Experimental and Computational Study of the Two-Fluid Nozzle Spreading Characteristics

Spray nozzles are widely used in processing industry for spreading evenly large amount of fluids. The expansion of fluid depends on the nozzle type, the parameters of the nozzle and the characteristics of the working fluids. The experiments were performed for five fluid types used in food/pharma/animal feed application (glycerol, soybean oil, molasses, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose, tara gum), three diameters of the nozzle (1 mm, 3 mm, 5 mm) and three fluid temperatures (40 degrees C, 50 degrees C and 60 degrees C). An experimentally validated numerical model was developed, based on laminar two-phase flow, investigating different liquids, assuming the ideal gas flow, applying the finite volume method and volume of the fluid model with interface tracking. The effects of liquid parameters, nozzle diameter and liquid temperature on the characteristics of the jet were also analysed by artificial neural network model. The nozzle diameter strongly influenced the spreading characteristics of the jet, while the temperature affected the liquid viscosity. The increase of the temperature also led to the augment of the spreading angle of the fluid passing from the nozzle and also the enhancement of the spaying liquid expansion. (C) 2020 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.