Multi-Objective optimization of oil–gas cyclone separators considering liquid storage in the tank bottom

As an efficient separation device, the gas–liquid cyclone separator has been widely used in oil injection compressor systems. It can effectively reduce the oil content in the high-pressure airflow, directly affecting the fuel consumption, operating efficiency, and exhaust quality parameters of compressors, making it crucial to enhance the separator's performance. Given the critical role of geometric configuration in determining cyclone separator efficiency, this study comprehensively considers several influencing factors including the structure parameters. Taguchi method and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to quantify the contribution of three factors to the performance percentage of the separator, and the dual-objective optimization of the efficiency and pressure drop of the separator was carried out with the grey correlation analysis method. In the simulation calculation, this paper employs the DPM-to-VOF method coupled with the Euler wall film (EWF) to simulate the oil droplet particle separation process, featuring model transformation capabilities under specified conditions. The investigation culminates in the development of a parametric-performance prediction model and establishes optimal operational parameters for cyclone separators: the inlet velocity (v_in) should be set at 24.49 m/s, the height of the inner cylinder of the separator tank (H_t) should be 1.2 times the diameter, and the buffer height between the inner cylinder and the liquid surface (H_m) should be 0.9 times the diameter.