NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF PARTICLE MOTION IN TURBO CLASSIFIER

Research on the flow field inside a turbo classifier is complicated though important. According to the stochastic trajectory model of particles in gas-solid two-phase flow, and adopting the PHOENICS code, numerical simulation is carried out on the flow field, including particle trajectory, in the inner cavity of a turbo classifier, using both straight and backward crooked elbow blades. Computation results show that when the backward crooked elbow blades are used, the mixed stream that passes through the two blades produces a vortex in the positive direction which counteracts the attached vortex in the opposite direction due to the high-speed turbo rotation, making the flow steadier, thus improving both the grade efficiency and precision of the turbo classifier. This research provides positive theoretical evidences for designing sub-micron particle classifiers with high efficiency and accuracy.

Flow Field Characteristics of the Rotor Cage in Turbo Air Classifiers

The turbo air classifier is widely used powder classification equipment in a variety of fields. The flow field characteristics of the turbo air classifier are important basis for the improvement of the turbo air classifier＇s structural design. The flow field characteristics of the rotor cage in turbo air classifiers were investigated trader different operating conditions by laser Doppler velocimeter（LDV）, and a measure diminishing the axial velocity is proposed. The investigation results show that the tangential velocity of the air flow inside the rotor cage is different from the rotary speed of the rotor cage on the same measurement point due to the influences of both the negative pressure at the exit and the rotation of the rotor cage. The tangential velocity of the air flow likewise decreases as the radius decreases in the case of the rotor cage＇s low rotary speed. In contrast, the tangential velocity of the air flow increases as the radius decreases in the case of the rotor cage＇s high rotary speed. Meanwhile, the vortex inside the rotor cage is found to occur near the pressure side of the blade when the rotor cage＇s rotary speed is less than the tangential velocity of air flow. On the contrary, the vortex is found to occur near the blade suction side once the rotor cage＇s rotary speed is higher than the tangential velocity of air flow. Inside the rotor cage, the axial velocity could not be disregarded and is largely determined by the distances between the measurement point and the exit.

Empirical Study of Classification Process for Two-stage Turbo Air Classifier in Series

The suitable process parameters for a two-stage turbo air classifier are important for obtaining the ultrafine powder that has a narrow particle-size distribution, however little has been published internationally on the classification process for the two-stage turbo air classifier in series. The influence of the process parameters of a two-stage turbo air classifier in series on classification performance is empirically studied by using aluminum oxide powders as the experimental material. The experimental results show the following: 1) When the rotor cage rotary speed of the first-stage classifier is increased from 2 300 r/min to 2 500 r/min with a constant rotor cage rotary speed of the second-stage classifier, classification precision is increased from 0.64 to 0.67. However, in this case, the final ultrafine powder yield is decreased from 79% to 74%, which means the classification precision and the final ultrafine powder yield can be regulated through adjusting the rotor cage rotary speed of the first-stage classifier. 2) When the rotor cage rotary speed of the second-stage classifier is increased from 2 500 r/min to 3 100 r/min with a constant rotor cage rotary speed of the first-stage classifier, the cut size is decreased from 13.16 μm to 8.76 μm, which means the cut size of the ultrafine powder can be regulated through adjusting the rotor cage rotary speed of the second-stage classifier. 3) When the feeding speed is increased from 35 kg/h to 50 kg/h, the 'fish-hook' effect is strengthened, which makes the ultrafine powder yield decrease. 4) To weaken the 'fish-hook' effect, the equalization of the two-stage wind speeds or the combination of a high first-stage wind speed with a low second-stage wind speed should be selected. This empirical study provides a criterion of process parameter configurations for a two-stage or multi-stage classifier in series, which offers a theoretical basis for practical production.

The Motion Trace of Particles in Classifying Flow Field

According to the theory of the stochastic trajectory model of particle in the gas-solid two-phase flows, the two-phase turbulence model between the blades in the inner cavity of the FW-Φ150 horizontal turbo classifier was established, and the commonly-used PHOENICS code was adopted to carried out the numerical simulation. It was achieved the flow characteristics under a certain condition as well as the motion trace of particles with different diameters entering from certain initial location and passing through the flow field between the blades under the correspondent condition. This research method quite directly demonstrates the motion of particles. An experiment was executed to prove the accuracy of the results of numerical simulation.