger 2000). The erosion is proportional to the
kinetic energy of the particles hitting the cyclone wall and the intrinsic strength of the
particles. It also depends upon the angle of incidence on the cyclone wall.
At certain specific locations significantly higher erosion occurs compared to other locations,
most possibly due to high local velocity which is a function of the particle size and particle
density. The high erosion rates are also observed at the inlet. Severe erosion is also observed
inside the cylone, however, the there is no consensus on the location of this. Jones et al.
(1979) found that the area extending 180º from the inlet point has most severe erosion and
the erosion maxima is observed at angular positions of 105º, 165º, 205º and 245º from the
tangential inlet. Another study by Youngdahl (1984) found that the highest rate of erosion
occurs at 28° and near the lower edge of the inlet stream. Because a detailed velocity and
pressure fields and particle trajectories are available from an Eulerian-Lagrangian CFD
simulation, it can be used to determine the otherwise impossible locations for likely erosion
sites.
Figure 12 shows the erosion map for an industrial cyclone using (a) uniform particle size of
80µm at the inlet and (b) Rosin – Ramler particle size distribution at the inlet with average
particle size of 80µm. The results show that the particles follow a distinct path rather than

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260 Computational Fluid Dynamics

cluttering on the cyclone walls while swirling down. For the uniform particle size, most
severely eroded sites were the top part of the cyclone cylinder (near the inlet) and the cone
of the cyclone. This observation is in accordance with the experimental findings of Jones et
al. (1979) and Yongdahl et al. (1984). On using a particle size distribution, the most eroded
part in the cyclone was at the intersection between the cyclone cylinder and cone. This
demonstrates the sensitivity of the erosion to particle size distribution.

0 kg/m2/s 1.16 × 10-7 kg/m2/s

(a) (b)
Fig. 12. (a) Contours of erosion (a) with uniform catalyst size (b) Rosin-Rammler PSD

6.1 Effect of particle size distribution on cyclone wall erosion

μm to 160 μm) was simulated using the Lagrangian tracking. The resulting particle
To investigate the effect of particle size distribution, a wider inlet particle size distribution (1

trajectories are shown in Figure 13. It is clearly evident that the larger particles are collected
at the walls while the smaller particles escape downwards in spiral manner. This is because
the drag force on the smaller particles is larger than the centrifugal force preventing their
transportation to the cyclone wall. The results show that the particle with sizes < 40 µm
escape from the bottom of the cyclone after a certain residence time while the particle with
sizes > 60 µm keep spinning around the mid level for significantly longer. Wang et al. (2006)
have shown this phenomenon experimentally using ceramic balls. One possible explanation
lies in the balance of the centrifugal force versus the gravitational force. As the larger
particles roll down the conical part, the centrifugal force on the particle increases because
the radius of the cyclone decreases while the tangential velocity of the particle remain
almost the same. The larger particles will eventually be collected at the solid outlet due to
the particle-particle interaction. However, some of the particles will stay at the cyclone wall.
There also appears to be a critical value of the particle diameter below which the particle is
not expected to be collected at the outlet. The critical value of particle diameter is related to
the cyclone geometry, gas inlet velocity and particle properties.

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 261

(a) (b) (c) (d)

Fig. 13. Single particle trajectories of size (a) 5 µm b) 20 µm (c) 40 µm (d) >60 µm

6.2 Effect of particle mass loading on cyclone wall erosion

The effect of particle mass loading on the average erosion rate at different gas velocities is
shown in figure 14. The average of erosion rate gives a global measure of this quantity
within the entire cyclone. As expected, at a given gas velocity, the erosion rate decreases
with the solid loading. For a given solid loading, however, the average erosion rate increases
with gas velocity upto a certain velocity. Beyond this velocity, the erosion rate remains
constant or decreases slightly.

Fig. 14. Comparison of erosion rate with various gas and particle flow rate

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262 Computational Fluid Dynamics

At lower gas velocities, lower momentum is imparted by the gas on the particle, which
sometimes prevents a second rebound to happen and the particle is forced to stay near the
cyclone wall. Consequently, the rate of erosion is lesser at lower velocities. As the gas
velocity is increased, the particle rebound is more likely to happen. Since the particle
rebounds are not perfectly elastic, it reduces the impact angle gradually after the first
rebound, thus increasing the average erosion rate. At even higher gas velocities, the
centrifugal force on the particles increases. This makes some particles reach the cyclone wall
faster. As a consequence, a layer of slow moving particles is formed that protects the walls
from collision by other particles which then reduces the rate of erosion slightly.

7. Summary
Due to their simple and robust construction, cyclone separators are widely used in the
chemical and process industries. In spite of their simple construction, flow patterns inside
cyclones are highly complex and not fully understood. Understanding the flow is critical in
accessing their performance and CFD is a useful tool in providing this information.
However, due to the very nature of the flow, the application of CFD should be exercised
with prudence. In order to accurately resolve the unsteady nature of the flow inside a
cyclone, higher order numerical discretization along with unsteady simulation (unsteady
RANS or LES) are needed. It also requires a higher order turbulence model (atleast second
order like RSM) for the unsteady RANS simulations. For resolving the gas flow field, the
LES provides superior results than the RANS approach. However, the cost of LES is
prohibitive for the industrial-scale devices. Recent developments turbulence modelling such
as the differential RSMs have shown a light of hope to achieve LES level of accuracies at
RANS cost. However, the conditions under which the unsteady RANS solver can be used in
place of the LES need to be explored.
To obtain the particle flow, the Eulerian-Lagrangian formulation with either one way or two
way coupling should be employed. The necessity of capturing the unsteadiness of the gas
flow in combination to the flow of poly-disperse particulates demands far superior
computational power than what is currently available. Therefore, a considerable progress
needs to be made in multiphase flow simulation of cyclones. Factors like interparticle
phenomena and the boundary condition at the wall also need a careful attention. The
advances in the DEM-CFD coupled simulations will bring new insight in the calculation of
highly-loaded cyclones. Nevertheless, the two phase flow simulations have provided some
useful insight into the cyclone operations and have provoked to question the existing
theories on the particle flow and separation in cyclones.
The enormous computational requirements, even for the minimal modelling of cyclone
phenomena, have limited our ability to go beyond a simple understanding of the flow
structures, collection efficiency and global design issues. More systematic research for
addressing the other important issues, such as reasonable estimates of the cyclone natural
length and vortex finder dimensions, is needed. Furthermore, the loss of coherence in the
vortex and the ensuing chaotic flow patterns and the effect of swirl-stabilization are some of
the other topics that remain unanswered. With increasing computational power, it is
envisaged that in the near future we will be able to perform fully resolved simulations on
cyclones which will not only answer the above questions but will also advance our
knowledge of cyclone operations and even optimize them for specific operational
circumstances.

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Hydrodynamic Simulation of Cyclone Separators 263

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 Computational Fluid Dynamics
Edited by Hyoung Woo Oh

ISBN 978-953-7619-59-6
Hard cover, 420 pages
Publisher InTech
Published online 01, January, 2010
Published in print edition January, 2010

This book is intended to serve as a reference text for advanced scientists and research engineers to solve a
variety of fluid flow problems using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Each chapter arises from a collection
of research papers and discussions contributed by the practiced experts in the field of fluid mechanics. This
material has encompassed a wide range of CFD applications concerning computational scheme, turbulence
modeling and its simulation, multiphase flow modeling, unsteady-flow computation, and industrial applications
of CFD.

How to reference
In order to correctly reference this scholarly work, feel free to copy and paste the following:

Utikar, R., Darmawan, N., Tade, M., Li, Q, Evans, G., Glenny, M. and Pareek, V. (2010). Hydrodynamic
Simulation of Cyclone Separators, Computational Fluid Dynamics, Hyoung Woo Oh (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-
7619-59-6, InTech, Available from: http://www.intechopen.com/books/computational-fluid-
dynamics/hydrodynamic-simulation-of-cyclone-separators

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