Comparison of the flowfield prediction within an axial hydrocyclone for oil/water separation using two commercial CFD codes

摘要

This work is part of a project in which axial inlet hydrocyclones for oil/water separation are being developed. With their compact size these hydrocyclones are ideal for downhole separation, thereby reducing the size and weight of the topside produced water treatment units. The strongly swirling single phase flowfield within an axial hydrocyclone has been modelled using the Reynolds' stress turbulence model in two commercial CFD codes, Fluent and CFX. In general, closer to the vanes, Fluent was found to be in closer agreement with experiment, whilst further downstream CFX agreed better.