Liquid Atomizer With Multi-Stage Droplet Fragmentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fuel atomization systems in internal combustion engines fail to fully vaporize fuel, leading to incomplete combustion, reduced efficiency, increased pollution, and the need for costly after-treatment systems, due to issues like fuel droplet size and shockwaves limiting air-fuel mixing.
Innovation Solution
A fuel atomizer with a housing featuring a primary orifice, impingement surface, and secondary orifices, which breaks down fuel droplets into smaller sizes through impingement and rapid acceleration with pressurized air, enhancing vaporization by utilizing multiple physics phenomena.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional fuel injection is used, then fuel delivery is simplified, but fuel droplet size remains too large for complete vaporization and combustion
Solution Approach 1:
The atomizer divides fuel delivery into multiple stages: a primary orifice creates initial droplets, an impingement surface breaks them into smaller droplets, and multiple secondary orifices further fragment them. This multi-stage segmentation achieves ultra-fine droplet sizes that would be impossible with a single injection point.
Solution Approach 2:
The impingement surface acts as an intermediary element between the primary orifice and secondary orifices. It receives larger droplets from the primary orifice and mechanically breaks them into smaller droplets before they enter the secondary orifices, serving as a critical intermediate step in the size reduction process.
2Reliability
If fuel is injected without sufficient air mixing, then injection timing is simplified, but shockwaves prevent complete fuel-air mixing and combustion
Solution Approach 1:
The atomizer performs preliminary air delivery through multiple air ports before and during fuel injection. This pre-positioning of air in the combustion chamber creates the necessary oxygen environment beforehand, enabling immediate and complete combustion when the ultra-fine fuel droplets are injected, while also helping to mitigate shockwave effects.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses pressurized air delivery through multiple air ports positioned around the combustion chamber. This pneumatic approach uses air pressure and flow dynamics to ensure thorough fuel-air mixing and to counteract the shockwaves generated during injection, maintaining reliable combustion conditions.
3Productivity
If fuel is not completely vaporized, then combustion speed is reduced, but after-treatment systems are required to handle pollution
Solution Approach 1:
The atomizer dramatically changes the physical parameters of fuel delivery by reducing droplet size to ultra-fine dimensions through its multi-stage orifice and impingement surface system. This parameter change in droplet size directly increases the surface-area-to-volume ratio, enabling rapid vaporization and complete combustion at high speeds, thereby eliminating the need for after-treatment systems.
4Loss of energy
If larger fuel droplets are used, then fuel delivery is more efficient, but vaporization is incomplete leading to energy loss
Solution Approach 1:
The multi-stage orifice system segments fuel into progressively smaller droplets, maximizing the surface area of each unit of fuel. This segmentation ensures complete and rapid vaporization, allowing 100% of the fuel's chemical energy to be converted to mechanical energy, eliminating energy losses from incomplete combustion.
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
Improves fuel vaporization and combustion efficiency, reducing engine pollution and the need for after-treatment systems, while promoting faster vaporization rates and better fuel utilization.
Implementation Method 1
A stream of fuel is passed through a primary orifice to create a plurality of droplets
Implementation Method 2
A stream of fuel is passed through a primary orifice to create a plurality of droplets
Implementation Method 3
The droplets are contacted against an impingement surface to break up the droplets into smaller sized droplets and create a thin film of droplets on the impingement surface
Implementation Method 4
The second droplets are mixed with a pressurized air flow
Implementation Method 5
The mixed droplets/air flow are passed through a plurality of secondary orifices to accelerate the droplets to high velocity speeds
Implementation Method 6
passed through the plurality of secondary orifices to shear the second droplets into a plurality of smaller sized third droplets
Implementation Method 7
passed through the plurality of secondary orifices to accelerate the droplets to high velocity speeds
Implementation Method 8
enhancing vaporization by utilizing multiple physics phenomena
Implementation Method 9
vaporized, homogenized with air, and in a chemically-stoichiometric gas-phase mixture
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
An atomizer (16), comprising: a housing (40) having a liquid inlet (44); at least one primary orifice positioned at the liquid inlet (44), the at least one primary orifice configured to disperse a stream of liquid into a plurality of liquid droplets; an impingement surface (46) against which the plurality of liquid droplets contact to break up the plurality of liquid droplets into a plurality of smaller secondary liquid droplets and create a thin film of secondary liquid droplets on the impingement surface (46), a portion of the impingement surface (46) being arranged at an angle in the range of about 0º to about 60º relative to a plane perpendicular to a longitudinal axis (72) of the housing (40); at least one pressurized air channel (48) configured to deliver an airflow into contact with the secondary liquid droplets; a plurality of secondary orifices (52) through which the secondary liquid droplets pass to exit the housing (40), wherein a size of the plurality of secondary liquid droplets is reduced when passing through the plurality of secondary orifices (52).