Experimental study on the enhanced separation performance of a vertical corrugated plate dryer under acoustic agglomeration

• Propose to use acoustic agglomeration technology to improve the separation efficiency of corrugated plate dryer. • Research has found that under the influence of sound field, the separation efficiency of CPD can reach up to 98.9 %, and there are two optimal frequencies, namely 700 Hz and 1100 Hz. • Under the influence of sound field, the higher the sound pressure level, the higher the separation efficiency of CPD. • The sound field can not only significantly improve the separation efficiency of CPD at low flow rates, but also increase the critical flow rate of CPD. The corrugated plate dryer (CPD) is an important steam-water separation device in pressurized water reactor nuclear power plants. Acoustic agglomeration is a non-contact technology that can effectively solve the problem of water loss. However, there is little research to date on its application to CPDs. In this study, the separation performance of a bench-scale vertical CPD under the action of acoustic agglomeration was experimentally investigated. Specifically, the influence of sound frequency, sound pressure level, and inlet flow velocity were explored. The results showed that under the action of the sound field, a CPD separation efficiency of up to 98.9 % was achieved. Moreover, the separation performance was highest at frequencies of 700 Hz, where droplet aggregation is mainly driven by the acoustic flow effect, and 1100 Hz, where droplet aggregation is mainly driven by the acoustic wake effect. The sound pressure level also plays an important role in droplet aggregation, and is positively correlated with the CPD separation efficiency. In addition, the sound field not only significantly improved the separation efficiency at low flow rates, but also increased the critical airflow velocity(CAV), thereby improving the separation efficiency at high flow rates. This study provides valuable guidance for achieving acoustic droplet aggregation and water recovery in nuclear power plants.