HPLC column

An HPLC column comprising a media chamber of uniform cross section having open ends and closure caps applied thereto, said media chamber containing separation media, the closure cap at the open upper end containing at the center thereof an inlet opening through which fluid is introduced into the media chamber and having at the side facing the open end of the media chamber a conical recess defining a dispersion chamber, said open upper end of the chamber containing a circular recess coextensive with the distributor chamber, a distributor plate coextensive in area with the cross-sectional area of the open end of the media chamber positioned in said recess between said open upper end and said closure cap, said distributor plate containing a plurality of concentric, circularly-arranged, peripherally-spaced openings of increasing size radially of the center and a dispersion member positioned in the dispersion chamber at the center of the distributor plate at the side facing the inlet opening defining a deflector surface facing the conical recess and a sintered stainless steel disk interposed between the distributor plate and the bottom of the recess.

The method of dispersing fluid entering a vessel through an opening thereof of smaller cross-sectional area than that of the vessel to cause the fluid to be dispersed substantially uniformly throughout the cross-sectional area of the vessel comprising providing a concave recess in concentric relation to the inlet opening defining a distribution chamber at the end of the vessel, positioning a deflector within the recess opposite the entrance having a surface spaced from the inlet and concentric therewith and injecting the fluid to be dispersed in the vessel through said opening therein into engagement with the face of the distributor at a pressure such as to cause the fluid to be reversely deflected into engagement with the concave surface of the recess.