This paper presents new experimental data and an improved mechanistic model for the Gas-Liquid Cylindrical Cyclone (GLCC) separator. The data were acquired utilizing a 3” ID laboratory-scale GLCC, and are presented along with a limited number of field data. The data include measurements of several parameters of the flow behavior and the operational envelope of the GLCC. The operational envelope defines the conditions for which there will be no liquid carry-over or gas carry-under. The developed model enables the prediction of the hydrodynamic flow behavior in the GLCC, including the operational envelope, equilibrium liquid level, vortex shape, velocity and holdup distributions and pressure drop across the GLCC. The predictions of the model are compared with the experimental data. These provide the state-of-the-art for the design of GLCC’s for the industry.

This paper presents a numerical and experimental study of the fluid dynamic behavior of a cylindrical cyclone separator used for mixtures of water and petroleum. The objective is to determine the capacity of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) software in describing the behavior of a LLCC (Liquid liquid cylindrical cyclone) separator in terms of its separation capability. The experiments were conducted with water and oil in a transparent LLCC separator that allows the visualization of the mixture and the measurement of the oil drag in the water exit. The CFD software examined was ANSYS-CFX 5.6TM. The numerical simulations were carried out using the dispersed model with oil as the dispersed phase. The results in terms of the oil drag showed good agreement with the experimental data for all analyzed conditions. Also, the images from numerical and experimental data of the mixtures distribution were similar. This study confirms the capacity of CFD tools for the analysis of petroleum and ...

The paper presents results of numerical simulations and experimental investigations of a cyclone with a square inlet and different dimensions of a vortex finder. Investigations were conducted for five, different cyclone models. The main goal of the research was to determine the influence of cyclone vortex finder geometry (diameter, length) on key parameters for a cyclone operation, such as: gas flow pattern, gas velocity and pressure distribution, pressure drop and collection efficiency. The analysis of flow pattern inside the cyclone was carried out with the use of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) simulations, verified using CTA (Constant Temperature Anemometry). Similarly, pressure distributions, pressure drop and collection efficiency for cyclones were determined numerically and with measurements. The study demonstrated that dimensions of the vortex finder have a significant effect on a cyclone performance. The numerical visualisations of flow showed some unfavorable and benefi...