*Article* **Numerical Simulation of a Flow Field in a Turbo Air Classifier and Optimization of the Process Parameters**

**Yun Zeng 1, Si Zhang 1, Yang Zhou 2,3,\* and Meiqiu Li 1**


Received: 31 January 2020; Accepted: 14 February 2020; Published: 19 February 2020

**Abstract:** Due to the rapid development of powder technology around the world, powder materials are being widely used in various fields, including metallurgy, the chemical industry, and petroleum. The turbo air classifier, as a powder production equipment, is one of the most important mechanical facilities in the industry today. In order to investigate the production e fficiency of ultrafine powder and improve the classification performance in a turbo air classifier, two process parameters were optimized by analyzing the influence of the rotor cage speed and air velocity on the flow field. Numerical simulations using the ANSYS-Fluent Software, as well as material classification experiments, were implemented to verify the optimal process parameters. The simulation results provide many optimal process parameters. Several sets of the optimal process parameters were selected, and the product particle size distribution was used as the inspection index to conduct a material grading experiment. The experimental results demonstrate that the process parameters of the turbo air classifier with better classification e fficiency for the products of barite and iron-ore powder were an 1800 rpm rotor cage speed and 8 m/s air inlet velocity. This research study provides theoretical guidance and engineering application value for air classifiers.

**Keywords:** turbo air classifier; process parameters; numerical simulation; particle trajectory; relative classification sharpness index
