Effect of the Axially Inserted Solid Rod on the Flow Field Characteristics and Separation Performance of a Hydrocyclone

In this paper, the experimental validation and numerical simulation were used to investigate the effect of the inserted solid rod on the separation process of the hydrocyclone. The simulation results are analyzed in terms of the pressure drop, air core, velocity component, turbulence intensity, and separation performance when the air core is completely inhibited or not. The results indicate that the solid rod with the smaller size cannot completely inhibit the air core, but it can still affect the separation process. The variable diameter inserted solid rod (d(vr)) could inhibit the air core and ensure a larger effective separation space, which could improve the separation performance of the hydrocyclone. Specifically, the d(vr) could improve energy conversion ability, tangential velocity, and separation sharpness and decrease axial velocity and turbulence intensity. Therefore, inhibiting the air core is conducive to the separation process of hydrocyclone, and the variable diameter inserted solid rod has better inhibited effect.