A numerically stable Eulerian-Eulerian model of air-core formation in a hydrocyclone

Due to its importance in industry, the hydrocyclone is constantly undergoing research and development. Experimental based research and development is expensive and tedious, thus, industries frequently rely on computational fluid dynamics to provide greater insight into hydrocyclone behaviour and optimisation. Various numerical models of hydrocyclone behaviour have been developed to improve the accuracy of the model predictions of the multiphase interactions in hydrocyclones. Numerous challenges are faced when modelling the air-core. To ensure that the simulation predictions are accurate focus has been placed on ensuring that a fully formed and stable air-core has developed. This research is based on analysing the air-core stability for a hydrocyclone using computational fluid dynamics. Experiments are conducted using a 3D-Printed, fifty millimetre diameter hydrocyclone. The simulation was performed using ANSYS Fluent whereby the multiphase interactions were modelled using the Eulerian-Eulerian multiphase model. Three mesh densities were analysed for mesh independence purposes. Comparisons were made between the air-core surface, velocity profiles and experimental data. It was found that a reduction in mesh size and the inclusion of air flow at the inlet resulted in an improvement of air-core stability and accuracy when compared to previous research. This has been validated through comparing predicted results from simulation to experimental results and theoretical results.