Apparatus for separating vapor and liquid at high pressures

Claim 1

IN A CENTRIFUGAL SEPARATOR, AN UPRIGHT CYLINDRICAL PRESSURE VESSEL OF CIRCULAR CROSS-SECTION HAVING WALLS OF HEAVY GAUGE METAL AND, MEANS FORMING AN ANNULAR UNITARY INLET CHAMBER CONSTRUCTION OF LIGHT GAUGE METAL AT THE UPPER PART OF THE PRESSURE VESSEL, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL WALL AND UPPER AND LOWER ANNULAR FLANGES RIGID WITH AND EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY OF THE WALL, SAID WALL AND CHAMBER BEING OF SUBSTANTIAL AXIAL EXTENT AND CONCENTRIC WITH THE PRESSURE VESSEL AND FORMING A CENTRALLY ARRANGED CIRCULAR WHIRL CHAMBER, THE INLET CHAMBER CONSTRUCTION FLANGE FITTING CLOSELY WIHTIN THE PRESSURE VESEL TO FORM AN ANNULAR MIXTURE INLET CHAMBER NORMALLY RECEIVING VAPOR AND LIQUID MIXTURES UNDER HIGH PRESSURE, THE INLET CHAMBER CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ARRANGED INLET NOZZLES OF LIGHT GAUGE METAL RIGID WITH THE CYLINDRICAL WALL AND HAVING THEIR INLETS OPEN TO AND DISPOSED WITHIN SAID ANNULAR MIXTURE INLET CHAMBER AND SPACED OUTWARDLY RADIALLY OF SAID CIRCULAR WALL AND HAVING THEIR OUTLETS OPEN TO THE WHIRL CHAMBER, SAID NOZZLES BEING CURVED IN PLAN WITH THEIR CONCAVITIES OPENING INWARDLY AND BEING SO CONSTRUCTED THAT THE FLOW PASSAGE THROUGH EACH NOZZLE IS NARROW RADIALLY OF THE PRESSURE VESSEL AND WIDE AXIALLY OF THE PRESSURE VESSEL, THE NOZZLES BEING SIMILARLY SO CONSTRUCTED AND ARRANGED AS TO SET UP A WHIRLING MOTION OF THE FLUID WITHIN THE WHIRL CHAMBER.