The invention relates to a two-substance atomizing nozzle for spraying a liquid with the aid of a compressed gas, comprising a mixing chamber, a liquid inlet opening out into the mixing chamber, a compressed gas inlet opening out into the mixing chamber and an outlet opening downstream of the mixing chamber.
In many process engineering installations, liquids are distributed in a gas. In such cases, it is often of decisive importance that the liquid is sprayed in drops that are as fine as possible. The finer the drops, the greater the specific surface area of the drops. This can give rise to considerable process engineering advantages. For example, the size of a reaction vessel and its production costs depend considerably on the average drop size. However, it is often by no means adequate for the average drop size to be below a certain limit value. Even a few significantly larger drops can lead to considerable operational malfunctions. This is the case in particular whenever the drops do not evaporate quickly enough on account of their size, so that drops or even pasty particles are deposited in downstream components, for example on filter fabrichoses or fan blades, and lead to operational malfunctions due to encrustations or corrosion.
In order to spray liquids finely, either high-pressure one-substance nozzles or medium-pressure two-substance nozzles are used. An advantage of two-substance nozzles is that they have relatively large flow cross sections, so that even liquids containing coarse particles can be sprayed.
The representation of
The liquid films 20 that are driven by the gas flow to the nozzle mouth 8 may even migrate around a sharp edge at the nozzle mouth on account of the adhesive forces. They form a bead of water 12 on the outside of the nozzle mouth 8. Outer drops 13, the diameter of which is many times the average diameter of the drops in the jet core or the core jet 21, break away from this bead of water 12. And although these large outer drops only contribute a small proportion of the mass, they are ultimately determinative for the dimensions of a vessel in which, for example, the temperature of a gas is to be lowered by evaporative cooling from 350° C. to 120° C. without drops entering a downstream fan or downstream fabric filter.
A liquid is introduced into the prior-art nozzle represented in
The invention is intended to provide a two-substance atomizing nozzle with which a uniformly fine drop spectrum can be achieved both in the outer region and in the jet core.
Provided for this purpose according to the invention is a two-substance atomizing nozzle for spraying a liquid with the aid of a compressed gas, comprising a mixing chamber, a liquid inlet opening out into the mixing chamber, a compressed gas inlet opening out into the mixing chamber and an outlet opening downstream of the mixing chamber, in which nozzle an annular gap surrounding the outlet opening is provided for compressed gas to be discharged at high speed.
By providing the annular gap that surrounds the outlet opening and is subjected to atomizing gas, for example air or water vapor, a liquid film on the wall of the nozzle mouth, in particular the divergent outlet portion, is drawn out into a very thin liquid lamella, which breaks down into small drops. In this way, the formation of large drops from liquid films on the wall in the nozzle outlet region can be prevented or reduced to an acceptable degree, and at the same time the fine drop spectrum in the jet core can be maintained, without the compressed gas consumption of the two-substance nozzle or the associated self-energy requirement having to be increased for this. Experimental studies conducted by the inventors have shown that provision of an annular gap allows the maximum drop size to be reduced to about a third for the same expenditure of energy. This may be considered to be a minor effect. However, it must be borne in mind that the volume of a drop of a diameter reduced by a factor of 3 is only one twenty seventh of that of the large drop. Without going here into the interrelated aspects that are known to all, it should be clear to a person skilled in the art that this gives rise to considerable advantages with respect to the required overall volume of evaporative coolers or sorption systems, for example for flue-gas purification. With the additional annular-gap atomization, a much finer drop spectrum can therefore be produced with the same expenditure of energy. The amount of air passed through the annular gap is advantageously 10% to 40% of the total amount of air that is atomized. In process engineering installations in which atomized substances are introduced into vessels or channels that are at approximately the same pressure as the surroundings (1 bar), the total pressure of the air in the annular gap is advantageously 1.5 bar to 2.5 bar absolute. The total pressure of the air in the annular gap should advantageously be at such a level that, when expansion takes place to the pressure level in the vessel, approximately the speed of sound is reached.
In a development of the invention, the outlet opening is formed by means of a peripheral wall, the outermost end of which forms an outlet edge and the annular gap is arranged in the region of the outlet edge.
In this way, the compressed gas discharged from the annular gap at high speed can leave directly in the region of the outlet edge and, as a result, reliably ensure that a liquid film at the nozzle mouth is drawn out into a very thin liquid lamella, which is then divided up into fine drops.
In a development of the invention, the annular gap is formed between the outlet edge and an outer annular gap wall.
In this way, the outlet edge itself can be used for forming the annular gap. This simplifies the structure of the two-substance atomizing nozzle according to the invention.
In a development of the invention, an outer end of the annular gap wall is formed by an annular gap wall edge and the annular gap wall edge is arranged after the outlet edge, as seen in the outflow direction. The annular gap wall edge is advantageously arranged after the outlet edge by between 5% and 20% of the diameter of the outlet opening.
In this way, the creation of coarse liquid drops at the rim of the outlet opening can be prevented particularly reliably.
In a development of the invention, control means and/or at least two compressed gas sources are provided, so that a pressure of the compressed gas supplied to the annular gap and a pressure of the compressed gas entering the mixing chamber through the compressed gas inlet can be set independently of each other.
Separate pipelines for admitting compressed gas to the mixing chamber and for subjecting the annular gap to compressed gas offer advantages to the extent that the pressure in a gap air chamber arranged upstream of the annular gap can then be prescribed independently of the pressure of the atomizing gas that is fed to the mixing chamber. This is of significance with regard to the self-energy requirement if compressors with different back pressures or steam networks with matching different pressures are available in an installation. However, generally only one compressed gas network with a single pressure is available. In this case, pressure reducers may be used for example. When the annular gap is supplied with compressed gas by means of a separate line, the amount of air passed through the annular gap is set by means of separate valves, independently of the amount of air in the core jet that is introduced into the mixing chamber.
In a development of the invention, the mixing chamber is surrounded at least in certain portions by an annular chamber for supplying the compressed gas and a gap air chamber arranged upstream of the annular gap is connected in terms of flow to the annular chamber.
If only one gas network with a single pressure is available, it is necessary to take atomizing gas that is supplied to the annular gap from the same network. The configuration of the two-substance atomizing nozzle can be simplified by taking the atomizing gas that is supplied to the annular gap from the annular space from which the mixing chamber is fed with atomizing gas. Suitable dimensioning of the flow connection between the annular chamber and the gap air chamber allows the energy requirement of the nozzle according to the invention to be minimized. The flow connection is formed, for example, by means of bores in a dividing wall between the annular chamber and the gap air chamber that are to be suitably dimensioned in cross section, including in relation to the bores forming a compressed gas inlet into the mixing chamber.
In a development of the invention, a veil-of-air nozzle which surrounds the outlet opening and the annular gap at least in certain portions is provided.
The provision of a veil-of-air nozzle leads to a further improvement in the spray pattern of the two-substance atomizing nozzle according to the invention; in particular, it is possible to avoid backflow vortices, by which drops and dust-containing gas are mixed together and lead to troublesome deposits at the nozzle mouth.
In a development of the invention, the veil-of-air nozzle has a veil-of-air annular gap which surrounds the outlet opening and the annular gap and the outlet area of which is very much larger than an outlet area of the annular gap. The veil-of-air nozzle is advantageously fed with compressed gas of a pressure that is much lower than a pressure of the compressed gas supplied to the annular gap.
In this way, the veil-of-air nozzle, which encloses the nozzle mouth in an annular form, can be subjected to air at low pressure in an energy-saving manner. This is very important because the veil-of-air annular gap of the veil-of-air nozzle is to be made very much larger than the annular gap for the liquid film atomization to avoid a backflow vortex.
In a development of the invention, means are provided to impart a swirl about a center longitudinal axis of the nozzle to a mixture of compressed gas and liquid in the mixing chamber.
The fact that it is possible with the two-substance atomizing nozzle according to the invention to spray the liquid film that exists on the inner wall in the nozzle outlet part into small drops at the nozzle mouth as a result of the additional annular gap atomization offers further interesting starting points for nozzle design. In particular, it is hereby admissible to impart a swirl to the two-phase flow in the mixing chamber, and consequently also in the outlet part of the nozzle. This does admittedly have the effect that rather more drops are flung onto the inner wall of the outlet part. However, this is not detrimental because of the very efficient annular gap atomization. One advantage of the swirling is that a swirled flow in the mixing chamber and in the outlet part tends to be centrally symmetrical. This can scarcely be achieved with conventional two-substance nozzles with internal mixing and has previously led to the formation of a particularly high number of large drops in certain regions at the nozzle mouth. As a result, the average drop size can be reduced considerably by swirling the core jet.
In a development of the invention, the compressed gas inlet has at least a first inlet bore, which opens into the mixing chamber and is aligned tangentially in relation to a circle around a center longitudinal axis of the nozzle, to produce a swirl in a first direction.
The provision of tangential inlet bores allows a swirl to be produced in the mixing chamber in a way that is simple and scarcely liable to blockage.
In a development of the invention, a number of first inlet bores, in particular four, are provided in a first plane perpendicularly in relation to the center longitudinal axis and spaced apart in the circumferential direction.
An evenly spaced-apart arrangement of such tangential inlet bores allows a clear swirl to be achieved in the mixing chamber.
In a development of the invention, at least a second inlet bore, which is aligned tangentially in relation to a circle around the center longitudinal axis of the nozzle, is provided parallel to the center longitudinal axis and at a distance from the first inlet bore, to produce a swirl in a second direction.
In this way, opposing swirling directions can be imparted to the flow in the mixing chamber in the different planes of the inlet bore or air supply bore. Opposing swirling directions have the effect of producing very pronounced shearing layers in the mixing chamber, contributing to the formation of particularly fine drops.
In a development of the invention, a number of second inlet bores, in particular four, are provided in a second plane perpendicularly in relation to the center longitudinal axis and spaced apart in the circumferential direction.
In a development of the invention, at least three planes with inlet bores are provided, spaced apart parallel to the center longitudinal axis, the inlet bores of successive planes producing an oppositely directed swirl.
For example, a first plane, counting from the liquid inlet, may have left-turning inlet bores, the second plane right-turning inlet bores and the third plane again left-turning inlet bores. The opposing swirling directions have the effect of producing very pronounced shearing layers in the mixing chamber, contributing to the formation of particularly fine drops.
Further features and advantages of the invention emerge from the claims and the following description of preferred embodiments in conjunction with the drawings. Individual features of the individually represented embodiments can be combined with one another in any way desired without going beyond the scope of the invention. In the drawings:
a shows an enlarged detail of
The sectional view of
Provided so as to adjoin the mixing chamber 40 is a frustoconical constriction 48, which forms a convergent outlet part and, after passing an extremely narrow cross section, goes over again into a frustoconical widening of a smaller aperture angle, which forms a divergent outlet part. The divergent outlet part ends at an outlet opening 52 or a nozzle mouth. The outlet opening 52 is formed by a peripheral outlet edge 54, which forms the end of the outlet part situated downstream in the direction of flow.
The frustoconical constriction 48 and the frustoconical widening 50 are surrounded by a funnel-like component 56, so that an annular gap air chamber 58 is formed between the funnel-like component 56 and an outer wall of the outlet part. This annular gap air chamber 58 is supplied with compressed gas from the annular chamber 42 by means of a number of inlet bores 60. A lower end of the funnel-shaped component 56 in the representation of
Through this annular gap 64, which is represented once again in an enlarged manner in the representation of
As can be seen from the representations of
As a departure from the embodiment of the atomizing nozzle 30, the annular gap air chamber 58 may be supplied with compressed gas from a separate line. For this purpose, for example, the bores 60 are closed and compressed gas is introduced directly into the annular gap air chamber 58 from a separate line.
The sectional view of
In the case of the two-substance atomizing nozzle 70, the funnel-shaped component 56 is surrounded by a further component 74, which in principle is constructed in a tubular form, forms a further lance tube and narrows in the manner of a funnel in the direction of the outlet opening 52. In this way, a veil-of-air annular gap 76 is formed between the component 74 and the component 56. The veil-of-air gap 76 ends approximately level with the outlet opening 52 and a lower, peripheral edge of the component 74 is arranged level with the annular gap wall edge 62. However, a cross-sectional area of the veil-of-air gap formed as a result is much larger than the annular gap 64, in order that backflow vortices can be avoided when the veil of air is introduced. The veil-of-air nozzle 72 enclosing the nozzle mouth or the outlet opening 52 in an annular form can be subjected to air at low pressure, which is supplied according to an arrow 78, in an energy-saving manner.
The two-substance atomizing nozzle 30 and the two-substance atomizing nozzle 70 of
The representation of
The fact that it is possible with the two-substance atomizing nozzle 30, 70 according to the invention with additional annular gap atomization to spray the liquid film 66 that exists on the inner wall in the divergent nozzle outlet part 50 into small drops at the nozzle mouth offers further interesting starting points for nozzle design. In particular, it is admissible to impart a swirl to the two-phase flow in the mixing chamber 40, and consequently also in the outlet part 48, 50 of the nozzle 30, 70. This does admittedly have the effect that rather more drops are flung onto the inner wall of the outlet part. However, this is not detrimental because of the very efficient additional annular gap atomization. One advantage of the swirling is that a swirled flow in the mixing chamber 40 and in the outlet part 48, 50 tends to be centrally symmetrical. This can scarcely be achieved with conventional two-substance nozzles and has previously led to such nozzles having a tendency to “spit”, in that a particularly high number of large drops were formed in certain regions at the nozzle mouth. Previously, the center lines of the air supply bores 5 of the conventional nozzle according to
According to the invention, on the other hand, it is envisaged to align the bores for forming the compressed gas inlet openings 46a, 46b, 46c in each case tangentially in relation to a circle around the center longitudinal axis 36 of the nozzle. As a result, the jet that is swirled in this way centers itself of its own accord in the mixing chamber 40 as well as in the convergent outlet part and in the divergent outlet part of the nozzle 30, 70.
The tangential alignment of the compressed gas inlet openings 46a can be seen more precisely from the sectional view of
The representation of
As can be seen from
According to the invention, it is therefore envisaged to impart opposite directions of swirl to the air supply bores in the different planes I, II, III. So, the first air supply bore plane I, counting from the liquid inlet, is arranged so as to be left-turning, the second bore plane II right-turning and the third bore plane again left-turning. The opposing swirling directions in the different planes I, II, III have the effect of producing very pronounced shearing layers in the mixing chamber 40, contributing to the formation of particularly fine drops.
Furthermore, the two-substance atomizing nozzles 30, 70 may be optimized by the solid liquid jet that enters the mixing chamber being divided up even before it interacts with the atomizing air. This can take place in various ways that are in themselves conventional, for example by providing baffle plates, swirl inserts and the like.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10 2005 048 489.1 | Oct 2005 | DE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/EP2006/009668 | 10/6/2006 | WO | 00 | 4/3/2008 |