Numerical and experimental analysis of an industrial spark arrester applied to fire prevention in grain dryers
Keywords:
Spark arresters, Cyclone, Computational Fluid DynamicsAbstract
Cyclonic spark arresters are low-pressure-drop filtration devices used to separate sparks generated from biomass combustion in grain dryers, contributing to fire prevention in the agricultural sector. In this study, the CFD code CYCLO-EE5, specifically developed for cyclone simulations, was applied to analyze a full-scale industrial case. Numerical results revealed that following abrupt pressure variations within the equipment, accumulated particulate matter is intermittently released via discharge and/or entrainment events. This phenomenon may be associated with failures in retaining potentially incendiary sparks, thereby increasing operational risks. To verify this behavior, experimental field measurements of pressure drop were performed under the same operating conditions used as reference for the numerical analysis. The integrated results indicated intermittent accumulation and discharge, providing novel insights to improve fire prevention systems in agricultural dryers.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Bruno Stanke, Jonathan Utzig, Henry França Meier, Rodrigo Koerich Decker (Author)
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