Air Control Applications: Product Selection Guide

Specifying the Best Air Control Nozzle for Your Application

Whether you're in the automotive, surface treatment, food processing, die casting, or steel industry, you're likely concerned about process improvement, air consumption and noise reduction. Air control nozzles are one component that can improve the quality of your production while reducing operating costs. Plus, specifying the right air control nozzle can reduce noise problems in your plant, which is particularly important for complying with OSHA safety regulations. Our products are expressly designed to improve performance, reduce noise, and save on air costs in most drying, cooling and conveying applications. Here are some examples.

• Our air control nozzles convert a low-pressure volume of compressed air into a targeted, high-velocity concentrated stream or flat fan of high-impact air. This creates a better quality air pattern than open pipes, drilled holes and many other air control nozzles. That means dependable, repeatable performance that can improve your process
• Noise from compressed air is one of the biggest environmental hazards in the workplace today. Using air control nozzles can reduce the perceived noise from compressed air by over 50 percent
• Compressed air is an expensive utility. A properly designed and maintained air control system can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year in operating expenses. So in addition to improving your processes and making your workplace quieter, air control nozzles can pay back their cost many times over

More information on noise reduction and cost savings

Key Considerations for Selecting Air Control Nozzles

There are five main characteristics that should be considered when selecting an air control nozzle. They are capacity, effective spray coverage, sound level, lineal impact force and specific impact force. Each characteristic plays a role in choosing the most effective nozzle for a given application.

Capacity
Capacity for a flat fan air control nozzle varies with spraying pressure. In general, the relationship between scfm (Nl/min) and pressure is as follows:
scfm1 (Nl/min1) = (psi1 or bar1)n
scfm2 (Nl/min2) = (psi2 or bar2)n
where "n" is the exponent applying to the specific nozzle type (i.e., flat spray nozzles = .50).

Effective spray coverage
Spray coverage is described as the width of the spray pattern for a flat fan air control nozzle. Effective spray coverage is the width of the fan, which comprises a minimum spray force measurement. This coverage can be used as a guide for spacing nozzles.

Effective spray coverage varies for different types of air control nozzles. While effective coverage is relatively consistent above 40 psi (2.8 bar), it may decrease at lower pressures. In general, effective coverage increases as distance from the nozzle increases.

More information on spray coverage

Sound level
Capacity and nozzle design both affect noise levels. In general, higher flow rates increase noise levels. Other factors include air pressure and obstructions in the nozzle's path. Spraying the nozzle against objects will increase sound levels.

More information on sound level

Lineal and specific impact force
There are two types of impact to consider when selecting air control nozzles: lineal impact and maximum specific impact. Both lineal and specific impact increase with pressure. When capacities are the same, a nozzle with a smaller coverage will have greater impact than one with a wider coverage.

Lineal impact indicates relative force per unit distance across the spray width. Flat spray patterns have fairly uniform impact distribution across the effective spray coverage. Spacing of nozzles in a header according to the effective spray coverage will provide consistent lineal impact across the entire length of the target surface.

Maximum specific impact is a direct indication of spray intensity applied to a surface. It provides maximum force per unit area information, which can be used to compare spray effectiveness under various conditions.

Product Performance Overview

Review various air control products and key specifications including:

• Maximum coverage
• Maximum capacity
• Maximum pressure
• Inlet connections
• Available materials

References

• Tips for Using Air Control Nozzles
• Noise Reduction and Cost Savings
• Common Problems and Solutions

Literature

• WindJet^® Air Knife Drying Packages, Bulletin 543C  · View   · Request
• WindJet^® Air Knife Drying Packages, Bulletin 543B - Metric  · View  · Request
• WindJet^® Compressed Air Products, Bulletin 575 · View  · Request
• Compressed Air and Liquid Spray Accessories, Bulletin 574 · View   · Request
• Air Control Catalog 20B   · View   · Request
• Full-line catalog including spray nozzles and accessories, technical data and problem-solving ideas, Catalog 70   · View  · Request
• Full-line catalog including spray nozzles and accessories, technical data and problem-solving ideas,
  Catalog 70-M - Metric   · View  · Request

Resources

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