Rotary atomizers
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Rotary atomizers use a high speed rotating disk, cup or wheel to discharge liquid at high speed to the perimeter, forming a hollow cone spray. The rotational speed controls the drop size. Spray drying and spray painting are the most important and common uses of this technology.
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Many industries need to convert a large mass of liquid into a dispersion of small (micron-size) droplets (generate a spray). Some examples of this need are evaporative cooling, meteorology, printing, medical applications, spray combustion, coating, and drying. Various devices exist to generate sprays, such as atomizers, sprayers, nozzles, and applicators. Sprays are typically generated by producing a high speed difference between the phase of gases and the liquid to be atomized. These devices achieve this atomization by releasing the liquid at very high speed into the unagitated air. The liquid can also be atomized by using a reverse process, instead of accelerating the liquid, gas can be accelerated to achieve a relatively higher speed than the liquid. The devices using this method to achieve atomization are called as airblast, air-assist, or popularly twin-fluid atomizers. In a Rotary Atomizer, the rotating cup or disc forces the liquid to come out at a very high speed through its rim.[1][2]
The Rotary, Pressure-swirl [3] or Twin-fluid Atomizers[4] are the most common methods for spray generation. For special applications, alternative atomizer types exist such as the electrostatic atomizer[5] in which electrical pressure is used to drive the atomization, and the ultrasonic atomizing device[6] in which the liquid is passed through a transducer vibrating at ultrasonic frequencies to generate shorter wavelengths which convert the fluid into smaller droplets. Since the flow rate of liquid is low in both of these devices, their applications are limited.