Purpose: to study the distribution of the radial velocity of the internal flow along the length of the conical part of a cylindrical-conical clarifying hydrocyclone of irrigation water and to substantiate the possibility of controlling the hydraulic structure of the flow using an adjustable drainpipe.
Materials and methods. A three-dimensional model of the device (diameter and length of the cylindrical section 180 mm, cone length 420 mm, cone angle 20°) was constructed in AutoCAD; the computational grid with a cell size of 1.5 mm was generated in cfMesh. The hydrodynamic calculation was performed in OpenFOAM using the averaged Navier – Stokes equations with the SSTk–ω turbulence model at inlet pressures of 200, 300, and 400 kPa. The radial velocity was analyzed in characteristic cone sections for two variants: without nozzle and with a patented coaxial spiral one at a relative gap area K = 0.7–1.0; the dependences were approximated by a second-degree polynomial (LSP, wxMaxima).
Results. It was found that the radial velocity change along the cone length is non-uniform: over most of the cone, |Vrad| does not exceed ~ 1.4 m/s, while the maximum swing is localized in the junction zone of the conical and cylindrical parts (0.42 m section), where Vrad varies from minus 4.99 to plus 3.22 m/s (400 kPa). The installation of an adjustable nozzle eliminates the deep negative extremum in the transition zone, creating a peripheral overflow (up to 4.35 m/s) and enhances radial transport in the middle of the cone (up to 1.98 m/s in a 0.28 m cross-section) K variation in the range of 0.7–1.0 ensures smooth regulation. Conclusions. The radial velocity varies most in the transition zone; the adjustable drainpipe allows for targeted control of the hydraulic structure of the internal flow, which creates the prerequisites for improving the clarification quality of irrigation water.
doi: 10.31774/2712-9357-2026-16-3-347-369
clarifying hydrocyclone, irrigation water, internal flow, radial velocity, centrifugal clarification, numerical experiment, digital analysis, computational fluid dynamics
Degtyarev G. V., Degtyareva O. G., Golovko V. A. Investigation of the internal flow radial velocity distribution in the conical part of the clarifying hydrocyclone. Land Reclamation and Hydraulic Engineering. 2026;16(3):347–369. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31774/2712-9357-2026-16-3-347-369.
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Funding source: own funds.
