Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Efficiency and Pressure Drop of an Inertial Impactor with Variable Area

The deposition efficiency and pressure drop of inertial impactor with variable area has been studied numerically and experimentally. The effect of volumetric flow rate, vertical barrier, oblique barrier and flexible concave plate versus deposition and impaction efficiency and pressure drop is investigated. Numerical simulation is carried out with DPM (discrete phase method) and turbulent model of SST k-ω. To validate the numerical results a special test rig is designed to study the deposition efficiency of engine oil droplets (blow-by) with a diameter of 0.1 to 6 μm. Experimental Tests are done in 8, 12, 16 and 20 L/min. To ensure the accuracy of the experimental results, all the tests are repeated at least three times for each volumetric flow rate. Gravimetric method is implemented to calculate the deposition efficiency. According to the results, the deposition efficiency is obtained between 73 and 94 percent for different mentioned impactors and different volumetric flow rate. The numerical results are confirmed by experimental results. Using the barriers increase the efficiency maximum 6 percent in different volumetric flow rate. The results show that by reducing the distance between the vertical barrier and the outlet of nozzle, the deposition and impaction efficiency are increased. Also, the Concave flexible plate with vertical barrier located at 1 mm from the outlet of nozzle is the most efficient case.