An apparatus for electrostatic atomization of liquids, particularly fuel, has a nozzle, which has a nozzle body of electrically conductive material, connected to ground potential, with a nozzle opening for the emergence of a volume of liquid under pressure and has an electrode in the nozzle body, coaxially opposite the nozzle opening, which electrode is at a high-voltage potential. To avoid a corona discharge of the electrically charged liquid volume emerging from the nozzle opening, which would limit the magnitude of the possible electric charging of the liquid volume in the nozzle and thus the degree of atomization, nonelectrical means are provided toward the nozzle opening for atomizing the liquid volume as it emerges from the nozzle, and these means are embodied such that the mechanical breakaway forces they produce in the liquid volume are effective sooner than the forces of electrostatic repulsion prevailing between the liquid droplets. One example of such means is swirl conduits that discharge immediately upstream of the nozzle opening.
In a method for burning a liquid fuel in a combustion system (10) which comprises a combustion chamber (11) and at least one injection nozzle (13) through which liquid fuel is injected into the combustion chamber (11) in the form of a fuel spray (16) and is burnt there with combustion air being added, disturbance-free operation in a simple manner is distinguished in that, in order to actively suppress hydrodynamic instabilities in the combustion chamber (11), the injected fuel spray (16) is modulated by having an electrical voltage applied to it during the injection process, governed by a selected time function.
A fuel injection assembly comprising a main structure (101) for mounting on an internal combustion engine, the main structure having one or more orifices (115) for injecting fuel directly into the combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine, and the main structure also having mounted thereon charge electrodes (105, 118) positioned to provide an electric field which passes through the flow of fuel, for charging fuel particles to improve atomisation. The main structure also has mounted thereon a spark electrode (104) adapted to provide a fuel ignition spark for the internal combustion engine. The main structure of the assembly is adapted for removable mounting, having a threaded portion (102) adapted to co-operate with a threaded aperture in the internal combustion engine, normally adapted to receive a convention spark plug.
An improved electrostatic ionizing system for use in connection with a spray gun, having a conductive needle positioned near the center of the spray gun spray pattern, the needle having a diameter of less than about 250 micrometers and a needle tip sharpened to have a radius of curvature of less than about 50 micrometers, and a second electrode spaced approximately one centimeter from the needle.
An electrostatic atomizer comprises a power source for powering a charge injection device, a controller for controlling the net charge injected by the charge injection device, and a sensor for sensing breakdown precursors in the vicinity of the orifice and producing a feedback signal upon the occurrence of the breakdown precursors. The sensor is in communication with the controller and the controller is responsive to the feedback signal so that upon occurrence of the feedback signal, the controller decreases the net charge injected. A method of minimizing corona-induced breakdown in an electrostatic atomizer comprises the steps of providing a fluent material with a net charge to atomize the fluent material, and responding to the occurrence of breakdown precursors by decreasing the net charge of the liquid to avoid corona-induced breakdown.
A method and an apparatus for controlling reactions of a gas and a fluid that makes use of excellent reactivity of carbon soot molecules, metal porphyrin complexes and metal phthalocyanin complexes which are in an excited state has an arrangement that the carbon soot molecules, the metal porphyrin complexes and the metal phthalocyanin complexes which are excited by a physico-chemical method, such as light irradiation, and a gas containing oxygen are brought into contact with each other to generate active oxygen. Further, the gas containing the harmful substance and a fluid are brought into contact with each other so that direct reactions of the active oxygen and the excited molecules decompose the harmful substances.
