Atomization characteristics of twin nozzles for outdoor snow-makers application

Abstract

Swirl nozzles are the core component of outdoor snow-makers for forming snow crystal artificially. A general experiment setup for simulating the atomization process at the working conditions of outdoor snow-makers was developed. Phantom high-speed camera and PW180-B laser particle size analyzer (LPSA) were used to capture the dynamic atomization process and droplet diameter distributions respectively. The atomization characteristics of a single swirl nozzle and that of twin nozzles were tested and analyzed. For single nozzle, Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) drops rapidly and then goes up gently due to the action of droplets breakup and coalescence. With the increase of the injection pressure, the SMD of the droplets decreases, and the mass flow rate of the nozzles is improved. Moreover, the spray cone angle increases rapidly and keeps a stable value. For twin nozzles, the cooperation of the swirl nozzles obviously reduces the SMDs of the atomization field because it enhances the probability of droplets collision and separation. The SMDs are determined by the cooperative distances and injection pressure.