"HOT GAS CLEAN UP FOR PARTICULATE MATTER"

THE USE OF TRANSVERSE PRESSURE WAVE SEPARATION PROVIDES THE OPPORTUNITY FOR SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM OF HOT-STREAM PARTICLE REMOVAL. USING A REPETITIVE PRESSURE PULSE WITH A FAST RISE AND SLOWER RELAXATION, PARTICLES CAN BE STEADILY SEGREGATED TO ONE SIDE OF THE FLOW. THE LARGER PARTICLES ARE THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE COMPONENT OF THE EXHAUST FLOW TO DOWN STREAM DEVICES, AND THESE PARTICLES CAN BE CONCENTRATEDAND REMOVED WITH THIS TECHNIQUE. THE PRESSURE WAVE SEPARATION INVOLVES NO PRESSURE DROP IN THE FLOW AND ITS EXCITING STRUCTURE DOES NOT COME IN CONTACT WITH THE HOT FLOW, AVOIDING ALL OF THE MANY MATERIALS PROBLEMS THAT ARISEFROM CONTACT WITH DESTRUCTIVE EXHAUST FLUIDS. THE SYSTEM ISEXPECTED TO BE ECONOMICAL, EASILY RETROFITTED ON EXISTING SYSTEMS, AND TO HAVE LOW MAINTENANCE COST. THE STRATEGY FOR PHASE I IS TO CONSTRUCT A PRESSURE WAVE SEPARATOR AND DEMONSTRATE ITS FEASIBILITY IN A REALISTIC COMBUSTOR ENVIRONMENT. THE RATE OF SEPARATION AND LIMITING PARTICLE SIZE WILL BE INVESTIGATED, AND THE GEOMETRY OF THE SYSTEM WILL BE OPTIMIZED TOGETHER WITH THE PRESSURE WAVE GENERATION.