Prediction of Erosion of a Hydrocyclone Inner Wall Based on CFD-DPM

The erosion mechanism of hydrocyclones under air column conditions is still unclear. In this paper, Computational Fluid Dynamics–Discrete Phase Model (CFD-DPM) technology is adopted to perform transient simulations of the three-phase flow (liquid–gas–solid) within a hydrocyclone. The Reynolds Stress Model (RSM) and Volume of Fluid (VOF) model are adopted to simulate the continuous phase flow field within the hydrocyclone, while the DPM coupled with the Oka erosion model is used to predict the particle flow and erosion mechanisms on each wall within the hydrocyclone. The particle sizes considered are 15 μm, 30 μm, 60 μm, 100 μm, 150 μm, and 200 μm, respectively, with a density of 2600 kg/m3. The particle velocity is consistent with the fluid velocity at 5 m/s, the total mass flow rate is 6 g/s, and the volume fraction is less than 10%. The results indicate that the cone section suffers the severest erosion, followed by the overflow pipe, column section, infeed section, and roof section. The erosion in the cone section reaches its maximum value near the underflow port, with an erosion rate approximately 6.8 times that of the upper cone section. The erosion distribution in the overflow pipe is uneven. The erosion of the column section exhibits a spiral banded distribution with a relatively large pitch. The erosion rate in the infeed section is approximately 1.47 times that of the roof section.