DESIGN OF AIR CYCLONES: Part II - SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

Standard design procedures for air cyclones have been employed to formulate a comprehensive design sequence for computer implementation. The procedure is implemented as a software suite, which essentially incorporates a Microsoft Access Database to store data and Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 front-end modules for user interaction. The software design and implementation involves the following steps: establishing the model equations, designing the database to store data, designing the front-end modules and formulating the computational algorithm. The structure of the software developed is modular with scope to easily integrate modules for other unit operations. Symbols used: Dc Cyclone diameter, m a Inlet height, m b Inlet width, m Du Gas overflow outlet diameter, m S Gas underflow outlet diameter, m h Cylindrical height of cyclone, m Zc Conical height of cyclone, m' H Total height of cyclone (h+Zc), m n Collection efficiency, % Πο Overall collection efficiency Vi Inlet velocity, m/s Q Feed rate, m3/s Sf Separation Factor dpc Critical particle diameter, microns