Column Hydraulics

Efficiency /
Phenomenon Definition/ Cause Main causes
Characteristic

Low Vapor flow

Start flow of Liquid through tray holes or Low vapor flow/ May not drop
Weeping openings /Due to reduction in vapor flow Higher Liquid to immediately
rate vapor ratios (L/V)
Excessive liquid leakage through the tray Sudden and severe
openings/ Minimum vapor flow rate is equal drop of efficiency
Dumping (Big Weeping) Low vapor flow
to or greater than flow at which dumping
starts
High Vapor flow
Poor contact of V/L
phases on tray.
Fine dispersion of liquid (mist) which gets
Excess vapor flow Vapor phase
carried to the next tray above/ it is caused by
when liquid load is becomes
an excess vapor velocity through the orifice
constant continuous in
in tray.
column. Lead to
foaming
Liquid height on tray and downcomer gets
increased till column is practically full of
liquid
Jetting of liquid droplets from a tray to the
tray located above due to excessive vapor Excess vapor
velocity. This phenomenon fix maximum velocity
capacity of tray for a given Tray Spacing
Incorrect tray
In sufficient vapor separation from liquid in spacing,
the down comer causes foaming , sever downcomer
pressure drop and consequently tray may clearance,
flood and down comer flood. downcomer area/
High liquid flow

Tray Limits

Maximum Vapor flow rate Blowing or jet flooding, High delta P on trays and
excess liquid height , flooding.
Liquid entrainment due to physical properties
(independent of flooding)
Maximum Liquid flowrate Down comer flooding due to poor vapor
separation in down comer/ Weeping or dumping
if vapor flow is low/
 Very high liquid gradient, poor vapor separation
Min Vapor flow rate Weeping and Dumping at high liquid flow/ In
sufficient vapor contact and efficiency
Min Liquid flow Blowing at higher vapor flow/ If liquid height on
tray is high , vapor flow in down comer due to high
resistance. Insufficient contact and efficiency

Important Things to remember for Design of Tray (KG Tower as the Basis):

Number of Tray Passes and significance:

The number of flow passes should be increased as required to provide the necessary liquid
handling capacity.
In general for single pass tray liquid flows down ward through down comers in serpentine path.
Vapor flows through the tray openings. Liquid present on tray deck will offer certain resistance.
However, as the liquid capacity (flow) increases, resistances on trays also increase and at certain
resistance it is advisable to increase the number of tray passes to reduce the resistance.
2 tray passes and 4 passes are very common. However, 3 pass and higher than four difficult and
seldom used due to lack of symmetry that leads to imbalance.

How to decide tray resistance?

Tray resistance is represented in terms of liquid flow, Up to a maximum flow 7 to 13 GPM/ Inch
of outlet weir.

Tray Spacing:
Good values
S = 18 Inch for top section
S = 24 inch for bottom section

Hole Diameter/ Active Area:

Hole size for clean service: 3/16 inch

Fouling Servie : ½ inch

Kister guidelines : Fractional hole area : 0.1 (10%)

As per KG tower , Tray Open Area = 5 to 14%

Weir height: 2 inch

Weir Length : 75% of Column Dia

Down Comer Width ( 15 to 17 % of Tray Dia )

Down Comer backup

Down comer backup is nothing but a phenomenon in which liquid in the down comer is unable to pass
on to the below tray.
Reasons for downcomer liquid backup are :
 Froth height on the below tray
 Pressure drop on the tray
 Friction losses under downcomer apron

This can be explained mathematically as below

In KG tower
Downcomer Backup: The clear liquid downcomer backup is reported in both inches
of liquid and as a percentage of the tray spacing plus weir height. The clear liquid backup
should be limited to 40% of the tray spacing plus weir height for normal services. For high
pressure, light hydrocarbon distillation services, the clear liquid backup should be limited to
30-33% of the tray spacing plus weir height. The downcomer backup is dependent on the
tray pressure drop and the clearance under
the downcomer
DC Exit Velocity: The downcomer exit velocity is the liquid velocity as it flows horizontally
through the downcomer clearance. This value should be limited to 1.5 ft/sec [0.46 m/s] for
conventional valve tray designs. The downcomer exit velocity is most easily adjusted by
changing the downcomer clearance.

Weir Load
Weir Load: The weir loading is generally used to determine the liquid loading of the
tray. Although there is no specific design limit for weir loading, increased number of
flow passes should be considered when the weir loading is greater than 100 – 120 gpm/ft
[74.5 – 89.4 m3/h/m] in order to provide increased tray capacity.
A minimum weir loading of 5 gpm/ft [3.7 m3/h/m] is recommended at turndown.
Crest: The crest is the theoretical height of clear liquid flowing over the outlet weir. It is
important to remember that the liquid leaving the tray consists of drops, spray and slugs and
not a measurable height of clear liquid as this term might suggest.
The liquid crest is directly associated with the weir loading. A minimum liquid crest of 0.25
inches [6 mm] is recommended to ensure proper tray performance at low liquid rates.

Head Loss Under DC: The head loss under the downcomer is based on the downcomer
clearance and the shape of the downcomer edge. Typically, the head loss should be designed
somewhere between 0.06 to 1.0 inches [1.5 to 25 mm]. The head loss can be adjusted by
changing the downcomer clearance or utilizing radius-tip downcomers.

Blow Rating: The blow rating indicates the approach to a phase inversion condition, in which
the liquid is blown into a fine spray (or "fluidized"), leaving the tray
essentially dry (even though the spray is not necessarily carried to the tray above).
The result is a loss of column efficiency due to gas bypassing and a shift in the limiting mass
transfer resistance (from the gas side to the liquid side).
The blow rating is only applicable to trays operating in the spray regime and thus is reported
as zero for moderate to high liquid rate applications.
The blow rating should be held to a maximum of to 85% if possible. It can be reduced by
increasing the number of valves, adding weir blocks, and/or raising the outlet weir height.

System Limit: The system limit represents an ultimate column capacity limit which can not be
exceeded by changing the tray design or increasing the tray spacing.