2021 Volume 54 Issue 1 Pages 18-27
Mal distribution and pressure drop are two important parameters for evaluating gas distributors, especially in vacuum towers. However, in many cases, the optimal results of these two parameters cannot be obtained simultaneously. To solve this problem, all the key geometric parameters of a two-direction vapor horn gas distributor were systematically analyzed in this study. These include the diameter of the column (D), inlet diameter (d), space between Inner sleeve and tower wall (H), height of inner sleeve (h), height of first vane (h′), radial slop angle (θ), number of vanes (N), inlet velocity in the column (v). The results showed that the pressure drop was mostly influenced by the space size at the inlet of the distributor, and the location of the high-speed zone of the gas was mainly affected by the gap between the inner sleeve and tower wall, height of the first vane, and number of vanes. Furthermore, an orthogonal experiment was conducted to obtain two correlation equations connecting the geometrically structured parameters with the pressure drop and mal distribution factor of the gas. This could help in predicting the gas distribution uniformity and pressure drop within the two-direction vapor horn gas distributor.
