A Novel Inlet Guiding Structure for Pressure-Loss Reduction in Gas–Liquid Cyclone Separators

Gas–liquid cyclone separators are an efficient and emerging method for air removal in hydraulic systems, yet often suffer from excessive pressure loss. A novel contracting inlet guiding structure is proposed to minimize hydraulic losses. This study adopts a comprehensive methodology combining theoretical modeling, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) using the Reynolds Stress Model (RSM), and experimental validation. A theoretical pressure-loss model incorporating the diminishing-returns effect of the contraction angle was established. Simulations revealed that increasing the contraction angle reduces energy dissipation by improving the uniformity of the tangential-velocity field. Based on the balance between pressure-loss reduction and degassing potential, a contraction angle of 11° was identified as the optimal design and experimental tests on a prototype confirmed the validity of the numerical model. The results demonstrate that, compared to the conventional straight tangential inlet, the optimized inlet reduces the pressure loss by approximately 30% under rated conditions. The experimental–numerical discrepancy decreases significantly with flow rate, achieving a relative error of approximate 10% at the design flow rate. These findings provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for the low-energy design of hydraulic cyclone separators.