Effect of extra inlets structure on cyclone wall erosion

Cyclones are widely applied in industry, but unscheduled shutdowns due to wall erosion is an urgent problem. To reduce the wall erosion in cyclone separators especially caused by the top ash ring phenomenon, the cyclone with extra inlets is optimized and analyzed by response surface methodology (RSM) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in this study. The obtained results indicate a 14.5% reduction in pressure drop and a 10% increase in total separation efficiency for the optimal cyclone. The Lapple cyclone suffers from additional erosion under the roof due to the top ash ring, while the optimal cyclone can avoid this unfavorable phenomenon. Meanwhile, the erosion of the optimal cyclone is also significantly reduced around the cone bottom. [Display omitted] •A cyclone separator with extra inlets is proposed and optimized.•Comparison analysis of the Lapple and optimal cyclone.•The optimal cyclone has a higher separation efficiency and a lower pressure drop.•Top ash ring is observed in the Lapple, which is avoided in the optimal cyclone.•The optimal cyclone reduces the wall erosion caused by particle-wall collision.