A liquid jets will eventually fragment into a string of droplets when it is squirted through a nozzle. Through earlier research, scientists discovered that a variety of variables, such as the nozzle’s shape and the movement of the air around the jet, affect the distance from the nozzle at which this breakup occurs. However, elastic nozzles, which can deform as liquids pass through them, have not yet received much attention. In new research published in EPJ ST, an American team led by Andrew Dickerson at the University of Tennessee introduces the idea of passively deforming nozzles and demonstrates how softer nozzle materials can generate more stable jets over a wide range of flow rates.
Cleaning, cutting, inkjet printing, and the delivery of medications are just a few of the numerous uses for liquid jets. Users must frequently be able to control the point at which these jets split apart in order to precisely alter the frequency and size of the ensuing drops as they strike their targets. Surface tension, liquid viscosity, and jet velocity are just a few of the variables that affect this length. The jet can currently be mixed with a flowing gas, the geometry of the nozzle can be changed, and the jet can be manipulated after it leaves the nozzle.
Dickerson’s team developed new equations to take into account the connection between the liquid flow and the elastic nozzle’s dilation in order to evaluate the impact of deforming nozzles. They then used a number of straightforward nozzles to test the accuracy of their calculations, poking a 0.5 mm hole in a variety of elastic membranes of varying stiffness. The scientists discovered that the softest, most deformable materials produced the most stable jets across a wide range of flow rates as they squirted liquid through these nozzles. Their results tell us important things about how to make liquid jets more stable, which would help their users hit their targets more accurately.
