A new type of composite tridimensional rotational flow sieve tray is
proposed. The flow pattern and operation domain of the tray were defined
and divided by the image shooting method, combined with the standard
deviation of the pressure difference sequence. There are membrane--drip
column and foam--embolic flow in the TRST area of the internal
packing--type tray, while bubbly and milk froth-ribbon flow are present
in the packing area of the external packing-type tray. This study
focused on the influence of the tray structure parameters on the
pressure drop. Under the experimental operating conditions, the dry
pressure drop was within 160 Pa, while the wet pressure drop was within
900 Pa. Under the same structural parameters, the internal packing--type
pressure drop of the tray was higher than that of the external
packing-type tray. A mathematical model of the pressure drop between dry
and wet trays was established.