Abstract: The inclined oil-water separator is a new and high efficient gravity separation equipment. In order to analyze
the separation mechanism and the internal flow distribution of the inclined oil-water separator，this article uses Fluent 12.0
numerical simulation software，and Elulerian multiphase-flow model combined with the Realizable k–" two equation turbulent
model to simulate the oil and water separation process in the separator. The results show that the method of numerical simulation
can better reflect the separation performance and internal flow field distribution. Compared with the conventional horizontal
separator，the“dead zone”of water and oil in the weir plate of the inclined oil-water separator is obviously reduced，and the
separating efficiency is higher. Oil and water separation efficiency is 90.48% when the angle is 12◦，the separation efficiency
increased 29.26%. Inclined oil-water separator has the advantage of simple structure，but the internal flow field is very complex.
The velocity distribution of the entrance liquid separating pipe is not uniform and there exists different degree of cyclone. This
can cause oil and water mixing in the interface. Therefore，the structures of entrance liquid separating pipe need to be further
improved.

Key words: inclined oil-water separator, turbulence model, separation efficiency, flow field, numerical simulation