Adjustable Nozzle Arrangement for Viscous Fluid Atomization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing nozzle arrangements for atomizing fluid flows are expensive to produce, difficult to modify, and prone to blockages, especially with high viscosity liquids, limiting their adaptability for various applications.
Innovation Solution
A nozzle arrangement featuring a conical element with grooves on its outer surface that can be moved within a counter element, allowing for adjustable channel depth and cross-sectional area, enabling flexible design and easy cleaning, and capable of handling fluids with a wide range of viscosities by selectively partitioning channels and using plastics molding techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If traditional silicon plate nozzle arrangements are used, then precise atomization can be achieved, but production costs are high and modification is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the material parameter from silicon plate to plastic material, and changes the manufacturing method parameter from silicon etching to injection molding. This allows achieving similar atomization functionality while dramatically reducing production costs and enabling easy modification of channel parameters for different applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a simplified copy of the silicon nozzle structure using plastic injection molding. The conical element with grooves replicates the essential channel geometry needed for atomization, but using a cheaper, more easily manufactured material and process.
2Manufacturing precision
If small channel diameters are used for precise atomization, then fine droplets are produced, but blockages become frequent and difficult to prevent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a movable conical element that can shift axially to dynamically adjust the channel cross-sectional area. This allows the channel to expand when blockages occur, clearing them automatically, while maintaining small effective outlet diameter for precise atomization during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The conical element is positioned to preemptively clear potential blockages by periodically adjusting the channel opening, preventing accumulation of viscous fluids or particulates before they can cause complete blockage.
3Ease of manufacture
If fixed channel geometry is used, then manufacturing is simple, but adaptability to different fluid viscosities and applications is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The conical element can be moved axially to change the channel cross-sectional area, allowing the same nozzle to adapt to different fluid viscosities and flow rates. For higher viscosity fluids, the channel opens wider; for lower viscosity, it maintains a smaller opening for precise atomization.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable channel geometry makes the nozzle universal for multiple applications and fluid types. The same basic structure can handle everything from low-viscosity water to high-viscosity oils by simply adjusting the conical element position, eliminating the need for multiple specialized nozzles.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces production costs, facilitates easy modification and cleaning, and achieves comparable spray behavior at lower pressures, effectively atomizing fluids with varying viscosities while minimizing blockages.
Implementation Method 1
The conical element is movable along the axis in order to increase or to reduce the effective cross section of the nozzle arrangement
Implementation Method 2
the grooves are at least partially covered by the inner surface in order to form a multiplicity of channels, wherein the channels define outlets in order to let out a respective fluid jet which strikes against at least one further fluid jet
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a nozzle arrangement for atomizing a fluid flow, which is supplied under pressure, into fine particles, which has: a conical element with an upper surface, a lower surface and an outer surface which is adjacent to the upper and the lower surface, wherein the outer surface has a multiplicity of grooves which are formed therein and extend between the lower surface and the upper surface; and a counter element which is provided with a recess and is designed to receive the conical element and which has an inner surface such that the grooves are at least partially covered by the inner surface in order to form a multiplicity of channels; wherein the channels define outputs in order to let out a respective fluid jet which strikes against at least one other fluid jet in a region spaced apart from the upper surface of the conical element in order thus to atomize the fluid flow, and wherein the conical element is movable along the axis in order to increase or to reduce the effective cross section of the nozzle arrangement.