Powder Technology, 52 (1987) 227 - 232 227

The Effect of Particulate Solids on Pressure Drop Across a Cyclone

J. M. BEECKMANS and B. MORIN

Faculty of Engineering Science, The University of Western Ontario, London N6A 5B9, Ont., (Canada)
(Received January 2, 1987; in revised form April 29, 1987)

SUMMARY the cyclone was deep and nearly empty.

On the basis of visual observations in a
Using relatively coarse (over 0.1 mm) transparent cyclone, they attributed this
particles, it is shown that a cyclone is capable phenomenon to “a small quantity of solids
of trapping an inventory of solids, which leak that remained suspended in the vortex”.
to the dipleg and also, more slowly, to the gas This observation is not concordant with Yuu
outlet. The inventory of solids has a et al. ‘s conclusion that deposited particles are
maximum value, which depends on the size the cause of the observed reduction in pres-
and shape of the particles. It was found that sure drop across the cyclone, and it is difficult
at the limit of zero solids inventory the to understand how particles can remain
cyclone pressure drop reduction due to the suspended in the vortex without a simulta-
presence of solids is proportional to the neous process of deposition and reentrain-
projected area of the trapped solids, the ment from the cyclone surfaces.
proportionality constant being a function of The objectives of the present study were to
particle shape. confirm the conclusion of Yuu et al. that
particles deposited at the wall cause a consid-
erable reduction in pressure drop across the
INTRODUCTION cyclone, and to obtain additional information
concerning this phenomenon.
It is known that the pressure drop across a
cyclone is lowered by the presence of solids. EQUIPMENT AND PROCEDURES
The reduction in pressure drop was shown by
Yuu et al. [l] to be due primarily to a reduc- A sketch of the 0.30-m diameter cyclone
tion in tangential gas velocity within the used is shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 2 gives an
cyclone, caused by increased friction at the overall view of the experimental apparatus.
walls due to the presence of deposited parti-
cles. Yuu et al. demonstrated that the tangen-
tial gas velocity could also be reduced, in the
absence of particles in the gas, by coating the
internal surfaces of the cyclone with a layer
of sticky liquid and subsequently depositing
particles on to this layer. They concluded that
the dust layer on the wall, not the dust in the
gas, caused the reduction in pressure drop.
Littlejohn and Smith [2] observed that the
flow rate across a cyclone at constant pressure
\I
1
drop increased when solids were introduced
in the entering air; however, the increased
Vl
air flow continued when solids flow into
the cyclone was discontinued and was only
restored to its original clean air value +d v2

following a brief interruption in the flow, Fig. 1. Schematic of the cyclone: I, Inlet; 0, gas out-
and only provided that the hopper beneath let; D, dipleg; Vl, V2, valves.

@ Elsevier Sequoia/Printed in The Netherlands


Fig. 2. Schematic of the apparatus: B, Blower; C,
cyclone; D, air flow control valve; S, air and solids
entry point; V, venturi; P1, Pz, Pa, pressure taps.
Two valves, separated by a 15-cm length of
tube, were located in the dipleg at the base
of the cone. Air was drawn through the sys-
tem by a fan, the flow rate being measured by
a venturi meter placed downstream from the
cyclone. The gauge pressures at the cyclone
inlet, and at the inlet and throat of the
venturi were measured using water manom-
eters. Note that the pressure drop across the
cyclone was taken as the difference in
readings of pressure taps PI and Pz (Fig. 2).
Although losses in an elbow and some pipe
are included in the overall pressure drop, this
does not affect the results, which are
concerned with the reduction in pressure
drop, at constant air velocity, due to the
presence of solids in the cyclone.
All measurements on cyclone pressure drop
were made without solids in the entering air.
The observation of Littlejohn and Smith [2]
that the frictional resistance of the cyclone
caused by solids was maintained when the
flow of solids into the cyclone was shut off
was confirmed, and it was obvious from the
sound emanating from the cyclone that solids
were trapped and were responsible for the
reduced flow resistance. This provided an easy
method for studying the effects of solids on
flow resistance, since the solids could be
collected and weighed by shutting off the air
flow to the cyclone. Two types of experiment
were performed, one type designed to deter-
mine the rate of loss of trapped solids over
time, and their fate, the second type to mea-
sure flow resistance as a function of the
weight and nature of the trapped solids.
Experiments were made using various solids
whose properties are shown in Table 1. The
air velocity at the inlet to the cyclone was
maintained at 14.4 m/s in all runs, the
pressure drop across the empty cyclone being
2.56 kPa.
RATE OF DECAY AND FATE OF TRAPPED
SOLIDS
A measured quantity of solids was placed
in a beaker which was then upended so that
the solids dropped into the air stream flowing
to the cyclone. The air flow rate was im-
mediately adjusted back to its original value
using a valve placed between the venturi
and the fan, and the upper valve under the
cyclone was shut off (these manoeuvres took

TABLE 1
Physical properties of particulate solids used

No. Material Shape Density pp Size range Mean size (ip

(kg/m31 (mm) (mm)

1 Sand Rounded 2650 0.18 - 0.25 0.22

2 Sand Rounded 2650 0.25 - 0.355 0.29
3 Sand Rounded 2650 0.355 - 0.425 0.38
4 Sand Rounded 2650 0.425 - 0.50 0.46
5 Sand Rounded 2650 0.50 - 0.60 0.55
6 Sand Rounded 2650 1.0 - 1.18 1.09
7 Sand Angular, 2650 0.36 - 2.8 2.12a
irregular
8 Sand Rounded 2650 0.11 - 0.60 0.247a
9 Glass Spherical 2800 1.0 - 1.7 1.13a
10 Salt Cubical 2130 0.425 - 0.50 0.46
11 Carbon Irregular 900 0.3 - 1.18 0.87*

aHarmonic mean diameter: _ 1

d,= -
%I/$ il
 229

at most 30 s). The solids beneath the cyclone The rate of leakage of solids out the exit
were then removed by opening and closing duct was found to obey the following equa-
the lower valve, the upper valve was reopened tion:
slowly, and the pressure drop across the
cyclone was noted. The same sequence of dL, W
-=-
steps (except that of adding solids to the air dt r1
entering the cyclone) was repeated at regular
intervals, yielding data on the pressure drop Lo equals the cumulative quantity of solids
across the cyclone and on the loss of solids exiting the outlet duct, W equals the
via the dipleg, as functions of time. These inventory of solids in the cyclone at any point
experiments showed that some or all of the in time, and r1 is a time constant. The rate of
solids entering the cyclone were retained. loss of solids at any given instant is then
If the weight of solids entering the cyclone given by
WI exceeded a critical value I+‘(‘-‘)the excess
dW dL, + dL,
(i.e., Wr - WC”‘) immediately descended into (3)
the dipleg. The value of W@) depended on the -dt=dt dt
nature and sizedistribution of the solids The following equation was found by com-
(Table 2), with a trend towards larger values
bining eqns. (1) to (3) :
of W(O)with increasing size. However, shape
was also a factor since W(O)had by far the
highest value with the spherical glass beads. dW +
dt
w + Lu(f)
r1 r2 exp
= 0 (4)
TABLE 2
Parameters pertaining to trapped solids The solution of eqn. (4) is

No. Material &, 72 Iv(O) L,(f) 71

(mm) (min) (g) (g) @I jj,7 = w(o) - TILu(f) exp - 4

t
71 - 72 i 71 I
-

+
Sand 0.22 3.7 0 Large

( i
Sand 0.29 2.4 10.1 2.1 21.4 71 L,(f)
Sand 0.38 10.6 12.0 3.2 7.4 pexp - - (5)
Sand 0.46 9.2 15.1 1.1 3.7 7-l- 72 72
Sand 0.55 2.7 18.3 4.0 5.0
Sand 1.09 5.8 18.5 2.5 6.0
Sand 2.12 43 18.4 4.0 6.6 Equation (1) was verified by measuring L,
Glass 1.13 0.72 57.3 9.5 1.3 directly as a function of time, using the two
valves at the base of the cyclone to extract
leaked solids at intervals of time without
disturbing flow in the cyclone. W was inferred
Subsequently, particles continuously from the pressure drop across the cyclone,
leaked both into the dipleg and out the exit using data on the relationship between
duct of the cyclone. Leakage into the dipleg pressure drop reduction and solids inventory,
occurred over a relatively short time span, and which are reported below. It was found that
could be described by an equation of the r1 3 r2, so that for t 9 72 eqn. (5) reduces to
following form:

L=L,“‘[l -exp[- $)I (1)

(Tl:;;;‘o’]
+-)) =ln[ -; f6)
Thus, a plot of ln(W/W(‘)) uersuS time
L, equals the cumulative weight of solids has a slope equal to (-l/ri) for t S r2.
which had leaked into the dipleg after time t, Figure 3 gives an example of such a plot,
L (f) equals the total amount of leaked solids showing the fit of eqn. (5) to the data.
(buoth exclusive of any excess solids shed in Table 2 gives values for the time constants
the first few seconds after solids were ad- 71 and r2, as well as values for Lutf) and
mitted) and r2 is a time constant. W(O), for several solids.
230
0 loo ml 300 400
t hnl
Fig. 3. Typical plot of W/W(O) (ratio scale) versus
time (0.36 - 0.43 mm sand particles). Solid line:
eqn. (5).
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRESSURE DROP
ACROSS THE CYCLONE AND QUANTITY OF
TRAPPED SOLIDS
In these experiments, a known weight of
solids, suspended in the entering air, was
admitted to the cyclone. The air flow rate
was then immediately adjusted to its predeter-
mined value, the upper valve beneath the
cyclone was closed, the pressure drop across
the cyclone was noted, and the fan was shut
off. The solids found above and below the
upper valve were then collected separately
and weighed. The weight of solids found
above the upper valve equalled W, the weight
of solids circulating in the cyclone at the time
the air flow was shut off.
A typical plot of AP,, the cyclone pressure
drop reduction (i.e., the pressure drop across
the cyclone in the absence of solids, minus
the pressure drop in the presence of trapped
solids, at the same air inlet velocity), uersus
weight of trapped solids W is shown in Fig. 4.
Fig. 4. Typical plot of pressure reduction Al’, versus
weight W of solids in the cyclone (0.5 - 0.6 mm sand
particles). Solid curve is a plot eqn. (7) fitted by least-
squares.
It was found that the data for a given solid
could be fitted reasonably well by a second-
order polynomial:
AP,=aW+bW’ (7)
The zero-order term is deleted because the
definition of the pressure reduction implies
AP, = 0 when W = 0. The curve shown in
Fig. 4 was obtained by least-squares analysis.
The constant a equals the slope of the
curve at the origin; a plot of u&p, uersus
harmonic mean particle size (or arithmetic
mean size for solids with a narrow size range)
is illustrated in Fig. 5.
1 I,,,,,
I
I
0.2 0.5 IO - 2.0
dplmm)
Fig. 5. ad&., versus dp. 0, rounded sands; 0, angular
sand; m, salt; V, carbon; A, spherical glass beads.
DISCUSSION
The rate of decay of trapped solids is
clearly governed by two mechanisms: leakage
into the dipleg, characterized by a time
constant which was usually smaller than 10
min (although in one case it equalled 43 min),
and loss through the gas outlet, characterized
by a time constant measured in hours.
The mechanisms by which particles are
carried to the solids outlet do not appear to
be fully understood. It is known that cyclone
performance is relatively unaffected by its
orientation; in fact a cyclone can even be
operated satisfactorily upside down (ter
Linden [ 3]), which proves that dust which
has been collected at the walls is not carried
down primarily by gravity.
Two other mechanisms suggest themselves.
One is that particles are carried towards the
base of the cone by drag of the gas, which at
the wall has an axial component in the direc-
tion of the solids outlet [3]. The axial
component of gas velocity is, however, small
in the vicinity of the wall, and is zero at the
wall. Furthermore, in the cone, the particles

experience a centrifugal force which, when
resolved in directions parallel to and normal
to the cone, has a component in the direction
opposite to the narrow end, and which would
tend to counteract drag by the gas. This force
is, in fact, the most obvious reason for the
relatively long-term stability of the solids
inventory.
For these reasons, an alternative mecha-
nism is proposed, namely, that particles
circulating in the cone constitute a kind of
two-dimensional gas which ‘overflows’ into
the dipleg when the concentration of particles
exceeds a maximum value. An estimate of
the degree of coverage of the cone of the
cyclone by particles at the maximum value of
W may be obtained using the following
formula:
where 17(O)equals the fraction of the surface
area of the cone occupied by particles at
W = WC"), and A, equals the area of the cone
of the cyclone. Equation (8) was derived by
assuming that particles are spherical and that
each particle occupies an area equal to its own
projected area. Values of Q(O)expressed as a
percentage are given in Table 3 for various
sands and for glass spheres. These figures
suggest that with rounded particles a surface
coverage of a little over 5% is normal. The
figure for the spherical glass beads is larger,
whereas with the very angular particles of
crushed sand (material 7) the figure is much
lower. The coverage is also somewhat smaller
for materials 1 and 6.
TABLE 3
Estimated maximum surface coverages in the cone of
the cyclone
No. Material (s,
(mm)
Sand 0.22
Sand 0.29
Sand 0.38
Sand 0.46
Sand 0.55
Sand 1.09
Sand 2.12
Glass 1.13
231
The data suggest that particle shape plays
a significant role in the observed phenomena;
indeed in comparing results obtained with
materials 6 and 9, which have similar mean
particle size and density but have dissimilar
shapes, it is seen that the parameters 71, To,
W(O)and q(O) all differ very significantly
in the two cases.
The rate of leakage of particles to the gas
outlet is smallest with the smallest particles
(Table 2), and appears to reach a maximum
value at approximately 0.5 mm mean size
with rounded, non-spherical particles. This
result is consistent with the findings of Mori
et al. [ 41, who observed that the efficiency of
their cyclone decreased with increasing size
of particles, in the size range from 74 to 246
pm. They attributed this phenomenon to
irregular bouncing of particles against the
(8) internal surfaces of the cyclone. The higher
leakage rate observed with glass spheres
may be due to the fact that they roll more
rapidly, due to their shape, and may therefore
bounce further when they hit an imperfec-
tion, such as a seam, in the wall of the
cyclone.
The effect of q on AP, is illustrated in
Fig. 5, since it may be shown that
d@r
-=_ 2ad,p,
(9)
dr) 34
where rl equals the fractional surface coverage
in the cone of the cyclone due to a mass W of
trapped particles. The data in Fig. 5 thus
show that in most cases, and over a broad
range of sizes, pressure drop reduction at the
limit of near zero solids is approximately
proportional to surface coverage. The propor-
tionality constant is significantly smaller for
the spherical glass beads, and is significantly
larger for the irregular, angular crushed sand
particles with average size 2.12 mm, and for
the smallest particles. With the exception
of these three cases, the values of ap,i&,
r)(o) are confined to the span 2.4 X lo5 to 3.1 X
(%I lo5 Pa/m2 over a range of mean size from
0.22 to 1.09 mm.
2.7
5.5
5.0
5.2
5.3 CONCLUSIONS
2.7
1.4
7.5 The following physical phenomena were
observed:
232

(1) A cyclone is capable of holding an L

u
(0 maximum value of L,
inventory of circulating coarse solids for t time, s
significant periods of time after feeding of mr pressure drop reduction due to solids,
solids has ceased. Pa
(2) The inventory of solids decays over W inventory of solids in the cyclone, kg
time, partly to the underflow, with a rela- w(o) maximum inventory of solids in the
tively short time constant, and partly to the cyclone, kg
gas outlet, with a much longer time constant. WI mass of solids fed to the cyclone, kg
(3) There exists a maximum value for the
inventory of solids, any excess material in the Greek symbols
feed immediately descending to the under- 77 nominal fractional surface coverage in
flow. The maximum solids inventory depends cone, -
on the size and shape of the particles. n(o) maximum nominal fractional surface
(4) With particles of similar shape and for coverage, -
W < W(O), the pressure drop reduction is 71 overhead leakage time constant, s
approximately proportional to the degree of 72 underflow leakage time constant, s
nominal surface coverage in the cone, regard- PP particle density, kg/m3
less of size or density of the particles. How-
ever, the pressure drop reduction may be sig-
nificantly larger or smaller for the same ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
degree of surface coverage with particles
having different shapes. The authors wish to express their apprecia-
tion to the Natural Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada for financial
LIST OF SYMBOLS support for this work.

constant in eqn. (7), Pa/kg REFERENCES

: surface area of cone of cyclone, m2
bc constant in eqn. (7), Pa/kg2
d* mean particle size, m
cumulative weight of solids escaping
LO
with the air up to time t, kg
JL cumulative weight of solids descending
through the dipleg up to time t (ex-
clusive of material shed initially), kg
1 S. Yuu, T. Jotaki,
Y. Tomita and K. Yoshida,
Chem. Eng. Sci., 33 (1978)1573.
2 R. F. Littlejohn and R. Smith, Proc. Inst. Mech.
Engrs., 192 (1978) 243.
3 A. J. ter Linden, Proc. Inst. Mech. Engrs., 160
(1949) 233.
4 Y. Mori, A. Suganuma and T. Shu, J. Chem.
Engrg. Japan, 1 (1968) 82.