Effects of helical guide vanes on droplet behavior and separation performance in cyclone separators

Abstract

In this study, a helical guide vane cyclone separator was developed to enhance the separation efficiency of escaped oil droplets during the treatment and recovery of waste drilling fluid. The internal flow field and liquid film behavior were analyzed through numerical simulations and validated by experiments. The results indicate that the helical guide vane significantly influences tangential velocity and pressure drop. At an intake speed of 15 m/s, the tangential velocity can be reduced by 12 % with 0.5 turns, while it can be increased by 20 % with 3 turns. Initially, the pressure drop decreases; however, as the number of vane turns increases, the pressure drop subsequently rises. The turns also reduce the spiral angle of the droplets, thereby improving the trapping efficiency of smaller droplets. When the number of helical guide vane turns is 2, the separation efficiency reaches its peak. Through further research, it has been found that the pitch has a significant effect on the pressure drop. As the pitch increases, the pressure drop decreases noticeably; however, the separation efficiency does not change significantly.