Three-dimensional flow field of a rectangular array of practical air jets

Abstract

A number of recent investigators have examined the flow fields of practical nozzles used in industry. Past investigators considered only single nozzles. This present paper concerns the velocity field below an array of practical nozzles. A common industrial use of such an array is the production of fine polymeric fibers by the process known as melt blowing. The velocity field was measured below a rectangular array of 165 air nozzles. The array was arranged in a rectangular pattern with three side-by-side columns. All nozzles were identical. Each nozzle had a sharp-edged inlet, and each nozzle discharged air through an area that approximated an annulus. Based on momentum conservation considerations, a single equation was developed that fits the data well and can be used to predict the velocity at any position below the nozzle array. At large distances from the array, the velocity field can be approximated as the field of a two-dimensional jet.