A Numerical Study of the Impact of Radial Baffles in Solid Bowl Centrifuges Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Romaní Fernández, Xiana; Nirschl, Hermann

doi:https://doi.org/10.1155/2010/510570

Physical Separation in Science and Engineering

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Research Article | Open Access

Volume 2010 | Article ID 510570 | https://doi.org/10.1155/2010/510570

A Numerical Study of the Impact of Radial Baffles in Solid Bowl Centrifuges Using Computational Fluid Dynamics

Xiana Romaní Fernández¹and Hermann Nirschl¹

Academic Editor: Liangyin Chu

Received17 Mar 2010

Revised24 Jun 2010

Accepted13 Jul 2010

Published23 Aug 2010

Abstract

Centrifugal separation equipment, such as solid bowl centrifuges, is used to carry out an effective separation of fine particles from industrial fluids. Knowledge of the streams and sedimentation behavior inside solid bowl centrifuges is necessary to determine the geometry and the process parameters that lead to an optimal performance. Regarding a given industrial centrifuge geometry, a grid was built to calculate numerically the multiphase flow of water, air, and particles with a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software. The effect of internal radial baffles on the multiphase flow was investigated. The results show that the baffles are helpful for the acceleration of the fluid, but they disturb the axial boundary layer, making it irregular, and originate a secondary circulating flow which hinders the sedimentation of small particles.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2010 Xiana Romaní Fernández and Hermann Nirschl. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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