Tag: internal mix

Internal Mix Atomizing Spray Nozzles For Maximum Adjustability

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

It’s not difficult to spray a liquid – oftentimes, you just need to pressurize it and force it out a small(ish) hole, or array of holes, in a nozzle-type device. If your application calls for small droplet size, a consistent & repeatable spray pattern, precise control of the flow rate, pattern size & shape, or the ability to turn the flow on & off, you might be looking for an engineered solution like EXAIR’s Air Atomizing Spray Nozzles.

With 142 distinct models, we can accommodate liquid flow rates as low as 0.14 gallons per hour, to as high as 303 gallons per hour, and patterns as small as 2″ round (at 6″ from the nozzle), and as large as a 13 foot hollow circular pattern.

From Round Patterns (left), to Flat Fan Patterns (middle), to Hollow Circular Patterns (right), EXAIR has Spray Nozzles to suit your liquid spraying needs.

Internal Mix Air Atomizing Spray Nozzles mix the air & liquid internally (just like the name implies), which means that both the air supply pressure, and the liquid supply pressure, will affect the liquid flow rate, and the pattern size. This makes for an incredibly wide range of adjustability. Consider our Model AN1010SS Internal Mix Narrow Angle Round Pattern 1/4 NPT Air Atomizing Spray Nozzle. Let’s say we want to spray about 1-1/2 gallons per hour…that’s about 3 fluid ounces a minute, which is a pretty light mist, comparable to what you might get from a typical trigger spray bottle of kitchen or bath cleaner in your home. We can do that (or thereabouts) at several different combinations of liquid & air supply pressures, highlighted in different colors below:

  • GREEN: With liquid at 10PSI, and air at 10psig, we can spray this amount with a fairly tight 2.3″ to 5″ diameter, when we get 6 – 15″ (respectively) away from the nozzle tip.
  • BLUE: If we wanted to widen that out a bit, increasing to 20PSI liquid & 24psig air, the flowrate increases slightly to 1.7 gph (an extra half ounce a minute) but the diameter of the spray pattern increases to a 2.8″ to 6″ diameter.
  • YELLOW: Increasing the liquid to 30PSI and air to 36psig increases the spray pattern to a 3.0″ to 6.5″ diameter, while keeping the flow rate in the same neighborhood.
  • ORANGE: At 40PSI liquid & 48psig air, we can get a spray pattern diameter of 3.5″ to 6″ diameter.

We can get a 4″ to 7″ diameter with a little more air & liquid pressure, but that starts to increase the flow rate as well. If we want to keep the flow rate lower and still get a larger pattern, we’ll consider Model AW1010SS Internal Mix Wide Angle Round Pattern 1/4 NPT Air Atomizing Spray Nozzle:

  • GREEN: Regulating the liquid to 10PSI and air to 10psig, this Wide Angle Round Pattern model now gives us a 7″ to 14″ round pattern…about three times as big as the AN1010SS under the same conditions, with the same liquid flow rate.
  • BLUE: 20PSI liquid pressure and 20psig air pressure increase the flow pattern to 9″ – 15″ in diameter.
  • YELLOW: At 30PSI liquid pressure and40psig air pressure, we’re going to ‘max out’ with a 10″ – 16″ diameter round pattern. Further increases in either liquid or air supply pressure will increase the liquid flow rate without appreciably changing the pattern size.

EXAIR has a comprehensive line of Spray Nozzles, engineered for efficiency & ease of operation. If you have a liquid spraying application you’d like to discuss, give me a call.

Russ Bowman, CCASS

Application Engineer
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Atomizing Spray Nozzles – Making The Case For Internal Mix

Published on by Russ BowmanLeave a comment

If you’ve ever cleaned around the house (and who hasn’t?), you’re probably familiar with atomized liquid spraying…it’s what happens when you squeeze the trigger on that bottle of cleaner that breaks down the stove top grease in the kitchen and the ring-around-the-tub in the bathroom.

There’s a variety of industrial and commercial applications that require an atomized liquid spray too…applications that are beyond the scope of an operator with a trigger-operated spray bottle. That’s where EXAIR Atomizing Spray Nozzles come in. We have three types: Internal Mix, External Mix, and Siphon Fed. Depending on what you want to spray, and how you want to spray it, one of these is likely going to work better than the others for you. Today, we’re going to examine the Internal Mix Atomizing Spray Nozzles.

Internal Mix Atomizing Spray Nozzles are the perfect choice for fine mist and precise control.

Benefits:

Better mist: Because the liquid & air come together inside the air cap, this results in very fine atomization.

Range of adjustment: Regulating either the liquid or air pressure supply will change the flow rate AND the flow pattern, giving each individual nozzle a wide performance band.  The needle valve can “fine tune” the flow and pattern with even greater precision.

Area of coverage: With five patterns (Narrow or Wide Angle Round, Flat Fan, Deflected Flat Fan, and 360° Hollow Circular) and 72 distinct models to choose from, you can get spray patterns from 2″ (1/8 NPT Narrow Round Model AN8010SS) to 13 feet (1/2  NPT 360° Hollow Circular Model AT5010SS.)

Also, they can spray the liquid mist up to 40 feet away!

Flow rate: Again, because of the many models available, you can get from 0.6 gallons/hour (Model AN8010SS again) to 264 gallons/hour (1/2 NPT Wide Angle Round Model AW5030SS.)

Features:

No-Drip option: The standard Models have a needle valve, which, as mentioned above, gives you the ability to make minute changes to the flow rate & pattern.  If the application calls for rapid on/off control, or the chance of an errant drip after flow is not stopped might be a problem, the needle valve can be replaced with a No-Drip assembly.  This positively shuts off liquid flow, at the exit of the liquid cap, when air pressure is secured.

Instant on/off control by stopping the air flow is possible with the No Drip feature, available on any Atomizing Spray Nozzle

Easy installation: All of our Atomizing Spray Nozzles have female NPT (1/8, 1/4, or 1/2) ports.  The 1/8 and 1/4 NPT models can be adequately supported – and positioned – with a Stay Set Hose, and all models (even the 1/2 NPT) can be used with an appropriately sized Swivel Fitting.  If you want to use your own tubes or hoses, we’ve got “clip-in” style Mounting Brackets.

Mounting Brackets made for quick and easy installation.

Interchangeability: The only difference between any model of the same-size Atomizing Spray Nozzle is the Liquid and/or Air Cap.  If your application’s liquid spray requirements change, or vary, you don’t need to replace the whole nozzle; just one (or in some cases, both) of the caps.

Internal Mix Atomizing Spray Nozzles are ideal for liquid viscosity up to 300cP and in situations where the liquid is (or can be) pressure fed.  If you’d like to discuss a liquid spraying application and/or product selection, give me a call.

 

 

Internal Mix Atomizing Spray Nozzle Used In Feed Additive Process

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Last week I took a call from an agricultural customer looking to replace the spray nozzle used in their feed additive process. The soy oil/beeswax solution they are applying to the feed, is slightly viscous (close to 100 cP) which seems to be clogging the tight clearances inside the current nozzle, resulting in varying flow rates and an erratic spray pattern. They had tried to contact the current manufacturer several times for a solution but were unhappy with the lack of assistance they were receiving, not to mention the long lead times of 6-8 weeks for a replacement.

After further discussion, they confirmed they weren’t as concerned with the flow rate or spray pattern, as they were with the nozzle potentially getting clogged.  They were able to obtain some internal dimensions of the existing nozzle and after further review, I recommended they use our Model # AF1030SS Internal Mix Flat Pattern Atomizing Nozzle as a replacement. This nozzle has larger inside diameters which would reduce the potential for clogging. Our Internal Mix Atomizing Nozzles mix the liquid and air inside the air cap and produce the finest atomization. The flow rate can be changed by adjusting the control valve on the nozzle and/or by adjusting the liquid pressure. Internal Mix nozzles are capable of handling fluids up to 300 Centipoise. All of our Atomizing Nozzles are In STOCK, so delivery is never an issue.

Model AF1030SS Internal Mix Flat Fan Pattern Atomizing Nozzle

When considering an Atomizing Nozzle for an application, there are some general parameters that can be helpful in making the best selection.

  1. Do you have a pressurized liquid source?
  2. What is the fluid viscosity?
  3. What spray pattern best fits the process?
  4. How much flow (GPH/LPH) do I need?

If you have an application requiring a fine mist of atomized liquid spray, please contact an application engineer for assistance.

Justin Nicholl
Application Engineer
justinnicholl@exair.com
@EXAIR_JN

Viscosity – Why it Matters

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EXAIR has been manufacturing Intelligent Compressed Air Products since 1983.  We work every day with air properties, such as compressed air pressures and flow rates, when evaluating product performance to provide a solution to a customer problem. We also need to be versed on a certain liquid property, viscosity, as it relates to the operation of (2) of the EXAIR product families, the Atomizing Spray Nozzles and the Industrial Housekeeping liquid vacuums (Reversible Drum Vac and Chip Trapper).

Viscosity is often referred to the thickness of a fluid.  A common example would be water and honey.  Water is a low viscosity fluid, while honey is a high viscosity material.

Dynamic, Shear, or Absolute Viscosity is a measure of the resistance to shearing flow.  If you think of 2 plates (see below) with the bottom one stationary and the top one moving horizontally, and with a fluid between them – this illustrates Absolute Viscosity. When the top plate moves to the right, there will be induced multiple horizontal layers of the fluid, each moving at different speeds (the fluid will be at rest at the bottom, and the top layer will move with the top plate.) The friction generated between the layers will give rise to a force resisting this motion.  The force is proportional to the speed and area of the plate and inversely proportional to the distance between the plates.Capture

In simplest terms, viscosity is the ratio of the shear stress, τ,  to the velocity gradient du/dy.  Of concern to us, it takes more force to cause a very viscous (thick like honey) fluid flow.

Centipoise, cP,  is the common unit of measure for viscosity, and 1 cP is equal to 0.01 g/cm/s.

Water has a viscosity of 1 cP at room temperature and honey ranges from 2,000-10,000 cP.

How does all this relate to EXAIR? It relates to EXAIR because we engineer products to specifically move and use liquids. There are limitations to the viscosity each of these products can handle and still perform well.

The EXAIR Atomizing Spray Nozzles can be used with liquids up to 800 cP. The Internal Mix type nozzles can be used on liquids up to 300 cP. The External Mix nozzles can be used with liquids over 300 cP and up to 800 cP.  Lastly, the Siphon Fed models are good to 200 cP, and do not require a pressure source for the liquid. Each nozzle type will atomize the fluid and provide a very small droplet size, which is ideal for washing,  rinsing, coating, cooling and other applications. Exceeding the cP each of these nozzles are designed to use will result in larger droplet sizes and a more inconsistent fluid flow, which may impact your process.

atomizing nozzle
Atomizing Spray Nozzle

The other EXAIR product family where viscosity is important, is the Industrial Housekeeping Products, especially the High Lift Reversible Drum Vac and High Lift Chip Trapper.  They are capable of moving liquids with viscosities of up to 1400 cP through 20′ of hose.  Simply provide compressed air and turn any closed head drum into a high powered liquid vacuum. Great for coolant, hydraulic oils, waster water, and many other fluids. For these products, as the cP increases, so does the time it will take to move the liquids into or out of the drum.

HLRDVpr_openpit_3mbcmyk (2)
High Lift Reversible Drum Vac

To discuss your fluid viscosity and how an EXAIR Intelligent Compressed Air Product can make your process better, feel free to contact EXAIR and myself or one of our other Application Engineers can help you determine the best solution.

Brian Bergmann
Application Engineer

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