Numerical and Experimental Investigations of a Disc Stack Centrifuge Used as an Oil Mist Separator for Automotive Applications

For heavy-duty diesel engines, the current tightening in exhaust gas legislation is the driving force for new developments of oil separators from blowby gases. The most potential maintenance-free solution to this challenge is the disc stack centrifuge.

Based on CFD calculations, it is possible to show, that the flow behaviour through the device influences the grade efficiency and also the separation efficiency. For a wide operating range the separation results can be described with one universal grade efficiency curve depending on a non-dimensional droplet diameter. Separation efficiencies acquired by experiments correspond very well with the numerical results.