Abstract: In order to improve the atomization quality of a pressure-swirl nozzle, different design parameters of the nozzle such as tangential slot’s location and tilt angle are selected to study their influence on atomization characteristics of the nozzle, using both numerical simulations and experimental tests. The results show that numerical simulations can reasonably predict the nozzle’s atomization angles which fit the experimental results well. The change of tangential slot’s position and angle will influence the particle diameter and atomization angle of spray. The tangential slot tilt angle’s influence on pray angle is significant. Larger tilt angle leads to smaller spray angle. In addition, as the pressure increases, the particle diameter will gradually decrease. At the same time the atomization angle will increase and tend to be stabilized at some pressure level. Based on the results of 9 test cases with different design parameters, it is found that the best location of tangential slot is at the radial location of 1/2 or 3/4 cone's radius, while its tilt angle is 20°.

Key words: atomization angle, numerical simulation, particle diameter, tangential slot, pressure-swirl nozzle