Spray Nozzle Stepped Vortex Chamber High Viscosity
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional spray nozzles struggle to produce uniform droplets for products with viscosities higher than water, resulting in inefficient aerosol formation, typically producing a hollow cone spray or jet instead of desired droplet size.
Innovation Solution
A spray nozzle design featuring a conical vortex chamber with stepped portions on its lateral surface, which creates turbulence and enhances impaction, allowing for the formation of fine and uniform droplets, even with high viscosity products, by having supply channels opening tangentially into the chamber and a dispensing orifice with specific geometrical features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional conical vortex chamber is used, then droplet formation works well for low viscosity fluids like water, but it fails to produce uniform droplets for high viscosity products (50-100 times more viscous than water)
Solution Approach 1:
The invention modifies the geometric parameters of the vortex chamber by introducing stepped portions with specific height ratios (h1, h2, h3) and radial positions (r1, r2, r3) along the conical surface. These parameter changes create controlled turbulence that effectively reduces the impact of high fluid viscosity, enabling uniform droplet formation across a wide viscosity range from water to products 100 times more viscous.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention adds a vertical dimension to the conventional conical surface by introducing stepped portions at different heights. This transforms the smooth two-dimensional conical surface into a three-dimensional stepped structure, creating multiple impaction zones that generate turbulence effective for high viscosity fluids while maintaining compatibility with lower viscosity products.
2Speed
If supply channels open tangentially into the swirl chamber, then the product rotates quickly and gains speed, but high viscosity products still produce hollow cone spray or jet instead of fine droplets
Solution Approach 1:
The stepped portions act as intermediary structures between the tangential supply channels and the dispensing orifice. They intercept the high-speed rotating fluid and create controlled impaction zones that transform the rotational kinetic energy into turbulent mixing, enabling fine droplet formation from high viscosity products while preserving the speed-generating effect of tangential supply.
3Device complexity
If the conical lateral surface is smooth and continuous, then the structure is simple, but it cannot create sufficient turbulence for high viscosity products to form fine droplets
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the continuous conical lateral surface into multiple stepped portions with defined heights and radial positions. This segmentation creates discrete impaction zones that generate turbulence throughout the vortex chamber, enabling fine droplet formation from high viscosity products while maintaining relative structural simplicity through the systematic arrangement of segments.
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 nozzle effectively produces a uniform aerosol with droplet sizes between 10 μm and 60 μm, maintaining consistency regardless of the user's pressure exertion, achieving a stable and efficient aerosol formation for cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.
Implementation Method 1
the vortex chamber is intended to cause the liquid to rotate very quickly and therefore to give it speed and the effects of centrifugal force
Implementation Method 2
the rotating product escapes through said orifice by impacting itself with sufficient speed to split into droplets forming the aerosol
Implementation Method 3
the sheet jumps from one stage to another between two levels, which causes turbulence of its flow. Thus, we manage to create a significant turbulence despite the viscosity of the product
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~5
Figure 6~7
AI summary
The invention relates to a spray nozzle, in particular for a pressurized product distribution system equipped with a push button, the nozzle (12) comprising a distribution orifice (23) and a vortex chamber (22) opening onto the distribution orifice (23), the chamber having a conical part (31) delimited by a conical lateral surface (25), said conical lateral surface being convergent from an upstream end (26) to a downstream end (27) of supplying the distribution orifice (23), the nozzle further comprising at least one supply channel (24) of said vortex chamber, the supply channel(s) (24) opening onto the upstream end (26) of the conical part (31), the lateral surface (25) having at least one stepped portion (33) provided with a plurality of levels (36).