CFD study of weeping rate in the rectangular sieve trays

Sieve trays are widely used fractionating devices existing in separation and purification industries. The weeping phenomenon that has a critical effect on the efficiency of tray towers was studied by a numerical model in a rectangular sieve tray. An Eulerian–Eulerian Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method was performed. The obtained CFD results are in a good agreement with the experimental data and empirical correlation of Zuiderweg [Zuiderweg FJ. Sieve trays: a view on the state of the art, Chem Eng Sci 1982;37:1441–64] in terms of weeping rate and pressure drop, respectively. Furthermore, several hydraulic parameters are properly predicted by the model.

► The liquid weeping in the rectangular sieve trays was studied by a CFD model.
► The model results showed a good compatibility with the experimental data in terms of clear liquid height.
► The CFD results also showed a good agreement with some empirical correlations in terms of dry pressure drop and weep flux.
► Backup in the downcomer was studied by the model at weeping and normal conditions.
► It was found that the weeping is a non-uniform phenomenon on the rectangular sieve trays.