Experimental Determination of Hydraulic Resistance of a Multi-Vortex Separator

The chemical industry is one of the main sources of fine-particle emissions into the environment. Fine particles pose a threat to human health, adversely affect the environment, and contribute to climate change. Particles are difficult to capture with conventional separation technologies. In order to solve this problem, the authors of the work propose the design of a multi-vortex separator. The article presents the principle of its operation. The purpose of this work is to experimentally determine the hydraulic resistance of the proposed multi-vortex separator. The paper considers the influence of two versions of the design of the separator on its hydraulic resistance. In the first version, the purified gas flow exits directly through the separation channels. In the second version, a cover with round holes is installed for outlet of the gas to the back of the separator, which makes it possible to form a more stable vortex structure on the separation channels. To determine the hydraulic resistance of the multi-vortex separator, an experimental setup is constructed, printed element-by-element on a 3D printer, including a blower, a receiver, a Venturi tube, the multi-vortex separator, and differential pressure gauges. In the experimental studies. the dependences of the pressure loss of the multi-vortex separator on the air velocity at the inlet to the device are obtained for both proposed designs of the device. Based on the studies, the following conclusions are drawn: the hydraulic resistance of the multi-vortex separator with open separation channels Δpop is 14 to 204 Pa at an air velocity at the inlet to the device from 1.4 to 7.7 m/s and the hydraulic resistance of the multi-vortex separator with an installed cover with holes for gas flow outlet Δpcl is 42 to 1833 Pa at an air velocity at the inlet to the device from 0.8 to 4.9 m/s; the complication of the design leads to increased hydraulic resistance and, most likely, increased efficiency because of the formation of a more stable vortex structure.