AcceptedManuscript

DevelopmentofNovelHydrocycloneDesignsforImprovedFinesClassificationUsingMultiphaseCFD
Model
TejaReddyVakamalla,VeeraBhadraraoKoruprolu,RakeshArugonda,NarasimhaMangadoddy
PII:S13835866(16)321037DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2016.10.026Reference:SEPPUR
13296
Toappearin:SeparationandPurificationTechnology
ReceivedDate:28April2016RevisedDate:22August2016AcceptedDate:20October2016
Please cite this article as: T.R. Vakamalla, V.B.r. Koruprolu, R. Arugonda, N. Mangadoddy,
DevelopmentofNovelHydrocycloneDesignsforImprovedFinesClassificationUsingMultiphaseCFD
Model, Separation and Purification Technology (2016), doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2016.10.026
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DevelopmentofNovelHydrocycloneDesignsforImprovedFines
ClassificationUsingMultiphaseCFDModel
TejaReddyVakamalla*,VeeraBhadraraoKoruprolu*,RakeshArugonda*,NarasimhaMangadoddy1*
*DepartmentofChemicalEngineering,IndianInstituteofTechnologyHyderabad,India.

Abstract
Inthispaper,asetofpotentialhydrocyclonedesignsareexploredforfinesclassificationusing
ComputationalFluidDynamics(CFD)technique.TheCFDmodelusesVolumeofFluid
multiphasemodelcoupledwithReynoldsStressturbulencemodelfortwophaseflow
predictions.LagrangianParticleTrackingandAlgebraicSlipMixturemodel(ASM)modified
withshearliftforcesandslurryrheologycorrectedwithfinesfractionareusedtopredictthe
particleclassification.Conventionalcylindricalconicaldesignandvariousnovelcyclonedesigns
havingacombinationofmultipleandsmallconeangles,taperedvortexfinderandaircorefree
designsareconsideredinthisstudy.Simulationresultsarepresentedintermsofmeanand
turbulentflowfieldalongwithparticleefficiencycurve.Predictionsshowthatallthetested
noveldesignsareinherentlyhavingthepotentialforfinercutseparationandhighertangential
velocitycomparedtotheconventionaldesign.Cyclonedesignwithasmallconeangleisfurther
modifiedbyplacingvarioussizesofrodsatthecenteraxisofthecyclone.Multiphase
simulationswithmodifiedASMmodelarealsocarriedoutforthemultipleconeanglesdesign,
standarddesign,andthemodifiedsmallconeangledesignwithfulllengthrodat15wt%of
solids.Performancebymultiphasesimulationsshowthatmultipleconeanglesdesignand
modifiedsmallconeangledesignwiththefulllengthrodarethebestamongthetesteddesigns
yieldinghighseparationefficiency,smallercutpointandminimumcoarseparticlemisplacement
duetoresultantturbulenceminimization.
Keywords:Aircore,CFD,Cutdiameter,Design,Hydrocyclone,Multiphase
1Correspondence:DepartmentofChemicalEngineering,IndianInstituteofTechnologyHyderabad,Kandi502285,India.E
mailaddress:narasimha@iith.ac.in.Tel.:+914023016086;fax:+914023016032.

1
1.Introduction
Hydrocyclonesarewidelyusedinmineralprocessing,food,pharmaceuticalandchemical
industriesduetoitssimpledesign,highthroughput,andlowoperationalandmaintenancecosts.
Flowbehaviorinsidehydrocyclonesiscomplexandthecompleteunderstandingofmultiphase
behaviorofhydrocyclonestillremainsaresearchproblem.Conventionalhydrocyclonedesign
consistsofatangentialinlet,cylindricalsection,vortexfinder,spigot,andconicalsectionwitha
certainangleresponsibleforflowreversaltherebyflowsplit.Optimizingthedesignparameters
mayhaveachancetoimprovethehydrocycloneperformance,indicatedbyasetofdesired
performanceindices;cutdiameter,watersplittounderflowandsharpnessofseparation.
Exploringnovelhydrocyclonedesignsthroughtheexperimentalapproachisanexpensiveand
timeconsumingprocess.ComputationalFluidDynamics(CFD)isprovenasanefficienttoolto
explorenewdesignsvirtuallyinthepast[15].
Finesgenerationinvariousmineralindustriesisincreasingdaybydaywithanincreaseddemand
inproductionandtreatmentoflowgradeores.Bulkproducedfinesseparationrequireslarge
hydrocyclonestohandlehighthroughputsbutwithsmallcutsizeseparations.Usuallythe
conventionalhydrocyclones,havinghighcutpointsandcoarseandfinesizeparticleentrainment
issues,arerestrictedtoclassifyfineswithhighefficiency.Thisrequiresachangeinthedesign
philosophyofhydrocyclonestotreatfineswithaminimumturbulenceonparticles.Fines
misplacementtounderflowoccursduetotheinsufficientdragforceoffineparticlestoresistthe
movementalongwithfluid.Entrainmentoffineorslowsettlingparticlesbetweenthecoarseror
fastersettlingparticlesdischargedastheunderflow.Therefore,reducingthewatersplitto
underflowmayminimizethefinesmisplacement.Reducingtheconeanglemayalsodecreasethe
watersplittounderflow[6].Usuallysomeofthecoarseparticleswithwateralsomovealongthe
wallnearthevortexfinderandjointheoverflowasthecoarsemisplacementinthe
hydrocyclone.ThroughCFDstudies,Rajamanietal.[7]andBrennanetal.[8]haveobserved
thatabout1218%ofthefeedslurryisusuallyshortcircuitingtotheoverflowinconventional
hydrocycloneswithoutbeingsubjectedtocentrifugalaction.Itisbelievedthattheareabetween
cylindricalwallandvortexfinderactstoprovidepreliminaryseparationinhydrocyclones.
Alteringthecylindricalsection[9]orvortexfinderdesign[10,11]mayalsominimizethecoarse
2
particlemisplacement.Alternativeapproachistoincreasethetangentialvelocitybyalteringinlet
designs[2,5],therebyenhancingthecentrifugalforcestoimprovethefineparticleseparation.
IthasbeenobservedthatthemultiphaseCFDmodelshavepotentialtoprovidequickand
reliableroutetosimulatenoveldesignsforhydrocycloneperformancepredictions.TheseCFD
modelsallowustopredicttheperformanceofahydrocyclonebystudyingtheclassification
processintermsofaircoreposition,turbulenceanalysisandparticlesizesegregation[8,1219].
DelgadilloandRajamani[9]haveexploredsixnovel75mmhydrocyclonedesignsbymodifying
thecylindricalchamberandtheconeangle.TheyhaveutilizedtheCFDmodelconsistofLarge
EddySimulation(LES)turbulencemodelcoupledwithVolumeofFluid(VOF)multiphase
modelforwaterairflowandthediscretephasemodel(DPM)forparticleclassification.The
predictedseparationefficiencyandcutpointresultswerecomparedwiththestandard
hydrocyclonedesigndata.Thisexplorationstudyyieldstwonoveldesignswithsmallercutsize
andbetterseparationefficiencycomparedwiththestandarddesign.Vieiraetal.[20]replacesthe
conicalwallof30mmhydrocyclonewithafilteringwallandobservedtheimproved
efficiencies.IntheirrecentCFDstudies,VieiraandBarrozo[21]usingdifferentvortexfinder
diametersforthemodifiedhydrocyclone,demonstratedthatsmallvortexfinderdiametercanbe
usedfortheseparationoffineparticles.Howeverthesimulationswereperformedinatwo
dimensionalgeometrylackingrealisticturbulentflowconditionsofcyclonicflow.
Yangetal.[22]alteredthehydrocyclonedesignfromsingleconetodoubleconewith
multiplecombinationsandstudiedtheclassificationperformancebybothCFDandphysical
experiments.Itwasobservedthatanglebetweentwoconesplaysasignificantroleforflowsplit
andseparationefficiency,butithasminimaleffectonthecutdiameter.Inclusionofconicaltop
platenearthevortexfinderof20mmhydrocyclonewasmadethecirculationflowreductionand
enhancementofthetangentialvelocity[2].TheyusedDPMmodelforparticletrackingand
foundanimprovementinthecutsizeof412%comparedtotheconventionalvortexfinder
design.Hwangetal.[23]modifiedtheinletandvortexfinderdesignsforfineparticleseparation.
Thesedesignsconsistsnumberofinletschangedfrom1to4withproportionallyreducedinlet
size,resultedhighcentrifugalforcesalongthecylindricalsection.Theyhavealsousedconical
vortexfinderandguidedchannel,whichwereresultedintheincreasedefficiencylevels.Butin
3
thecaseofguidedchanneltherewasnoclearinformationaboutcutsizealteration.Ghodratetal.
[1]usedtheCFDtooltomodifythe75mmhydrocycloneconicalsectionwiththelongconvex
andconcaveshapebodies.Itwasobservedthattheconvexconicalsectionishavingbetter
separationperformanceandreduceswatersplittotheunderflowthantheconventional
hydrocyclone.Innerconehydrocyclonedesignprovideslongerresidencetimesandmorestable
flowfieldforimprovedseparationthantheconventionaldesign[24].Recentlythey[25]also
studiedtheeffectofcoalparticlesizeanddensityontheseparationefficiency.Theyobserveda
reductionintheseparationefficiencyofparticlewithareductionintheparticledensity.
Aircoreisoneofthemostimportantflowcharacteristicsinhydrocyclone[26].Ithas
strongeffectonflowfield,performanceandcutsize.Mostoftheresearchworksdealtwiththe
measurementofaircoreshapeandsizeofagivenhydrocyclone[2731].Butfarlessattention
hasbeenpaidontheaircoreinfluenceonseparationefficiencyandcutsize[32,33],whichare
thefundamentalfunctionofhydrocycloneandpotentiallyhaveprofoundconsequencesfor
developmentofimproveddesigns.Xuetal.[34]reportedthataircoreeliminationinthe
cyclonescanimprovetheseparationefficiency.LeeandWilliams[35]conductedexperiments
ona44mmhydrocyclonewithsolidrodsofvariousdiametersandlengthtosuppresstheaircore
havegivenacontradictorystatement.Theyreportedaircoreeliminationleadingtodecrementin
theefficiencyratheranimprovement.Chuetal.[36]experimentallystudiedtheeffectofsolid
insertiontoeliminatetheaircoreina75mmhydrocycloneusingLaserDopplerAnemometer
(LDA)intermsofthemeanandfluctuatingvelocitycomponents.Itwasreportedareductionin
themeanandturbulentcomponentsofaxial,radialvelocities,andcutdiameteroftheseparation.
Animprovementinthesharpnessofseparationwiththeaircoresuppressiondesignwasalso
observed.Efficiencyofthehydrocyclonealsodependsonthesolidroddiameterusedtosuppress
theaircore.Chuetal.[36]explainedthereasonbehindtheefficiencydecrementofLeeand
Williamswork[35]toattributethedisturbedflowduetorodinsertioncase.Sripriyaetal.[31]
performedanexperimentalstudyina100mmhydrocycloneonaircoresuppressionbyplacing
thesolidrodinthecenterandreportedsimilarresultswithreductioninthecutdiameter.Evans
etal.[37]alsostudiedtheeffectofsolidrodinsertioninthecenterof45mmhydrocyloneusing
ReynoldsStressModel(RSM)asturbulencemodel.Theyobservedthatthe4mmdiametersolid
rodimprovestheefficiencywhereas6mmdiametersolidroddecreasestheefficiency.Therefore
4
suitableselectionoftheroddimensionsisveryimportant.Itwasalsolearntthatinsertionofthe
roddecreasesthefrictionallossesbetweentheairandwater,whichinturnconvertedtoincrease
thekineticvortexmotionofthefluid;therebyanimprovedefficiencyisexpected.

1.1Presentwork
Aimofthepresentpaperistoexploreanumberofpotentialnoveldesignscomputationally,for
highthroughputandfinercutsizeseparationwithareductioninthecoarseandfineparticle
misplacement.Predictedperformanceofthenoveldesignsarecomparedwiththeconventional
cylindricalconicalstandardcyclonedesign.Thefluidflowisassessedintermsofmeanand
turbulentflowfield,aircoresizeandturbulenceintensityprofiles.Particulatephaseissimulated
bybothDPMandAlgebraicSlipMixture(ASM)multiphasemodelsusingANSYSsFluent
withhelpofmodifieduserdefinedfunctions(UDF).Particleclassificationperformanceof
variousdesignsisanalyzedfundamentallyusingsizewisedistributionsandLocusofZero
VerticalVelocities(LZVV)insidethecyclonefromthemultiphaseCFDsimulationsatmoderate
solidsconcentrations.

2Descriptionofdesigns
TheinvestigationofvariousflowbasedesignconceptsusingacomprehensiveCFDmodelis
targetedtoreducetheshortcircuitingofparticlestobothoverflowandunderflow,minimizethe
turbulencelevelsinsidethehydrocycloneandmaximizethethroughputandtherebyreducingthe
cutsizewhileseparatingvarioussizeparticlesthroughaclassifyinghydrocyclone.
Inordertoreducethecoarseparticlesmisplacementaroundthevortexfinderwallsatapered
vortexfinder(frustumshape)withvariousthicknesslevelsarereplacedinplaceofregular
straightvortexfindertube.Similarlyinordertoreducethefinesmisplacement,inthiswork,the
conventionaldesignsaremodifiedtolongerconicalbodieshavingsmallconeanglesections.
Smallconeanglesectionspotentiallycanreducethewatersplittounderflow,hencereductionin
thefinesentrainment.Forfinecutseparation,highthroughput,andincreasedsharpnessof
separation,thestandardhydrocyclonedesignistargetedtomodifywithlongconicalsectionsand
parabolicbodies.Longerbodiesmayprovidesufficientresidencetimeforfineparticles,sothat
particlescanbeseparatedefficientlyinthepresenceofcentrifugalforces.Inordertoreducethe
5
turbulenceintensitylevels,therebyfinecutseparationisaimedwiththehydrocyclonemodified
byplacingrodsofdifferentlengthsanddiameteratthecenter.Alltheabovementioneddesigns
arestudiedinthisworkandexploredfortheirabilitytoclassifyfineparticlesatimproved
separationlevels.Selectionofexactspecificationsismadefromtheauthorsindustrial
experienceintargetingtheminimalturbulence,enhancedresidencetimeofthefineparticlesand
minimalshortcircuitingflowalongthevortexfinderwalls.Geometricvariablesofconventional
D2designareshowninFig.1.Completedimensionaldetailsofallthemodifieddesignsusedin
thisstudyarepresentedinTable1.
Fig.1:Representationofgeometricalvariablesintheconventionaldesign

2.1Multipleconeangledesign(D1)
Theproposedgeometry,D1designconsistsoftangentialfeedport,taperedvortexfinderwitha
shortcylinderfollowedbytwoconicalsectionswithanglesof200and100asshownFig.2(a).
Taperedvortexfinderwithcertainwallthicknessmayincreasetheresidencetimeofcoarse
particles,thusreducetheshortcircuitingofcoarsefractiontotheoverflow.Thesmallconeangle
sectionsincreasethefluidresidencetimeandkeepsthevortexflowforlongwilleventually
reducetheamountofwatersplittotheunderflow.Thereforeareductionoffinefraction
6
misplacementcanbeexpectedintheunderflow.Inthisdesign,becauseoftwocones,thereis
minimalchangeintheouterconicalwalls.Hence,themeantangentialvelocityfieldtransitions
smoothlythroughoutofthehydrocyclonebody.

2.2Standarddesign(D2)
ItisastandardconventionalcylindricalconicaldesignasshowninFig.2(b).Thesizeofthe
innerdiameterofvortexfinderismaintained0.4timesofthehydrocyclonediameter.
Hydrocycloneconeangleis200.Spigotsizevaries0.2timesofhydrocyclonediameter.Cone
forceratio(ratioofspigottovortexfinderdiameter)iskeptas0.5,asdescribedbyBradley[38].

2.3Smallconeangledesign(D3)
Theproposedgeometry,D3isamodificationtostandardgeometry(D2)withasmallconeangle.
Itconsistsoftangentialfeedport,taperedvortexfinder(smallerthicknesscomparedtoD1)with
shortcylinderfollowedbylongconicalsectionhavingconeangleof100.Smallconeangle
designalsoproducesapossiblesharperseparationathighunitcapacitybecauseoflongconical
body[5].Longercylindricalbodiesmayalsoprovidesufficientresidencetimeforthefine
particlestogetseparatedtorightproductcomparedwithshortcylindricalbodycyclones[39].
2.3.1Aircorefreedesigns(D3_1,D3_2,D3_3)
Itisknownthatturbulenceplaysanimportantroleforthefinesclassification.Mostofthefines
below10micronsfollowthewatervorticesformedbecauseofturbulence,leadingtomixingof
thefinesratherseparatingthembysize.Inordertoreducetheturbulenceintensitylevelsand
minimizethepressurelosses,andtherebyenhancethesharpnessofseparation,theD3designis
furthermodifiedtoeliminateaircorebyplacingarodofdifferentlengths,diameters,andshapes
atthecenter.Theroddiametertechnicallyshouldreplaceonlytheaircoresize,butforthesake
flowstability,asmallersizerodthantheaircoreisused.Foragivendesignandoperating
conditions,thesizeoftheaircorecanbecalculatedusingtheapproachdescribedbyNarasimha
etal.[26].FortheD3designoperatingwithonlywater,theestimatedaircoresizeisaround15
mm.Theselectedrodsizeof12mmisusedforaircoreeliminationinthisdesign.DesignD3_1
isthemodifieddesignofD3witharodof12mmatthecenterfromvortexfindertospigot.
DesignD3_2isthemodifieddesignofD3witharodof12mmatthecenterhavingalength
7
fromthespigottothecylindricalconeintersection.D3_3ismodifieddesignofD3witha
taperedrodofsize2512mm,varyingthesizefromvortexfindertiptospigotsection
respectively.Aircoreeliminationmayimprovethetangentialvelocitybyreducingthepressure
lossesbetweentheairandwaterinthehydrocyclone.
Fig.2:Numericalgridofdesign(a)D1(b)D2(c)D3(d)D3_1(e)D3_2(f)D3_3(g)D4(h)D5
usedinthesimulation

2.4Parabolicbodydesign(D4)
Theproposedgeometry,D4isanoveldesignwiththeparabolicbodyendingwithasmallcone
angle.Itconsistsoftangentialfeedport,taperedvortexfinder(thicknessequaltoD3design)
withveryshortcylinderfollowedbylongparabolicsectionendingwithanangleof10
0

nearthe
spigotsection.Withthisnoveldesign[40],itisexpectedafurtherreductionintheturbulence
intensitylevelsofflowduetosmoothbodychangethroughoutthehydrocyclonelengthunlike
thesuddenchangefromcylindricaltoconicalshapeintheconventionaldesigns.

2.5Modifiedstandarddesign(D5)
Suggestedgeometry,D5isanaltereddesignofD2withamodificationprimarilyintheconical
section.Itconsistsconventionaldesignhavingachangeinthevortexfinderi.e.taperedwithan
angleof20,similarcylindricalsection,andconicalsectionwithanangleof100.Itistargetedto
(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)

8
decreasethecoarseparticlemisplacementthroughtaperedvortexfinderwallsandreductionin
thefinesmisplacementbecauseoflowerconeangles.
Table1:Dimensionaldetailsofvarioushydrocyclonedesigns(inmm)usedinthesimulations
Design
Geometricalparameter
diameter
(D
c

Inletdiameter
(D
i

Vortexfinderdiameter
(D
v

Spigot
Vortex
diameter
(D
s

Cylinderlength(L
cyl

finderlength
(L
v

Insertedroddiameter
D110215.723.72020,10100.460
D210220.840.820.420168.364
D310219.426.52151011274.7
D3_110219.426.52151011274.712
D3_210219.426.52151011274.712
D3_310219.426.52151011274.72512
D410219.426.52151011274.7
D510219.426.52151025274.7

3.Methodology
Schematicofthevarioushydrocyclonedesignsandmeshesusedforthesimulationstudiesare
displayedinFig.2.Allthe3DunstructuredhexahedralmeshesaregeneratedusingANSYS
ICEMmeshingtool.FlowgoverningequationsintermsofNavierStokesequationsaresolved.
AircoreatlowpressurecenterregionisresolvedbyVOFmethod.Turbulenceismodelledusing
quadraticpressurestrainbasedRSM.Themodelequationsandstrategyforsimulatingaircore
andflowfieldaresimilartoNarasimhaetal.,[41]andBrennan[42].

3.1VOFModel
Cone)
)
)
)
angle()
)
)
9
VOFmodelisanumericaltechniqueusedfortrackingtheinterfacebetweenfreesurfaces[43]
bysolvingthemomentumequation(1).Continuityequation(2)issolvedforthevolumefraction
oftheair(
q

)andthistracksthepositionoftheaircoreinthisproblem.Inthiswork,geometric
reconstructionschemewithpiecewiselinearapproachisusedtotracktheinterfacebetweenair
andwater.Inpiecewiselinearapproach,theinterfacebetweenairandwaterisassumedtohave
alinearslopewithineachcellandusesthelinearshapeforcalculationofadvectionoffluids
throughthecellphases.
(uj)t+(
uuixjj)

=p
xj+g
j

+
xj
+uixjuj

xi

(1)
qt+uj

q
xi

=
0
(2)
q
isvolumefractionofq
th
phasewhichvariesbetween1and0.
j
th

componentofthe
velocity.Aconstantof0.078N/misusedforthesurfacetensionbetweenairandwater.The
averagedensity,viscosityarecalculatedbythefollowingmanner
(1)(1)
uisj
=water+

air=water+

air

(3)

3.2RSMModel
TurbulenceismodelledusingRSM.IntheRSMmodel,unsteadytransportequationsgiven
below
aresolvedforindividualReynoldsstresses
uiuj

[44].Pressurestrainissolvedusingthequadratic
modelproposedbySpezialeetal.[45].
t(uuij)+

x
k
(ukuuij)
=ij+Pij+DT,ij+DL,ij
ij+

F
ij

(4)
Here
ij

ispressurestrain,
Pij

isstressproduction,
DT,ij

isturbulentdiffusion,
DL,ij

ismolecular
diffusion,
ij

isdissipation,
Fij

isproductionbysystemrotationismodeledbythefollowingto
closetheequations.
10
 1ij=(C1+C1p)bij+C2bikbkj3bmnbmnij
+(C
3C3
bijbij)
kSij

+
C4kbikSjk+bjkSik2
3bmnSmnij

+C
5

k(bikjk+bjk
ik

)
(5)
pij=uuikujxk
+
uu
jk

u
i
x
k

D
=
x
uux

=L,ijij
kk
T,
ijt
ij

,k0.82kkk
=

ij=2
3ij

(6)
Where
ij

Dx
x
uu
bistheReynoldsstressanisotropytensor,
ij

ismeanrateofrotationtensor,
Sij

ismean
strainrate,
t
isturbulentviscosity.Turbulentviscosityiscomputedfromthekineticenergyand
dissipationratetransportequationsaspermodelandconstantsusedinthequadraticpressure
strainare
C1
=3.4,C1*
=1.8,
C2
=4.2,
C3
=0.8,C3*
=1.3,
C4
=1.25,
C5
=0.4.
TwophasewaterandairsimulationsarerunusingVOFmultiphasemodelcoupledwith
RSMturbulencemodelforaphysicaltimeof20secondsforthesolutionconvergence.Allthe
resultsreportedinthepaperaretimeaveragedoverfewthousanditerationsequivalentto
approximately2sofphysicaltimeafterthesolutionconverged(Netmassflowratebetween
feed,overflowandunderflowisoscillatingaroundzerovalue).Oncethesolutionisconverged,
thesolidparticlesofdifferentsizeswithadensityof2650kg/m3aretrackedusingDPM.

3.3DPMModel
InthismodelLagrangianreferenceframeisusedtosolvethepropertiesofdiscrete/dispersed
phaseparticlesalongwithcontinuousphase,whichissolvedinEulerianreferenceframeusing
NavierStokesequationasdescribedinaforementionedsection.Largenumberofspherical
particlesaretrackedwhichincludediscretephaseinertia,hydrodynamicdrag,gravitationalforce
andshearliftforcesforbothsteadyandunsteadyflows.5
th

RungeKuttascheme[46]isusedto
integratetheparticleequationsofmotion.DiscreteRandomWalkmodel(DRW)isusedto
predictthedispersioneffectontheparticlesduetoturbulenteddiespresentinthecontinuous
phase.BasicassumptionsbehindtheDPMisthepresenceofdispersedphasevolumefractionis
11
verylow,eventhoughmassloadingishigher,particleparticleinteractionsandtheeffectsofthe
particlevolumefractionontheliquidphasearenegligible.Thismodelisnotsuitableifthe
volumefractionofsecondaryphaseishigh.DPMinvolvespredictionofdiscretephaseparticle
trajectorybyintegratingforcebalanceintheLagrangianreferenceframebyequatingparticle
accelerationtoforcesactingontheparticle.
dupdt
=FD(uu
p

)+g
(p

)
(7)
F
D

=18

pd
p2

C
DRep

24
(8)
Re
=
du
u
(9)
where
ppp

FD(uup

)
isdragforceactingontheparticle,
CD

isdragcoefficient,uiscontinuous
phasevelocity,
p

isparticledensity,isfluiddensity,isfluid
viscosity,Re
p

uisparticlevelocity,
p

istheparticulateReynoldsnumber.

3.4ASMmodelwithadditionalforcesandrheologicalmodels
Inmultiphasesimulations,themultiphasemodelisswitchedoverfromVOFtoASMmodel
beforeintroducingsolidparticleswithfullsizedistributionasdispersivephase.Thebasic
assumptionbehindtheASMisthatdispersedphasesareinequilibriumwithcontinuousphase
andsuchdispersedphasesacceleraterapidlytoterminalvelocity.ASMisasimplifiedEulerian
multiphaseCFDmethodologywheretheequationsofmotionaresolvedfortheslurrymixture
andtransportequationsforthevolumefractionsofparticulatephasespdispersedthroughouta
continuouswaterphasecarealsosolved
tp+xi(+
=
(10)=

)(,
)
,
puixi

pu
pmi

0
upmiupiui

12
whichPhasesegregationinequation(10)isaccountedforu
pm,i

isthedriftvelocityofthephasep
relativetothemixturem.Thisisrelatedtotheslipvelocityu
pc,i

,whichisthevelocityofthe
phaseprelativetothecontinuouswaterphasecbytheformulation
(11)
u
pc,i
pmipci
nl=

k
k
m
lci
pcipici

2(18
u=u
u
1u=u
u
iscalculatedalgebraicallyinManninenetal.[47]treatisebyanequilibriumforcebalance
andisimplementedinAnsyssFluentinasimplifiedform.InthisworkFluenthasbeenused
withthegranularoptionsandtheslipvelocitycalculationhasbeenmodifiedtoinclude(i)a
sheardependentliftforcebasedonSaffmansexpression[48]
upci=)

*0.75
(12)
Equation(12)hasbeenimplementedinFluentasacustomslipvelocitycalculationusingauser
definedfunction.f
repd
ppm

frepc
+gitumiumjx

jumi
rep(10.15Re
p0.687)
p4.65pc

m
Clpijk
mju
pck

hasbeenmodelledwiththeSchillerNaumanndraglaw[49]butwithan
additionalcorrectionfactorforhinderedsettlingbasedontheRichardsonandZakicorrelation
[50]
(13)
(14)
Theliftforceisamechanicalforce,generatedbysolidparticlesastheymovethroughafluid,
directedperpendiculartotheflowdirection.Theinclusionofliftforcesfortheslipcalculation
willaccounttheeffectshearforcesatwallonparticles.Theliftforceexpressionderivedby
Saffmanfortheliftforce[48]onasingleparticlewasusedhere
(15)
Theliftcoefficient(C
lp

f=+
Re
p

=
dp
cupc
c
Flpi=
8
c

d3
pClpijkmju
pck

)hasbeencalculatedas
13
Clp=4.1126cd
p

2
c

f
c

(16)
f
c

correctstheliftcoefficientusingthecorrelationproposedbyMei[51].Thisequationis
implementedinANSYSsFluentTMbyamodifiedslipvelocity(u
pci

)userdefinedfunction
(UDF).Theslipvelocityoftheairphaseisdisabledandassumedtobezero.Herep
isthe
volumefractionofparticles,isthedragcoefficient,(m)isthediameteroftheparticle,
,(kg/m3)arethecontinuousphaseandparticlephasedensity,istheReynolds
number,(kg/ms)isthecontinuousphaseviscosity,(m/s2)isi'componentofgravity,
isthepermutationtensor,isthevorticityofthemixture.
Slurryrheologyplaysavitalrolefortheparticlesettlingingravity/centrifugalfieldat
highsolidsconcentration.ThereforetheworkhasbeencarriedoutwithNewtonianviscosity
modelcorrectedwithfinefractionsbelow38m[17]tostudytheparticleclassificationinthe
hydrocyclone.Theequation(17)wasobtainedbycalibratingagainstthemeasuredviscositydata
ofvariousmineralslurries.Here
m

f
rep

d
p

c

p
Re
p

g
i

ijk

mj

,
w
isthemixtureandwaterviscosity.

m
w

=1

0.62p

1.55

(F
38

)
0.39
(17)

3.5Numerics
Inallthesimulations,theinletissettouniformvelocityandoutletissettoatmosphericpressure
boundaryconditionwithanairbackflowvolumefractionequaltounity.Sothataircanbe
drawnbackfromboththeoutletswhichenablethesimulationtogenerateaircoreduetolow
pressureregionatthecenter.Aboundedcentraldifferencingschemeisusedtodiscretize
momentumequations.PressureinterpolationiscalculatedbyusingPRESTO.QUICKschemeis
usedtosolvedispersedphasetransportequations.SIMPLEmethodisusedforthepressure
velocitycoupling.Fixedtimestepof1.0104sisusedinallthesimulations.Meanflowfield
data
arecalculatedbyrunningthesimulationsoverafewthousandtimestepsafterthesolution
converged.IntheDPMmodel,nearly2000particleswithuniformsizeandsphericity(0.8)are
14
injectedacrossfeedboundaryintotheconvergedflowfield.Sphericityisusedtoaccountthe
particleshapeeffectonthedragforceandtosimulaterealisticbehaviorofparticles.Grid
independencecheckwithrespecttomeantangentialandaxialvelocityforD3designwith3
differentmeshesof100354,203399and303098nodesisshowninFig.3.Itcanbeobserved
that,velocitypredictionsof203399and303098areclosetoeachother.Therefore,simulations
arefurthercontinuedwith203399nodesforD3design.
(a)

(b)

15
Fig3:GridindependencecheckforD3geometryintermsof(a)Tangentialvelocitiesand(b)
axialvelocities

4.Results
4.1Velocitypredictions
4.1.1Tangentialvelocity
ThepredictedmeantangentialvelocityprofilesofnoveldesignsD1,D2,D3,D4,andD5atthe
midsectionofhydrocyclonearedisplayedinFig.4(a).ItcanbeseenfromtheFig.4(a)thatat
agivenfeedflowrate,thetangentialvelocitiesofallthedesignsexceptD4arehigherthanthe
conventionalD2design.Predictedpressuredrop(betweenfeedtooverflow),asshowninTable
2,ishavingadirectimplicationonthetangentialvelocityprofilesinthehydrocyclones.D1and
D3designsarepredictingthehigherpressuredrops,leadingtosuperiortangentialvelocity
componentscomparedtootherdesigns.Thisincreasedtangentialvelocityisresponsibleforhigh
centrifugalforce,whichmayleadtoanimprovedperformanceforfineparticleseparation
throughD1andD3designs.DesignD1showspeculiarbehaviorwithveryhightangential
velocitythroughoutthehydrocyclonebodybecauseofthetwocones.DesignD4spredicted
pressuredropisslightlyhigherthanthedesignD2.Eventhoughthereisslightimprovementin
thepressuredropdata;thepredictedtangentialvelocitycomponentinD4islowerthantheD2.
Thereasoncouldbeattributedtotheparabolicbodyshape,whichmighthaveincreasedflow
crosssectionalareacomparedtoD2design.Gforces(ratioofcentrifugaltogravitationalforces)
arecalculatedforallthedesignsanddisplayedinTable2.
ThepredictedmeantangentialvelocitiesofthemodifiedD3designsi.e.D3_1,D3_2,D3_3are
alsopresentedinFig.4(b).Onecannoticethatthemodifieddesignswitharodplacingatthe
centerimprovethetangentialvelocitiesexceptintheD3_3design.Eliminatingtheaircorewith
arodatthecenterreducesthefrictionallossesbetweentheairandwaterattheinterface,which
inturnincreasesthekineticenergy,i.e.improvesthetangentialvelocitycomponent.As
explainedintheliterature[37],theselectionofsuitableroddiameterandlengthisimportant.
Thedesignwiththetaperedrod(D3_3)decreasesthetangentialvelocity.Reasonbehindthe
16
reductionoftangentialvelocitycomponentcouldbeascribedtotherodwithhighercross
sectionalenddiameter,whichmightbedisturbingtheflowfieldasshowninFig.5.Itcanbe
observedthat,meanvorticityvectorsofD3_3designshowsadisturbanceintheflowfieldnear
thevortexfinder.Asuddenincreaseintheradialvelocitiesalsoconfirmsthataflowfield
disturbanceisobservednearthevortexfinderinD3_3design.Therefore,reductioninthe
velocitiesdespiteasignificantincreasewiththepressuredropsisobservedinthesimulations.
(a)

(b)

17
Fig.4:Meantangentialvelocitiesof(a)modifieddesignscomparedwithstandarddesign(b)air
coreeliminateddesignsatfixedwatermassflowrateof1.664kg/s.
Fig.5:(a)Meanvorticityvectorsand(b)MeanradialvelocitycontoursofD3_1,D3_3designs.
4.1.2Axialvelocity
TheCFDpredictedmeanaxialvelocityprofilesofnoveldesignsD1,D2,D3,D4,andD5atthe
midsectionofthehydrocyclonearedisplayedinFig.6(a).Itcanbeobservedthatthechangein
(a)

D3_1D3_3
D3_1D3_3

(b)

18
meanaxialvelocitycomponentofthetesteddesignsincomparisonwiththeconventional
hydrocyclonedesignisveryminimal.Thismightcauseaminorchangeinthewatersplittothe
underflowasshowninTable2.Similartotangentialvelocityprofile,theaxialvelocity
componentpredictionsofD1designalsoshowsapeculiarbehavior.Asuddendipintheaxial
velocitycanbeobservednearthesecondconeregion.Allthedesignsshowmaximumpositive
axialvelocitiesatthecenterandmaximumnegativevelocitiesnearthewallregion.Itindicates
thatallthenewdesigns(D1,D3,D4andD5)mayhavepotentialforfinecutsizeseparation.Fig
6(b)showsthepredictedmeanaxialvelocitiesofthemodifiedD3designs(D3_1,D3_2,D3_3)
incomparisonwithD3designsprofile.Asmallincrementintheaxialvelocitiesofmodified
designsobserved.Thismayhelptheparticlestoseparatewithslightimprovedseparation
efficiencylevelthantheconventionalhydrocyclonedesign.Thereasonforfinercutsizeis
explainedbyusingLZVV.Inhydrocyclone,alwaystwovortexflowsexist.Oneflowstowards
upward(forcedvortex)andanotherflowstowardsdownward(freevortex).Thereexistsapoint
wherethevertical/axialvelocitybecomeszero.LZVVisdefinedasthelocusofthefluidpoints
atwhichtheaxialvelocitybecomeszero.Aparticleatthispositionhasanequalchanceofgoing
eitheroverfloworunderflow.Atthispoint,theparticleissubjectedtoanequaloutward
centrifugalforceandinwarddragforce.Thedragforcepullsthefineparticlesintotheinner
vortexandcentrifugalforcepullsthecoarseparticlesintheprimaryvortexthatformsnearthe
hydrocyclonewall.IngeneralfinerparticleshaveanorbitlessthanLZVVandcoarserparticles
haveanorbitgreaterthanLZVV.LZVVpredictionsbyvariousdesignsaredisplayedinFig.7.
AshiftinLZVVtowardstheaircoreisobservedinthemodifieddesignscomparedwith
conventionaldesigns.Itindicatesareducedflowsplitintheunderflowhenceareductioninthe
cutsizecanbeexpected.
19
Fig.6:Meanaxialvelocitiesof(a)modifieddesignscomparedwithstandarddesign(b)aircore
eliminateddesigns(D3_1,D3_2,andD3_3)atfixedwatermassflowrateof1.664kg/s.
(a)

(b)

20
Fig.7:LZVVpredictionsbymodifieddesignscomparedwithstandarddesignforafixedwater
massflowrateof1.664kg/s.

4.2Aircoreprofiles
CFDpredictedcontoursandtheaxialvariationofaircorediameterfortheD1,D2,D3,D4,D5
designsisshowninFig.8(a)and(b).Thesizeoftheaircoresignificantlyvariesformostofthe
designscomparedwiththeconventionaldesign.Theshapeoftheaircoreappearstobeparabolic
andsimilartothelocusofzeroverticalvelocity(LZVV)shape[38].Ingeneral,fromFig.8,it
canbeobservedthatatthegivenoptimumoperatingpressure,theaircorediameteraxiallyvaries
fromthesizeofvortexfindertospigotdiameterdependingontheheightofthehydrocyclone
andoutletorificediameters.Precisely,theaircoresizealsodependsonaxiallocationforagiven
inletpressure[26].TheoccupiedaircorediameterinD1designisslightlyhigherthanthe
conventionaldesignatthefixedfeedflowrate.TheoccupiedaircoreareaofD3,D4,andD5
designsissmallerthantheconventionalD2design.Theresultedreductionintheaircore
diameterisresponsiblefortheincreaseinwaterfractionreportingtooverflow;hencethelower
cutsizeofseparatorisexpectedduringtheparticleclassificationprocess.Theaircoreis
completelyeliminatedinthedesignsD3_1,D3_2,D3_3havingarodatthecenterof
hydrocycloneaxis.
21
Fig.8:(a)Aircorecontoursofmodifieddesignsand(b)Axialvariationofpredictedaircore
profilesofmodifieddesignscomparedwithstandardD2design.

4.3TurbulenceIntensity
FlowinhydrocyclonesisusuallyturbulentwithaReynoldsnumberrangingfrom105to106.
Reynoldsnumberiscalculatedbasedonhydrocyclonediameterasthecharacteristiclengthand
feedinletvelocity.AtthishighReynoldsnumber,turbulentfluctuationsinsidehydrocyclones
D1D2D3D4D5
(b)

(a)

22
areexpectedtobesignificantduetothecollisionoftheinletstreamwiththerotatingstream,
localrecirculationsandflowreversalnearthespigotzone.Turbulenceisalsodirectlyrelatedto
largevelocitygradientsfoundinsidehydrocyclones[8].TurbulenceIntensity(TI)isdefinedas
theratioofrootmeansquarevelocityoffluctuationstomeanvelocityasshowninequation18.
TI
=u
'u
avg

(18)
Fig.9showstheturbulenceintensityprofilesforallthedesignscalculatedalongtheradiusatthe
intersectionofcylindricalandconicalsections.FromtheFig.9(a),itisclearlyevidentthatthe
turbulenceintensityvaluesofD1,D3,D4,andD5designsarelowerthantheconventionalD2
design.Itisknownthathighturbulenceintensitylevelsarealwaysassociatedwithincreased
particledispersionthateventuallyaffectstheperformanceofagivenhydrocyclone.Withan
increaseintheturbulenceintensitytheclassificationperformanceofhydrocyclonedeteriorates.
Asignificantreductionintheturbulenceintensityisobservedwiththenewdesignscompared
withtheconventionaldesign(seetheFig.9(a)).Animprovementintheclassification
performanceofnoveldesigns(D3,D4andD5)maybeexpectedduetoturbulenceminimization.
(a)

23
Fig.9:Turbulenceintensitylevelsin(a)modifieddesignscomparedwithstandarddesign(b)air
coreeliminateddesigns
Tominimizetheturbulencefurther,theD3designismodifiedtoeliminatetheaircoreby
insertingvarioussizesofsolidrodsinthecenterofthehydrocycloneaxis.FromtheFig.9(b),it
canbeseenthattheturbulenceintensitiesofD3_1,D3_2aresignificantlyreduced.This
indicatesthatdesignsD3_1andD3_2mighthaveabetterfinesseparation.Asshowninthe
literature[37],theselectionofsuitablerodsizefortheaircoreeliminationisveryimportant.
Fig.9(b)demonstratesthatturbulentintensityvaluesofdesignD3_3areveryhighcompared
withthemodifieddesignD3.Theexpectedreasonistheflowfielddisturbancesduetothe
taperedrodinD3_3design(seetheFig.5).

4.4Performancepredictionsbydiscretephasemodel(DPM)
Afterthesolutionconvergedwiththetwophasemodel(VOFcoupledwithRSMturbulence
model),thehydrocyclonedesignconfigurationsarethensubjectedtopredicttheclassification
performanceusingDPMmodelfortheparticlephase.DPMusesquartzparticleshavingsizesof
3.35,10.25,19.37,28.27,38and63microns.Solidparticlesareinjectedacrossthefeed
boundaryusinginstantaneousflowfieldobtainedfromtheconvergedtwophase(waterair)flow
simulations.Thenumberofparticlesreportedtotheunderflowandoverflowarenotedandused
(b)

24
togeneratestandardclassificationcurveasafunctionofparticlesize.Theclassification
efficiencycurveiscalculatednumericallyusingthefractionofeachsizefeedmaterialthat
reportedtotheunderflow.TheLagrangianparticletrackingforeachsizeisrepeated3timesand
averagedtoobtainameanvalue.Thepredictedclassificationcurvesforvariousdesignsare
showninFig10.FromtheFig10(a),itisobservedthat,forthegivenfixedflowrate,allthe
testeddesignsshowalowercutsizeseparationthantheD2design.Thisisbecauseoftheshiftin
LZVV(Fig.7)locationtowardsaircoreandenhancementoftangentialvelocity(Fig.4).The
cutsizeforthesedesignsisintherangeof813microns,whereastheconventionaldesignis
havingaround16microns.Fig10(b)illustratesthatrodinsertionatthecenterofD3design
furtherdecreasesthecutsizeto89microns.Table2displaysallthetesteddesigncutdiameters
andtheirseparationsharpnessincomparisonwiththeconventionalhydrocyclonedesign.
DesignsD1andD3showanincreasedefficiency,i.e.designD1andD3mayhavebetter
sharpnessofseparationandfinercutsizecomparedwiththestandarddesign.Thecutdiameterof
aircoreeliminateddesign,D3_3withthetaperedrod,isalmostequaltodesignD3butwiththe
reducedsharpnessofseparation.Fig.11showsthemostprobableparticletrajectoriesfora
typicalparticlesizeof10micronswhileclassifyingthemunderturbulentandcentrifugalforces
inallthedesigns.ItisobservedthatinD1,D2,D3,D4designs,particlesizeof10micronsis
alwaysclassifiedtooverflowexceptinD5design,whereasinthemodifiedD3designs(D3_1,
D3_2),sameparticlesizeisgettingseparatedtowardsunderflowstream.
(a)

25
Fig.10:DPMpredictedcutdiameterof(a)modifieddesignscomparedwithstandarddesign(b)
aircoreeliminateddesigns
Table2:Predictedtwophaseflowparametersbyalldesignsatamassflowrateof1.664kg/s
Design
Aircore
diameter
(m)
Watersplit
Pressureto
dropunderflow
(%)
(kPa)
Cutdiameter
(d
50

Imperfection
(I)
Sharpnessof
separation()
Maximum
)
Gforce
D123.16.5863.8913.20.238.33443.07
D220.587.5343.8915.80.315.1282.13
D310.486.7977.9211.60.287.58582.13
D3_1eliminated10.1778.998.90.289.62686.82
D3_2eliminated13.4983.278.80.298.62736.45
D3_3eliminated29.96111.7410.60.564.18347.55
D413.4389.2246.7812.80.335.81517.76
(b)
26
D510.7287.1260.128.20.55.95349.62
ComparedtoD1design,itisbelievedthattheexistenceofD3designslongerconicalbodyis
abletoprovidesufficientresidencetimeforthefinestogetclassifyefficientlyunderthe
centrifugalaction.Fig.12(a)and(b)illustratethemostprobableparticletrajectoriesforthe
typicalparticlesizeof7and13micronsinD1andmodifiedD3designsrespectively.Itis
observedthatthe13micronsizeparticlesareclassifiedtotheunderflow,whereasthe7micron
sizeparticlesareclassifiedtotheoverflowproducts.Theefficiencyofthehydrocycloneis
expressedmainlywithtwoparametersnamelyimperfectionlevels(I),andsharpnessof
separation().Generallytheslopeoftheefficiencycurveistakenassharpnessofseparation.In
thispaper,authorshaveusedWhitenequationtofitthesharpnessofseparation.Imperfection
levelsarecalculatedbyusingthefollowingequation(19).
I
=d75d

50

d
25

(19)
Here
25

2
d,
d50

,
d75

isdefinedasthepointontheefficiencycurveatwhich25%,50%,75%ofthe
feedparticlesarereportedtotheunderflow.Table2alsoillustratesthetypicaltwophaseflow
parametersofhydrocyclone,suchasaircorediameter,watersplittotheunderflow,imperfection
levels,andsharpnessofseparationforallthetesteddesigns.FromTable2itisobservedthatthe
aircoreeliminateddesigns,D3_1andD3_2,showhighpressuredrops,lowcutsizewithhigh
sharpnessofseparationlevels.
27
Fig.11:DPMpredictedpathof10micronparticlein(a)D1(b)D2(c)D3(d)D4(e)D5(f)
D3_1(g)D3_2(h)D3_3

4.5PerformancepredictionsbymultiphaseASMmodel
UsingtheDPMbasedCFDmodel,onecouldmainlysimulatethehydrocyclonesoperatingin
dilutesolidsloading(<5wt%)conditions.Usuallytheparticlefluidinteractionsathighsolids
loadingarenotbeingaccountedcompletelyintheDPMmodel.Industrially,hydrocyclonesare
capableofoperatingatveryhighfeedsolidsconcentrations,henceanincreaseincutsizeis
typicallyobservedwithhighsolidsloadings.Inordertopredicttheperformancecharacteristics
fortheimproveddesigns,sayD1,D2,D3_1andD3_2athighfeedsolidconcentrations,a
numberofmultiphasesimulationsarecarriedoutat15wt%withaquartz(fixedPSD)material
usingmodifiedAlgebraicSlipMixture(ASM)CFDmodel.
28
Fig.12:DPMpredictedpathof(a),(b),(c)7micron,(d),(e),(f)13micronparticlesinD1,D3_1
andD3_2designs
InASMmodelitisassumedthatthedispersedphasesareinlocalequilibriumwiththe
continuousphaseandsuchdispersedphasesacceleraterapidlytotheirterminalvelocities.The
separationefficiencycurveisconstructednumericallyusingthemassfractionofeachsizefeed
materialthatreportedtotheunderflow.Predictedcutdiameters,watersplittounderflow,
imperfectionlevelsandsharpnessofseparation()fromthemultiphasesimulationsare
presentedinTable3.Correspondingmultiphasebasedclassificationperformancecurvesarealso
showninFig.13.Asexpected,thecutsizeofallthehydrocyclonedesignsisincreasedatfeed
solidsconcentrationof15%,comparedtotheDPMmodel(diluteconcentrationmodel)data.D2
designspredictedcutdiameteris26.8microns.Conversely,modifieddesignsD1,D3_1,D3_2
showreducedcutdiameterof21.4,22.2,and21.4microns,respectively.ItisobservedfromFig.
13,thatD3_1,D3_2,andD1hydrocyclonesareshowingsignificantlyimprovedperformance
thantheD2designevenathighfeedsolidloadings.Thepredictedsharpnessofseparationforthe
D2designis4.02.Whereas,themodifieddesignsisintherangeof68.ItisclearfromtheFig.
13,thatcoarseparticleentrainmenttotheoverflowisdrasticallyreducedforthemodified
designsandisbelievedduetothetaperedvortexfinderpresenceinplaceofconventionalstraight
cylindricalvortexfinder.Ascitedintheliterature,onecanassumeandaccounttheamountof
finesmisplacementintheunderflowisequalstotheamountofwaterrecoveryintheunderflow
29
[51,52].ModifieddesignsD1,D3_1,andD3_2havereducedthewatersplittotheunderflow
comparedtoD2design(seeTable3).Thisreflectsapossiblereductionofthefinesentrainment
tounderflowandtherebyincreasestheseparationefficiency.
Fig.13:MultiphasepredictedcutdiametersofD1,D3_1designscomparedwithconventional
D2design
Fig.14:Meancontoursof3.35micronvolumefractionof(a)D1(b)D2(c)D3_1(d)D3_2
conicalsections
(b)(a)(d)(c)

30
Fig.14showsthevolumefractioncontoursof3.35micronsizeparticleintheconicalsectionof
D1,D2,D3_1andD3_2designs.Thevolumefractionlevelof3.35micronparticleisminimalat
thewallsinD3_1andD3_2hydrocyclonedesignscomparedtothestandardD2design.Itmay
indicatethatthepresenceofbiggersizeparticlesishightowardsthewallbecauseofhigh
centrifugalforces.Therefore3.35micronparticlesmayhaveverylesschancetoescapethrough
theunderflow.Inotherwords,theaircoreeliminatedhydrocyclonedesigns,D3_1andD3_2,
showlowlevelsoffinesmisplacementthantheconventionalD2andthemodifiedD1designs.
AlthoughthereisaslightdifferenceinthepredictedcutsizesofdesignsD1,D3_1andD3_2;
DesignD3_1showshighsharpnessofseparationandminimumfinesmisplacement.Quantified
imperfectionvaluesofthedesignsarealsodisplayedinTable3.Thereasonsbehindthis
improvementarebelievedduetotheenhancedhightangentialvelocities,lowturbulencelevels,
smallradialfluctuationsasdiscussedintwophaseflowanalysis.Hightangentialvelocities
benefitthecoarseparticlestogetseparatedatmaximumefficiencylevels.Lowturbulenceand
lowradialfluctuationshelpthefineparticlestocarryawayfromtheunderflowandflowtowards
theoverflowstream.
Table3:Predictedmultiphaseflowparametersbynoveldesigns
Design
Watersplitto
underflow(%)
Cutdiameter
(d
50

Imperfection
(I)
Sharpnessof
)
separation()
D18.1521.40.216.13
D29.0926.80.234.02
D3_15.8822.20.167.82
D3_27.4121.40.26.85
31
Fig.15:Meancontoursof28.27micronvolumefractionofD1,D2,D3_1,andD3_2designsin
(a)cylindricaland(b)conicalsections
Fig.15displaysthecontoursof28.27micronsizeparticledistributionbothincylindricaland
conicalsectionsforallthedesigns.Onecannotethatthemovementof28.27micronsize
particlestowardstheoverflowishigherinthestandardD2designthantheallotherdesigns.The
coarseparticlemisplacementinthepotentialdesignsD1,D3_1,andD3_2islowcomparedwith
(a)

D1D2D3_1D3_2
D1D2D3_1D3_2

(b)

32
conventionaldesignandisbelievedtobeduetothetaperedvortexfinderinplaceof
conventionalstraightcylindricaltube.
Fig.16:Particleequilibriumradiusofdifferentsizeparticlesin(a)standardD2designand(b)
multipleconeangleD1design
(a)

(b)

33
Fig.16displaysthemeanradialpositionofthepresenceofmaximumvolumefractionofthe
particlesinstandardD2andmultipleconeangleD1design.Inotherwords,thesegraphsdisplay
theparticleequilibriumradius,whichmeansthat,aftertheentranceoftheparticleintothe
hydrocycloneitreachesanorbitofcertainradiusbasedonparticlesizeandtendstorotateinthat
particleorbituntilitsexitfromthehydrocyclone.Ingeneralfinerparticleshaveanequilibrium
radiuslowerthanLZVVradialpositionandpassesthroughtheoverflow.Coarserparticleshave
anequilibriumradiusgreaterthanLZVVandpassthroughtheunderflow.Nearcutsizeparticles
usuallyhaveanequilibriumradiusequaltoLZVVandhaveequalchancestopassthrough
overflowandunderflow.FromtheFig.16(a),(b),itcanbeobservedthatfineparticles(3.35,
10.25microns)haveanequilibriumradiuslessthanLZVVandcoarseparticles(38,63microns)
haveanequilibriumradiusgreaterthanLZVVinboththedesigns.IntheD1designthe
multiphasecutsizeisnearto19.37micron,sothisparticleisshowinganequilibriumradius
equaltoLZVVandwhereasthe28.27micronparticleequilibriumradiusgreaterthanLZVV.In
caseofstandardD2designthemultiphasecutsizeisnearto28.27micronandtendstoshow
equilibriumradiusequaltoLZVVandthe19.37micronsizeparticlesequilibriumradiusis
lowerthanLZVV.Themainreasonforfinecutsizeincaseofnewdesigns(sayD1)isthe
shiftingofLZVVtowardsaircoreandthesameisconfirmedthroughtheequilibriumradii.

4.6Practicalityofthenoveldesignsforfabricationandtesting
TheCFDexplorationstudiesresultsmainlythreepotentialdesignsnamelyD1,D3andD3_1
suitableforfinesclassificationtofurtherrequiredfabricationandtestingsteps.Thefollowing
issuesareconsideredinordertocheckthepracticalityofthesedesigns:
Allthethreedesignshaveessentiallycomplicatedtaperedvortexfinder(VF)andinlet
parts.Withtheadvancesinpolymertechnologythatcanoffertherequiredmaterial
qualityintermsoftoughnessandstrengthsuitableforcastingofthetaperedvortexfinder
andcomplexinletdesignsinsteadofsteelpartsispossible.
AsrequiredforD3_1,thefulllengthrodinsertionandrequiredmechanicalsupporting
arrangementforrodexternallyisalsopossible.Thisrequiresfirsttheestimationofsize
ofaircorethatcanbeformedinthegivenhydrocyclonedesign,whereCFDinputscould
behighlyuseful.
34
AsrecommendedforD1design,twodifferencesizeconescanbearrangedwiththe
suitableflangedesignsprecisely.ThetaperedVF,involuteinletsectionsareagain
requiredspecialhighdensitypolyethylene(HDPE)castingroutes.
Authorshavenoworderedthefabricationofthesethreehydrocyclonedesigns
successfullyusingpolyurethaneHDPEgradethroughthirdparty.Commissioningand
performanceguaranteetestsareinprogressandwillbeavailableinthenearfuture.

5Conclusions
Theeffectofdesignparametersonthehydrocycloneseparationcharacteristicsareinvestigated
computationally.
Allthemodifieddesignshowshightangentialvelocities,finecutseparationandhigh
sharpnessofseparationcomparedwiththeconventionaldesign.
Taperedvortexfinderinplaceofstraightcylindricaltubereducesthecoarseparticle
misplacementtotheoverflowinthemultipleconeanglesandsmallconeanglesdesigns.
Longconeprovidessufficientresidencetimeforalltheparticlestoseparatebasedonthe
centrifugal/dragforces.Thismodificationobtainsfinercutseparationthanstandard
design.
Aircoreeliminationbyplacingarodinthecenterdecreasestheturbulentlevels
drastically.Thisresultsinthereductionoffinesmisplacementtotheunderflow.
DPMpredictsthecutsizeof16micronsforconventionaldesign,whereasthemodified
designsshowvaluesintherangeof813microns.
Multiphasesimulationswithmodifiedmixturemodelincludingliftforcesandrheology
modelalsoshowsmodifieddesignsarehavinghighseparationefficiencyandfinecut
sizecomparedwithconventionaldesign.Thereasonforfinecutisalsoexplainedbythe
helpofLZVV.
35
Cutsize(d
50

)ofallthedesignsareincreasedupto20micronswithanincreaseinthe
feedsolidsconcentration.

6Acknowledgements
AuthorswouldliketoexpresstheirsincerethankstoSERB,DepartmentofScienceand
Technology,GovernmentofIndiaforthefinancialsupportandencouragementtoundertake
thesestudiesundertheproject(SR/S3/CE/004/2011)during20112014.

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[3]J.A.Delgadillo,Modellingof75and250mmhydrocyclonesandexplorationofnovel
designsusingcomputationalfluiddynamics,DepartmentofMetullurgicalEngineering,
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Graphicalabstract
41
Highlights
1.NovelhydrocyclonedesignsareproposedusingmultiphaseCFDmodel
2.Allthemodifieddesignsarehavingfinercutandimprovedsharpnessofseparation
3.Taperedvortexfinderminimizescoarseparticleshortcircuitingtooverflow
4.FinercutisexplainedusingLZVVtherebyparticleequilibriumpositionsaredisplayed
42