Snow simulation

Simulation of snow penetration into a filter house

Example
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A manufacturer of intake systems is planning to install a system in Siberia to draw in combustion air for a gas turbine. Depending on the environmental conditions, the system is to be fitted with a weather hood to ensure that no snow is sucked into the filter house. Ambient temperatures in this region range from -60 °C to +40 °C.

For the filter house of the suction system, the amount of snow sucked in should be determined. This is to be determined when there is no wind and at a maximum wind speed of 31 m/s.

Task / Calculation

Four different snow particle diameters, each with three different particle shapes, are investigated for both flow variants. Under the conditions at the installation site (T < -20 °C, dry air), snow particles in the form of unripe hexagonal plates or prisms with a size of d <= 1 mm are to be expected. To obtain comparative values, an evaluation for unripped crystals and unripped irregular particles is also performed. A diameter range of the particles from 0.5 to 2.0 mm is considered.

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Results

When there is no wind, it can be expected that between 5 and 10% of the snow will be sucked in. With 10 mm precipitation (hexagonal plates, 1 mm diameter), this results in a loading of approx. 0.3-0.6 kg/h per filter inlet area in 24 hours. For larger particles.

Video

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