Experimental study and numerical optimization on a vane-type separator for bubble separation in TMSR

An axial-flow vane-type bubble separator for TMSR with regard to its working principle and separation efficiency was investigated experimentally and numerically. Experiments study was firstly carried out with air and water as working fluids to demonstrate the feasibility of the vane-type separator in the separation of tiny gas bubbles dispersed in a fluid. On the basis of the experiments, further investigations on the flow field distribution and structure optimization were carried out with numerical method. A vane-type separator with best performance for TMSR was proposed according to the numerical results. Both the experimental and numerical work showed that, the vane-type separator can successfully separate the small bubbles from a liquid flow with a very high separation efficiency, and the RSM model is capable of presenting the flow field in the separator with a good accuracy. The results imply that, it is the radial pressure gradient generated in the separation zone that makes the dispersed bubbles congregate to the center region of the separator, leading to the formation of an air core. The outlet angle of the swirl vanes, volumetric flow rate and the density of the working fluid affect the separation efficiency simultaneously. And for the case with molten salt as working fluid, the outlet angle of the swirl vanes or the volumetric flow rate should be smaller than the case that water is used.