Principally, separators disjoin substances. They work for example following the principle of a centrifuge. Due to the centrifugal forces within a rotating cylinder solids are separated from fluids or fluids of different densities are separated from each other.

The optimization of the separating process, the increase of efficiency of disjoining substances and therewith the separation yield are the objectives of a simulation-based analysis.

Methods: Due to the multi-phase flow under the impact of rotation induced forces and geometrical particularities, the simulation of the separating process represents a complex problem. The used multi-phase models consider the influence of particle collisions and high particle concentrations on the flow conditions.

The simulation results provide device-optimization-related values such as 3D flow conditions, concentration distribution of involved substances, resultant separation efficiency dependent on particle diameter or the influence of different running parameters on the separation behaviour. Additionally, erosion phenomena and deposition can be examined and the mechanical stress of the components are quantified. Thus, simulations provide an important contribution to the understanding of the complex separation processes, and therewith, support a purposeful designing of separators.

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