INLET DISTRIBUTOR DEVICE AND METHODS FOR USE AND DESIGN THEREOF

Disclosed are an inlet distributor device and its use in a separation vessel for separating liquid and gas. The separation vessel also includes a mist elimination device for removing vapor droplets. The inlet distributor device includes a distributor body of a rigid material having a partially enclosed three-dimensional shape, a distributor inlet adapted to be fitted to the vessel inlet such that the distributor body is positioned internally within the vessel, and a mesh material within the volume of the distributor body. Also disclosed is a method for designing the inlet distributor device. A mesh file representing the separation vessel, the mist elimination device and the inlet distributor device is generated using estimated design parameters of the separation vessel and estimated coordinates defining the distributor body. A computational fluid dynamics software package is utilized to simulate fluid behavior of fluid flowing in and through the separation vessel and solve for fluid behavior based on known and estimated variables, operating conditions and mesh material parameters. The estimated design parameters and geometry of the inlet mesh distributor, estimated variables, operating conditions and/or mesh material parameters are modified as needed until the desired fluid behavior is obtained such that the mist elimination device in the separation vessel is not overloaded with liquid droplets and velocities in the mist elimination devices are within a design velocity range.