The Effect of Vibration Characteristics on the Atomization Rate in a Micro-Tapered Aperture Atomizer

Abstract

Because little is known about the atomization theory of a micro-tapered aperture atomizer, we investigated the vibration characteristics of this type of atomizer. The atomization mechanism of a micro-tapered aperture atomizer was described, and the atomization rate equation was deduced. As observed via microscopy, the angle of the micro-tapered aperture changes with the applied voltage, which proved the existence of a dynamic cone angle. The forward and reverse atomization rates were measured at various voltages, and the influence of the micro-tapered aperture and its variation on the atomization rate was characterized. The resonance frequency of the piezoelectric vibrator was obtained using a laser vibrometer, and the atomization rates were measured at each resonance frequency. From experiments, we found that the atomization rates at the first five resonance frequencies increased as the working frequency increased. At the fifth resonance frequency (121.1 kHz), the atomization rate was maximized (0.561 mL/min), and at the sixth resonance frequency (148.3 kHz), the atomization rate decreased significantly (0.198 mL/min). The experimental results show that the vibration characteristics of the piezoelectric vibrator have a relatively strong impact on the atomization rate. This research is expected to contribute to the manufacture of micro-tapered aperture atomizers.

Effect of the Dynamic Cone Angle on the Atomization Performance of a Piezoceramic Vibrating Mesh Atomizer

“…The volume of the cone apertures changes is follows [42]: Olsson [45] compared the results obtained from the numerical calculation for conical flows and those mentioned in reference [46] and found that the flow resistances in the nozzle/diffuser elements at the micro-scale are similar to those at the macro-scale. Therefore, in this study, the flow resistances in the nozzle/diffuser elements at the micro-cone hole can use the empirical curves in Figure 4.…”

“…Figure 3 shows the illustrative diagram of the dynamic cone angle. We have analyzed the theory of the dynamic cone angle [42,43]. Figure 3 shows the illustrative diagram of the dynamic cone angle.…”

“…In a previous study [42], it was found that when the piezoelectric vibrator moves from the equilibrium position to the extreme position, the volume of the liquid chamber changes is follows:…”

“…where ∆V VS is the volume of the liquid chamber changes. The volume of the cone apertures changes is follows [42]:…”

Design and Experimental Verification of a PZT Pump with Streamlined Flow Tubes

“…Sci. 2019, 9, According to the relationship between volume change, flow rate and frequency [43,44], the flow rate equation of the SLFT PZT pump is…”