Abstract
Nozzle spray atomization is widely used in industrial and agricultural production processes and is a very complicated physical change. The spray atomization of the nozzle is a process in which the droplets are continuously broken into finer particles under the action of force, in order to study the effect of nozzle atomization, that is, droplet size distribution characteristics. The experimental average mathematical model of droplet size distribution was established by introducing Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD). The droplet size distribution in the atomization field of the nozzle is studied by simulation. In the experimental study, the high-speed camera, external mixing air atomizing nozzle platform experimental device and image processing were used, and the atomization field was divided into multiple observation areas. Through the measurement of several local observation areas, the droplet size distribution of the whole atomization field is constructed. It provides a reference for the study of the atomization field of the nozzle and a basis for the intuitive understanding of the droplet size distribution in the atomization field of the nozzle. The effective atomization area of the nozzle atomization was selected to study the influence of the liquid flow rate, the liquid temperature and the nozzle pressure on the atomized particle size distribution of the externally mixed atomizing nozzle. The internal law is obtained, which provides a basis and reference for effectively controlling the atomization effect in the atomization field.
Keywords
Preface
The process of spraying is very complex physical changes. When liquid is ejected through the nozzle, it is subjected to collision and re-wiping by the surrounding air flow, so that the surface of the droplet is subjected to a force of a different magnitude, thereby deforming or even twisting. When the force of the air on the surface of the droplet exceeds the surface tension of the liquid itself, the droplet will be broken under the force, and it will be broken into finer particles on the original basis. This process is nozzle atomization. The physical phenomenon produced. The loss of the droplet atomization process is mainly caused by the strain energy generated by the liquid under the action of the gas flow (the work done by the deformation). When the small droplets are formed, in order to overcome liquid’s own properties (surface tension and viscous force) The work, the kinetic energy transmitted to the droplets, and the work done to overcome the viscosity of the liquid are determined. Liquid atomization is widely used in industrial and agricultural production processes, such as chemical, mechanical, aerospace, civil engineering, materials science and technology, metallurgy, food processing, pharmaceutical, medical, agricultural and environmental protection [1, 2].
At present, the main methods of measuring droplet velocity include laser doppler (LDV) [3], particle image velocimetry (PIV) [4] and high-speed photography [5]. Wan Yunxia et al. [6] used a high-speed camera to experiment on the surface peeling phenomenon and jet breaking length of cylindrical jets. Under low-speed jets, the formation process and motion law of main droplets and satellite droplets in Rayleigh mode were analyzed. Zhou Shanming et al. [7] used the imaging method to investigate the effect of Re number on the rupture length of nozzle liquid film jet. Zhao Xin et al. [8] discussed the influence of nozzle structure and pressure on the atomization characteristics of the nozzle on the basis of experiments. PIV technology can simultaneously record the relevant information of the whole flow field, and its appearance accelerates the research of the spray velocity field. Ma [9] et al. studied the effect of different atomization methods of air atomizing nozzle on the atomization effect through LIF-PIV experiment. Li Tianyou and Shi Qinghong [10, 11] and others used PIV laser particle velocimeter to obtain the wave breaking image of the meridional section of the conical liquid film under different nozzle pressure differences, and measured the conical liquid film of the centrifugal nozzle under different pressure differences. The characteristic parameters, such as the half cone angle of the liquid film and the length before the liquid film is broken, are studied. The variation of the half cone angle and the length of the liquid film before the breakage of the liquid film is studied. Cao Jianming [12] and others compared the two methods of particle image measurement system and laser particle size measurement system. It was found that the particle size measured by the image measurement system is basically consistent with the measurement results of the laser particle size analyzer system.
In terms of numerical simulation, Shinjo et al. [13] used the DNS model to simulate the physical process of initial atomization of high-pressure water jets, focusing on the dynamic characteristics of the formation of kinks and water droplets near the nozzle. Lebas et al. [14] analyzed the initial fragmentation process by numerical simulation of jet atomization under high We and Re numbers, and compared the different atomization states of the two model jets. Qi Zixia et al. [15] discussed the relationship between the length of the jet core and the We number, and analyzed the distribution characteristics of the velocity field and the pressure field.
In short, the atomization process is a random process with many influencing factors and multiple atomization mechanisms. The existing theoretical analysis of atomization has not been developed to fully consider the simultaneous existence of several atomization mechanisms. In the process of studying nozzle atomization, three basic methods are often used: theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and experimental research. Theoretical analysis can provide a theoretical basis for numerical simulation and experimental studies.
Atomized particle size
The spray of nozzle is a complicated atomization process. Although people have more and more knowledge about the mechanism and process of liquid atomization, the development of atomization theory is relatively slow. There are still many problems and puzzles in atomization of nozzles. Up to now, there is not a relatively perfect atomization theory that can predict and calculate the atomization process of different forms of nozzles completely by using mathematical methods, which is a considerable distance from complete solution.
In an actual spraying process, after liquid is atomized, droplet groups of different sizes will be formed. The size of each droplet group may differ by several tens of times, the shape of the droplet is not standardized, and the droplet distribution in the spray field is also large and different. The average diameter is a hypothetical value. When there is an atomization field with a nearly spherical shape and a uniform distribution to replace a real atomization field, the particle size of this equivalent atomization field is the average diameter [61]. There are several definitions of the average diameter in industry. The most common representation is the surface average diameter, also known as SMD. The average diameter of Sauter is calculated according to the same ratio of a volume to surface area of a hypothetical droplet group and the volume surface area ratio of the real droplet group. The calculation formula is:
Solving it yields:
Since the feeding process uses a two-media air atomizing nozzle to atomize the liquid, the accurate transportation and control of the two media must be considered in the design, that is, the conveying and control of the compressed air and the liquid. The feeding nozzle atomization experiment system design consists of two parts: the liquid supply system and the atomizing air supply system. The schematic diagram of the feeding nozzle atomization experiment system is shown in Fig. 1.

Schematic diagram of the feeding nozzle atomization experiment system.
The schematic diagram of the experimental platform system is shown in Fig. 2, including the atomizing nozzle and hydraulic adjustment system, high-speed camera system, data acquisition part; the nozzle part completes the liquid-liquid spray atomization after gas-liquid mixing; the shooting part is used for liquid-spraying atomization The parameter adjustment part is used to adjust the parameters under different working conditions; the data acquisition part collects the captured spray atomization data. The backlight 5 is a machine vision light source for supplementing the glare required for high-speed camera operation under high frame counts. The atomization field is divided into multiple observation areas as shown in Fig. 2(a), and the central area is selected as the observation area of the atomization effect. After sub-regional research, the particle size of each area can be found to be different. The atomization of each area is different. In this paper, the particle size of the three regions B, D, and G were measured and averaged. The Sutter average particle size SMD was used as the atomization particle size.

Atomization detection system diagram.
The Photron FASTCAM Mini UX100 series high-speed camera system was used for the atomization test. As shown in the Fig. 2, the backlight scheme under the atomization space, the backlight scheme can make the high speed camera work at a frame rate of 10000 fps or more.
Since the image sensor is interfered by the external environment or its performance changes during the acquisition or transmission process, digital image noise is generated, and the image is smoothed and denoised. The median filter is a nonlinear digital filter that is often used to reduce noise in images [16]. It replaces the gray value of the pixel with the gray value of the pixel in the neighborhood of the pixel, that is,
By performing median calculation on the (x, y) pixel and setting it as the gray value of the image, the image noise can be effectively reduced. The backlight and laser cross-section images are filtered by a 3×3 median filter operator template to achieve the desired results.
In order to separate the liquid mist feature from the background, the liquid mist particles are identified, and the liquid mist particles are identified using threshold division in the ROI region. The threshold segmentation is to divide the image f into disjoint non-empty subsets using the gray frequency distribution information, and the gray levels of the pixels in each subset are distributed in one continuous gray segment. The threshold segmentation in this paper is expressed as:
The threshold generally represents the following form:
In the formula, it is a binarization threshold, which is the gray level of the point in the image pixel lattice, which is some local property of the neighborhood of the point, such as connectivity. Since the liquid mist particles have a small amount of adhesion, the adhesion mist is divided by mathematical morphology. The processing of the image is shown in Fig. 3, in which Fig. 3(a) is the feature extraction of the atomized liquid, and Fig. 3(b) is the pixel edge fitting of the extracted atomized droplet.

Atomized image processing. (a) Atomized droplet feature extraction. (b) Pixel edge fitting.
In this paper, CFD analysis software ANSYS Fluent is used to simulate the atomization characteristics of the feeding nozzle. Combined with the atomization platform experimental research, the digitalization of the atomization effect-atomization particle size is carried out. The simulated particle size of the nozzle can be obtained by numerical simulation of the atomization particle size of the nozzle, as shown in Fig. 4.

Atomization field particle size distribution cloud map.
According to the simulation study of the atomization field of the nozzle, when the temperature of the liquid is 40°C–60°C, the gas pressure is 0.15–0.40MPa (1.5bar–4.0bar), and the flow rate of the liquid is 15–40 kg/h, under the corresponding conditions. The average diameter (mm) of the spray particles was measured as shown in Tables 1 5.
Atomized particle size at 40°C
Atomized particle size at 40°C
Atomized particle size at 45°C
Atomized particle size at 50°C
Atomized particle size at 55°C
Atomized particle size at 60°C
According to the data in the table, the SMD of the nozzle is gradually reduced with the increase of the gas pressure under the condition of constant temperature (Experiments under the condition that the temperature of liquid is 40°C, 45°C 50°C, 55°C and 60°C respectively) and flow rate of the liquid; the temperature of the liquid and the pressure of the gas are constant. The atomization particle size increases gradually with the increase of the flow rate of the feed liquid; under the condition that the flow rate of the feed liquid and the gas pressure are constant, the atomization particle size increases first and then decreases with the increase of the temperature of the feed liquid.
To study the influence of the liquid flow rate, the liquid temperature and the nozzle pressure on the atomized particle size distribution, set the atomizing air pressure to 0.15Mpa, 0.20Mpa, 0.25Mpa, 0.30Mpa, 0.35Mpa, 0.40Mpa respectively; the flow rate of material liquid is 15 kg/h, 20 kg/h, 25 kg/h, 30 kg/h, 35 kg/h 40 kg /; The temperature of the feed liquid is 40 °C, 45 °C 50 °C, 55 °C, 60 °C (the corresponding liquid viscosity is 4.7 MPa * s, 4.5 MPa * s, 4.3 MPa * s, 4.1 MPa * s, 4.0 MPa *s), experiment. The resulting atomized SMD plot is shown in Figs. 5–8.

Nozzle SMD changes with gas temperature.

The variation of nozzle atomization SMD with atomization pressure.

Temperature variation of nozzle atomized SMD with liquid.

Simulation and Experimental Comparison of SMD-atomization Pressure of Nozzles.
When the temperature of the feed liquid is 40°C–60 °C, the gas pressure is 0.15–0.40 MPa (1.5bar–4.0 bar), the flow rate of the feed liquid is 15–40 kg / h, and the average diameter of the spray particles is measured under the corresponding conditions (mm) as shown in Fig. 5.
Nozzle atomization SMD and atomization pressure
The SMD data obtained above was obtained by taking the gas injection pressure as the abscissa, the liquid flow rate as a variable, and the sprayed Souter average particle diameter as the ordinate. In the Fig. 5, SMD represents the average diameter of the Sauter, P represents the atomization pressure, T represents the temperature of the feed liquid, and F represents the flow rate of the feed liquid.
According to Fig. 5, it can be seen that: 1. at a certain temperature, the average particle size of the sprayed SMD decreases as the pressure of the gas increases; 2. under the same conditions, the flow rate of the liquid is 40 kg/h, and the gas pressure is 1.5 bar. The SMD is the largest, the SMD of the spray is the smallest when the feed liquid flow rate is 15 kg/h and the gas pressure is 4.0bar. This indicates that increasing the spray pressure facilitates atomization of the nozzle to form droplets of smaller particle size. As the spray pressure increases, the initial velocity of the spray jet and the Weber number increase, and the degree of breakage of the jet and the droplets gradually increases, so that the particle size of the spray droplets at each flow rate is continuously reduced.
Nozzle atomization SMD and feed liquid flow
Similarly, the flow rate of the feed liquid is plotted on the abscissa, the gas pressure is used as a variable, and the average spray particle size is plotted on the ordinate. In the Fig. 6, SMD represents the average diameter of the Sauter, P represents the atomization pressure, T represents the temperature of the feed liquid, and F represents the flow rate of the feed liquid.
According to Fig. 6, it can be seen that under the constant gas pressure and a certain gas pressure, the atomized SMD exhibits a fluctuating increase with the increase of the liquid flow rate. This is because the larger the flow rate of the liquid at the time of spraying, the larger the atomization energy consumed, and at this time, the breaking energy provided by the atomizing air is constant, and thus the particle diameter is increased. The reason for the fluctuation may be related to the structure of the nozzle and the change of the air pressure ratio. When the atomizing air and the liquid meet at the mouth of the nozzle, it involves a complex coupling movement of gas, liquid and solid, and the liquid breaks into irregularity at this time. The liquid beam then produces a velocity gradient that stretches the liquid filament to the point of breakage to form a droplet. This process itself is a highly random process and is a probabilistic problem, so fluctuations in the image can occur.
Nozzle atomization SMD and liquid temperature
Similarly, the obtained SMD data is plotted with the temperature of the liquid as the abscissa, the gas pressure as a variable, and the average spray particle size as the ordinate. In the Fig. 8, SMD represents the average diameter of the Sauter, P represents the atomization pressure, T represents the temperature of the feed liquid, and F represents the flow rate of the feed liquid.
According to Fig. 8, it can be seen that: (1) when the flow rate of the feed liquid is below 30 kg/h, the average particle size of the spray particles first increases and then decreases after a small range of correction, that is, there is a balance between the temperature of the feed liquid of 45 °C and 55 °C. State; (2) when the flow rate of the liquid is 35 kg/h and 40 kg/h, the average particle size of the spray particles increases first, then decreases and then increases, forming a peak maximum value around 45°C, near 55°C. There is a minimum value. Changes in the temperature of the feed liquid can affect some properties of the feed liquid, such as viscosity, density, and the like. As the temperature of the feed liquid increases, the viscosity of the feed liquid will decrease, so that the viscous force and surface tension of the feed liquid will decrease, and the energy required for the crushing will be relatively reduced. In addition, as the temperature increases, the evaporation rate and evaporation rate of the feed liquid also decrease. There will be a certain degree of change.
Comparison of simulation and experiment
In order to compare the results of simulation and experiment, the effects of SMD were compared and analyzed under different conditions. F represents the flow value of the feed in kg/h; T represents the temperature of the feed liquid in °C; P represents the atomized medium pressure value in bar. The red curve represents the experimental curve and the black curve is the simulation curve.
Effect of different atomizing pressure on SMD
As shown in Fig. 9, under two typical conditions, the atomized SMD of the nozzle changes with the pressure of the atomized medium. From the Fig., it can be seen that the trend of simulation and experiment is basically the same. Based on the results of experiment and simulation, it can be concluded that the average particle size of the spray nozzle decreases with the increase of gas pressure under certain conditions of liquid temperature and flow, which indicates that increasing the spray pressure is conducive to atomizing the nozzle to form smaller particles. Reasons: With the increasing pressure of spray, the capacity of the nozzle crushing fluid is increasing, the initial velocity of spray jet and the increase of Weber number are increasing, and the degree of fracture of jet and droplet is gradually increasing, resulting in the continuous decrease of particle size of spray droplets under each flow.

Nozzle SMD-liquid flow simulation and experimental comparison.
As shown in Fig. 10, under two typical conditions, the atomized SMD changes with the flow of the fluid. From the Fig., it can be seen that the trend of simulation and experiment is basically the same. Based on the experimental results and simulation results, it can be concluded that under certain temperature and gas pressure, the atomized SMD exhibits a fluctuating increase with the increase of the liquid flow. This is because the greater the flow of the slurry during spraying, the greater the atomization energy consumed, and at this time the atomized air must provide the broken energy, so the particle size will increase. The reason for the fluctuation may be related to the change in the structure and pressure ratio of the nozzle. When the atomized air and the feed fluid meet at the exit cavity of the nozzle, they involve complex coupling movements of air, liquid, and solid, and the liquid breaks into irregular liquids at this time. beam, Then a speed gradient is generated, and the liquid wire is extended to the breaking point to form a mist droplet. This process itself is a random process and is a probability problem. Therefore, fluctuations in the image occur.

Simulation and Experimental Comparison of SMD-feeding Fluid Temperature of Nozzles.
As shown in Fig. 11, under two typical conditions, the atomized SMD changes with the temperature of the feed liquid. From the Fig., it can be seen that the trend of simulation and experiment is basically the same. Based on the experimental results and simulation results, it can be concluded that the SMD of atomized nozzle does not show a special regular change with the increase of the temperature of the liquid, but it decreases with the increase of temperature. The change in the temperature of the slurry will affect some characteristics of the slurry, such as viscosity, density, etc.. As the temperature of the material liquid increases, the volume of the material liquid will expand, and the viscosity of the material liquid will decrease, so that the viscous force and surface tension of the material will be reduced, and the energy required for fragmentation will be relatively reduced. In addition, with the increase of temperature, the evaporation and volatilization speed of the material will change to a certain extent.
After comparing the above simulation with the experiment, the simulation of the nozzle is consistent with the experiment. The error between the atomized particle size digital simulation model and the experimental data does not exceed 20%, and the variation of the atomized particle size of the nozzle with the corresponding variables can be predicted. It provides the corresponding foundation for the digital simulation research.
Conclusion
The atomization process is a random process with multi factors and multi atomization mechanism. The existing theoretical analysis of atomization has not fully considered the simultaneous existence of several atomization mechanisms. In the research of nozzle, three basic methods are usually used: theoretical analysis, numerical simulation and experimental research. Theoretical analysis can provide theoretical basis for numerical simulation and experimental studies, but it can only represent simple and ideal atomization. Based on the theory of simulation and experiment, this paper constructs the droplet size distribution of the atomization field of the nozzle, which provides a reference for the study of the atomization field of the nozzle, and provides a basis for the intuitive understanding of the droplet size distribution of the atomization field of the nozzle. The effect of liquid flow rate, liquid temperature and nozzle pressure on the particle size distribution of the mixed nozzle was studied. It provides the basis and reference for the effective control of the atomization effect in the atomization field.
Footnotes
Acknowledgments
This article was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.51965030).
