Numerical study of inlet eccentricity on liquid film spreading and splitting in centrifugal granulation assisted thermal energy recovery

Centrifugal granulation assisted thermal energy recovery(CGATER) is a method of recovering waste heat from molten slag by centrifugal granulation on a rotating disc. Disturbance and positioning errors can cause the incoming liquid column to deviate from the center of the disc. In this study, numerical simulation was conducted to investigate the effect of inlet eccentricity on liquid film flow spreading, liquid filament formation and fragmentation, and droplet size distribution during CGATER. The study shows that the eccentric granulation results in a new splitting pattern in which the liquid filament grows to a certain length with the rotation of the disc and then breaks from the bottom; the thickness of the liquid film on the eccentric granulation disc is consistent with the radial velocity distribution of the liquid film. Finally, the general dimensionless prediction correlation of particle median diameter is established for the eccentric situation.