Distribution of multi-phase gas–solid flow across identical parallel cyclones: Modeling and experimental study

There is evidence in the literature of mal-distribution of multi-phase flow across identical parallel branches. The distribution of gas–solid flow through identical parallel cyclones is investigated based on an analytical model which includes a semi-empirical equation from the literature for cyclone pressure drop. Using the proposed model, many steady-state gas–solid distributions are obtained. Solutions with maximum energy dissipation are considered to be unlikely. The results indicate that the non-linearity of the system can lead to non-uniform distributions for high solids loadings, whereas lower loadings result in uniform distributions, or those that are so close to being uniform that experiments will not be able to distinguish differences between the flows. Experiments were carried out for a pair of identical standard cyclones of diameter 101.6 mm to determine the distribution of dilute gas–solid flow. The results are consistent with the proposed cyclone model. Finally, it is likely that differential fouling can influence the flow distribution and make it non-uniform.