The modification of hydrocyclone geometry changes the dynamics of the flow, so the particle cut size is affected. Computational fluid dynamics was applied to predict particle classification according to size. Fluent code was used to perform computer simulations for five different hydrocyclone geometries using large eddy simulation and volume of fluid models. The sensitivity to computed modifications in particle classification was evaluated by changing basic design variables, such as spigot diameter, vortex finder diameter, and cone angle. The results show that the particle cut size can be predicted for changes in geometric configuration for a wide range of slurry concentration with a small degree of error using computational fluid dynamics. The error can be attributed to the absence of particle-particle and fluid-particle interaction modeling. However, this assumption is known to be valid only for diluted slurries and some regions within the hydrocyclone. As soon as the particles enter the system, most of them are located within the walls, creating diluted slurry conditions in the main core of the hydrocyclone. The computed results for more concentrated slurries were therefore close to the experimental cut-size values. In all cases, the particle cut size was predicted successfully. Therefore, the evaluation of changes in the standard geometry to manipulate the dynamics and achieve the desired particle cut size becomes possible.
Multiple-channel electrochemical cells are used for the electrocoagulation treatment of pollutants, but sometimes their use can be limited because of lack of knowledge of both hydrodynamic and current distribution performance. Most of the research devoted to electrocoagulation processes, do not present a preliminary hydrodynamic study of the selected cell. Thus, in this paper the importance of having a hydrodynamic characterization and current distribution analysis of a multi-channel electrochemical cell is highlighted. Studies of primary current distribution and, hydrodynamics were supported on applications of the COMSOL Multhiphysics{trade mark, serif} and FLUENT{trade mark, serif} software, respectively. The flow path was described by the residence time distribution (RTD) method. The current distribution analysis showed that a better distribution is obtained when an interelectrode gap of 3 cm is chosen. The RTD charts and the flow distribution described accurately channeling sections and stagnant zones that must be taken into account, since channeling reduce the entrapment of mud and stagnant zones promote the formation of clots.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.