NOVEL DESIGNS FOR EJECTOR-BASED SYSTEMS FOR ENHANCED FLUID RECOVERY VERIFIED THROUGH CFD SIMULATIONS

Abstract

Ejector-based systems are widely used for various industrial purposes, including transporting fluids, trapping particulate matters, and refrigeration. Novel design strategies can aid in the enhancement of key performance parameters such as entrainment ratio (ER) and entrained mass flow rate, resulting in an increase in energy efficiency over conventional designs. This study included analysis of two novel design features that can increase both ER and the entrained mass flow rate: repeated entrainment and the wrapped multi-nozzle. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed to verify the enhanced performance offered by these designs. The ER predicted by the CFD model for a downscaled design of the repeated entrainment is validated using the data acquired through in-house experiments. CFD predictions for ER and entrained mass flow rates for three different inlet pressures are reported for both designs. The repeated entrainment design provides nearly 50 times more ER than the wrapped multi-nozzle. However, the wrapped multi-nozzle design provides 3 times more fluid recovery/mass flow rate than the repeated entrainment design.