Simulation of Swirling Turbulent Flow Aerodynamics in a Centrifugal Machine

Abstract

This work presents a numerical simulation of the aerodynamics of a swirling turbulent flow in a vortex chamber of a combined pneumatic centrifugal machine with a rotor located in its upper part and consisting of a system of rotating blades. Numerical analysis of the swirling turbulent flow made it possible to determine the main patterns in the behavior of the carrier agent in the machine. As a result, a modification of the rotor blade shape is proposed, which allows the distribution change of the radial velocity field as necessary. Numerical studies have shown the promise of this approach for controlling the radial velocity component in the rotor, which is a necessary condition for the separator to operate efficiently. The conducted numerical calculations are validated using test studies and a comparison with experimental data.