Effect of Symmetry on the Hydrodynamics Parameters of Sieve Trays Using CFD

In this article the effect of symmetry on the hydrodynamics of industrial sieve tray has been elaborated. In all previous works, symmetry and half tray were considered, but in this work we examine the whole tray. The study was carried out by using a 3-D Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method analysis. Hydrodynamics parameters of clear liquid height, froth height and average liquid volume fraction in froth were predicted and compared with two available correlations. These parameters had better agreement with experimental data than symmetry simulation results. It was concluded that for having a better simulation model and hence a better analysis of tray performance, assumption of the existence of symmetry plan on hydraulic and mass transfer using CFD simulation be waived.