Spray nozzle

A spray nozzle or atomizer is a device that facilitates the dispersion of a liquid by the formation of a spray. The production of a spray requires the fragmentation of liquid structures, such as liquid sheets or ligaments, into droplets, often by using kinetic energy to overcome the cost of creating additional surface area. A wide variety of spray nozzles exist, that make use of one or multiple liquid breakup mechanisms, which can be divided into three categories: liquid sheet breakup, jets and capillary waves. Spray nozzles are of great importance for many applications, where the spray nozzle is designed to have the right spray characteristics. Spray nozzles can have one or more outlets; a multiple outlet nozzle is known as a compound nozzle. Multiple outlets on nozzles are present on spray balls, which have been used in the brewing industry for many years for cleaning casks and kegs. Spray nozzles range from heavy duty industrial uses to light duty spray cans or spray bottles. Single-fluid or hydraulic spray nozzles utilize the kinetic energy imparted to the liquid to break it up into droplets. This most widely used type of spray nozzle is more energy efficient at producing surface area than most other types. As the fluid pressure increases, the flow through the nozzle increases, and the drop size decreases. Many configurations of single fluid nozzles are used depending on the spray characteristics desired. The simplest single fluid nozzle is a plain orifice nozzle as shown in the diagram. This nozzle often produces little if any atomization, but directs the stream of liquid. If the pressure drop is high, at least , the material is often finely atomized, as in a diesel injector. At lower pressures, this type of nozzle is often used for tank cleaning, either as a fixed position compound spray nozzle or as a rotary nozzle. File:Plain orifice nozzle.png|alt=Plain orifice spray nozzle|Plain orifice spray nozzle The shaped orifice uses a semi spherical shaped inlet and a V notched outlet to cause the flow to spread out on the axis of the V notch.