Erosion behavior on a large-sized centrifugal fan

Several production processes involve the use of turbomachinery for the transport of gases with high concentrations of solid particles. Centrifugal fans employed in clinker production operate under severe erosive conditions. To limit the erosive wear of specific fan zones, wear-resistant plates are used. This paper presents a numerical investigation of the erosion behavior of a large-sized centrifugal fan operating in a cement factory. A contaminant characterization is carried out to define particle shape, size distribution and physical characteristics (i.e. density) on which the particle model is based. In addition, the surface analysis and microstructural characterization of the weld-deposited hardfacing alloy provide the wear-resistant coating features. Particles are tracked with a Lagrangian approach on the instantaneous flow fields corresponding to different relative impeller-to-volute positions. The particle impact angle is found to have a significant influence on the erosion of fan surfaces. CFD predictions are in close agreement with on-field erosion detections.