Fluidic Oscillator Barrier Design for Wide Spray Coverage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluidic oscillators have limitations in achieving large vertical and horizontal spread of liquid droplets, which restricts their application in cooling tower and other industrial uses, particularly in terms of coverage area and uniformity at varying pressures and flow rates.
Innovation Solution
A fluidic circuit design with a barrier that separates the flow passage into two power nozzles, controlling the lateral and vertical spread by adjusting the characteristic length, width, and angle of the nozzles, and incorporating an expansion section to enhance the vertical spread angle, allowing for increased coverage area and uniform distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of stationary object
If standard spray nozzles are used, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the vertical and horizontal spread of liquid droplets is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The spray nozzle is segmented into multiple functional components: a body portion, a divergent section with specific angles, and a multi-hole outlet arrangement. The outlet is divided into multiple spray zones with different hole orientations (first set at angle α, second set at angle β) to achieve independent control over horizontal and vertical spread, resolving the contradiction between coverage area and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from conventional two-dimensional planar spray patterns to three-dimensional omnidirectional spray by incorporating outlets oriented in multiple directions (horizontal and vertical angles). The divergent section creates spatial separation between different spray zones, enabling droplets to disperse in multiple dimensions simultaneously, thus achieving large coverage area while maintaining manageable structural complexity.
2Area of stationary object
If pressure is increased to improve spray coverage, then the spray area increases, but droplet distribution uniformity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The divergent section is designed with specific angle ranges (α: 10°-30°, β: 5°-15°) that create dynamic flow separation and reduce pressure-induced droplet clustering. The geometry transforms high-pressure concentrated flow into dispersed multi-directional spray, maintaining uniform droplet distribution across the coverage area even at elevated pressures by distributing kinetic energy across multiple spray zones.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the nozzle have locally optimized characteristics: the divergent section has specific angle gradients to control flow separation, the first set of outlets has angle α for horizontal spread, and the second set has angle β for vertical spread. This local optimization ensures uniform droplet distribution across the entire spray pattern while maintaining large coverage area under varying pressure conditions.
3Productivity
If flow rate is increased to enhance cooling performance, then the cooling efficiency improves, but spray pattern control becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-hole outlet arrangement with different orientation angles creates periodic spray patterns that naturally distribute flow across multiple zones. As flow rate increases, the periodic structure maintains pattern integrity by directing excess flow through multiple oriented outlets rather than creating uncontrolled spray, thus preserving spray pattern control while enhancing cooling efficiency through increased total droplet output.
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 design significantly increases the vertical and horizontal spread of liquid droplets, enabling efficient and uniform coverage of large areas, even at high flow rates and pressures, while preventing clogging and maintaining effective cooling performance.
Implementation Method 1
The distinctiveness of these sprays is due to the fact that they are characterized by being oscillatory in nature
Implementation Method 2
fluidic oscillator for generating a spray of liquid droplets having large rates of both lateral and vertical spread
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~4
Figure 5~7
AI summary
An improved fluidic insert, that operates on a pressurized liquid flowing through the insert (1) to generate a jet of liquid that flows from said insert and into the surrounding gaseous environment to form a spray of liquid droplets, includes: (a) a member (2) having top, front and rear outer surfaces, (b) a fluidic circuit located within this top surface and having an inlet (4), an outlet (8) and a channel (3) whose floor and sidewalls connect the inlet and outlet, and a barrier (5), located proximate the outlet, that rises from the channel floor and is configured such that: (i) it divides the channel in the region of the barrier into what are herein denoted as two power nozzles (3a, 3b), and (ii) each of these nozzles has a downstream portion that is configured so as to cause the liquid flowing from the nozzles to generate flow vortices behind the barrier (5) that are swept out of the outlet in such a manner as to control the lateral rate of spread of liquid droplets from the insert,