CFD Simulation and Experimental Validation of Fluid Flow in Pre-distributor

Liquid distributor is a very import internal for distillation columns. Pre-distributor is usually set on the top of distributor for initial distribution. Fluid flow in pre-distributor is a complex system of variable mass flow with many orifices and sub-branches. Consequently, the two phase modeling of pre-distributors was carried out and the homogeneous model with free surface model was applied. The numerical method was validated by comparing with experimental data. Using the simulated results for different pre-distributors, the impacts of inflow rate, location and orientation upon the outflow distribution were investigated. Furthermore, influences of the outflow distribution for pre-distributor on liquid uniformity in trough were also analyzed. The conclusions can be adopted for the structural design of liquid distributor and pre-distributor of large scale.