Structured Packing

Structured packings are constructed from corrugated and textured metal sheets. The angle of inclination of the corrugations of adjacent sheets is reversed with respect to the vertical column axis, forming mixing cells at every point where the corrugations intersect. The result is a very open honeycomb structure with inclined flow channels giving a relatively high surface area but with very low resistance to gas flow. This structure ensures an excellent and uniform wetting under low and high liquid loads. Column operation at low liquid loads call for specially designed distributors to ensure adequate surface wetting.

Each subsequent layer of structured packing is rotated 90°so that the sheets of one layer are perpendicular to the sheets of the layer above and below. While passing through each layer, gas and liquid are thoroughly mixed in the direction parallel to the plane of the sheets. By rotating subsequent layers, excellent mixing and spreading, both side-to-side and front-to-back, of fluids are obtained over the entire cross-section of the tower.

Perforations and surface texturing maximize liquid spreading. These characteristics tend to show significant performance benefits in low pressure and low irrigation rate application.