Many industrial processes require solid particles to be separated from a continuous liquid phase. In gravity separators, a slurry stream comprising liquid and solid particles is delivered to a vessel where the solid particles settle by gravity and are removed from the bottom of the vessel, while the clarified liquid is removed from the top of the vessel. In most processes, the solid particles are distributed in size, where the large particles settle more quickly and the small particles settle more slowly. Particles that have settling velocities smaller than the upward flux (superficial velocity) of liquid may not settle at all, but may instead be carried over with the clarified liquid. Optimum separation efficiency is generally achieved in conventional separators by having a uniform upward velocity distribution as this determines the theoretical limit of the maximum particle size that can be carried over. Increasing the vessel size for example decreases the upward velocity and thereby reduces the size of the largest particles that carry-over, thereby increasing the fraction of particles that report to the underflow. The manner in which the feed is delivered to the separation vessel can affect solid-liquid separation efficiency. Conventional feed delivery methods are often designed to distribute feed over a broad cross-section of the vessel, where the objective is to reduce the solids concentration, thereby reducing hindered settling and increasing the terminal velocities of the particles. The two primary objectives of a conventional feed distributor designed for broad particle size distributions are therefore to achieve a uniform upward velocity distribution and to broadly distribute the feed over the vessel cross-section. Examples of common feed distribution systems include a vertical pipe passing through the top of the vessel combined with a horizontal deflector plate, a feed-well designed to both decelerate and distribute the slurry, and multi-arm or concentric ring spargers.