March 2015: CFD Dust Busting

This is Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) dust busting month! I've performed a series of CFD simulations on the major components of a "Small Dust Collector" by Matthias Wandel of Woodgears. This month's articles systematically evaluate the performance of the blower (reappearing from last month for completeness), cyclone, and filter assembly, so you too can apply the same technique to match your own pumps/blowers to pressure drops through your system.

CFD Simulation of a Filter Assembly for a Dust CollectorCFD Simulation of a Filter Assembly for a Dust Collector

CFD Simulation of Airflow Through Filters in a Dust Collector

After using CFD to simulate the blower and cyclone in Matthias Wandel's "Small Dust Collector" we next turn our attention to the last remaining major component - the twin filter assembly. The filters remove fine particles that escape the cyclone, leaving the air to pass through the blower and exit to the atmosphere. Read more >>

CFD Analysis of a Homemade Cyclone

Hot on the heels of my recent CFD analysis of the blower for Matthias Wandel's "Small Dust Collector" comes a new CFD study of his cyclone. Cyclones are used in many industries to separate fluids from particles. In Matthias' case he wanted to separate sawdust and wood shavings from air collected from the working area of various woodworking machines. Read more >>

CFD Analysis of a Blower for a Small Dust Collector

I recently came across an interesting fluid dynamics project modestly titled "Small Dust Collector" by Matthias Wandel of Woodgears. The unusual twist - at least from my metal-orientated view of the world - was the use of wood as the primary construction material. The project includes the construction of a blower, cyclone, filter housing, and filter manifold - all prime candidates for CFD simulations. I sense a series of blog posts, so first let's take a look at the blower also known as a centrifugal fan or squirrel cage fan. Read more >>

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Matthias Wandel on CFD

You can read Matthias's thoughts on the CFD simulations for his "Small Dust Collector" at "CFD analysis of the small dust collector".