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LIGAMENT-CONTROLLED EFFERVESCENT ATOMIZATION
Citation:
Sutherland, J., P. Sojka, AND M. Plesniak. LIGAMENT-CONTROLLED EFFERVESCENT ATOMIZATION. ATOMIZATION AND SPRAYS. Begell House Incorporated, New York, NY, 7(4):383-406, (1997).
Impact/Purpose:
Published Journal Article
Description:
The operating principles and performance of a new type of spray nozzle are presented. This nozzle, termed a "ligament-controlled effervescent atomizer," was developed to allow consumer product manufacturers to replace volatile organic compound (VOC) solvents with water and hydrocarbon (HC) propellants with air, while meeting the following restrictions: that the spray mean drop size remain below 70 um, that the atomizing air consumption be less than 0.009, and that atomizer performance be uncomprised by the increase in surface tension or by changes in viscosity. The current atomizer differs from previous effervescent designs through inclusion of a porous disc located immediately upstream of the nozzle exit orifice. The purpose of this disc is to control the diameter of ligaments formed at the injector exit plane. Atomizer performance is reported in terms of the spray Sauter mean diameter, with drop size data analyzed using a model developed from first principles. The model describes the spray formation process as the breakup of individual cylindrical ligaments subject to a gas stream. Ligament breakup length is obtained using the expression of Sterling and Sleicher1. Ligament diameter is estimated from manufacturer supplied pore size data for the porous disc. The model correctly predicts the experimentally observed relationship between Sauter mean diameter and air-to-liquid ratio by mass, liquid surface tension, and liquid viscosity.
URLs/Downloads:
Journal URL
LIGAMENT-CONTROLLED EFFERVESCENT ATOMIZATION (PDF, NA pp, 6054 KB, about PDF)