# Patent

## Title
Water atomisation devices

## Abstract

A water atomization device for water evaporation and/or dust control. The device includes: a generally longitudinally hollow housing; a fan; a motor; and a hollow manifold. The housing extends between an inlet end and an outlet end, with the inlet end defining a first air inlet to an interior of the housing. The fan is within the housing, between the inlet end and the outlet end. The motor drives the fan. The manifold is shaped to generally correspond to that of the outlet end and has a plurality of water injector nozzles directed substantially inwardly and away from the outlet end. A distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal edge of the manifold to define a second air entrainment inlet to an interior of the manifold.

## Background
This application claims priority to the Australian Application No. 2012238201, filed Oct. 4, 2012, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a water atomisation device adapted for water evaporation and/or dust control.
The invention has been primarily developed for use in the draining of bodies of water on mine and construction sites and will be described hereinafter with reference to this application. The invention is also suitable for use in wetting a very large land surface area for dust control in arid environments.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Devices are known which are able to atomise water and eject into the atmosphere as a fine mist. These devices are used in snow making and low volume misting for evaporative cooling and/or localised dust control. The disadvantage of such known devices is they are not suitable for large scale waste water evaporation and/or dust control applications.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
It is the object of the present invention to substantially overcome or at least ameliorate the above disadvantage.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
Accordingly, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a water atomisation device for water evaporation and/or dust control, the device including:
a generally longitudinal hollow housing extending between an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end defining a first air inlet to an interior of the housing;
a fan within the housing between the inlet end and the outlet end;
a motor for driving the fan; and
a hollow manifold shaped to generally correspond to that of the outlet end and having a plurality of water injector nozzles directed substantially inwardly and away from the outlet end.
wherein a distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal edge of the manifold to define a second air entrainment inlet to an interior of the manifold.
The distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from the proximal edge of the manifold by about 35 mm.
The housing is preferably generally cylindrical. The housing inlet end preferably includes a venturi part, converging towards the outlet end. The housing outlet end preferably includes a tapered part, converging away from the inlet end. The device preferably includes an air flow straightener, within the housing, between the fan and the tapered part. The housing preferably includes a cylindrical part between the venturi part and the air flow straightener. The fan and the majority of the motor are preferably mounted within the cylindrical part.
The manifold is preferably annular, with a substantially round cross section.
The motor is preferably about 75 kilowatts. The motor and fan are preferably adapted to eject air from the housing at about 45 meters/second. The water injectors are preferably adapted to inject water at about 24 liters/second. The motor, fan and water injectors are preferably adapted to discharge at least 2000 liters of air for every 1 liter of atomised water.
The nozzles each preferably have a water opening therein of about 3.2 mm in diameter.
The housing is preferably about 1220 mm in diameter.
In a second aspect, the present invention provides a water atomisation device adapted capable of discharging at least 2000 liters of air for every 1 liter of atomised water, the device including:
a generally longitudinally hollow housing about 1220 mm in diameter and extending between an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end defining a first air inlet to an interior of the housing;
a fan within the housing between the inlet end and the outlet end;
a motor of about 75 kilowatts for driving the fan to eject air from the housing at about 45 meters/second; and
a hollow manifold shaped to generally correspond to that of the outlet end and having a plurality of water injector nozzles directed substantially inwardly and away from the outlet end to inject water at about 24 liters/second,
wherein a distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal edge of the manifold by about 35 mm to create a second air entrainment inlet to an interior of the manifold.
In a third aspect, the present invention provides a method of operating a water atomisation device for water evaporation and/or dust control, the device including: a generally longitudinally hollow housing extending between an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end defining a first air inlet to an interior the housing; a fan within the housing between the inlet end and the outlet end; a motor for driving the fan; and a hollow manifold shaped to generally correspond to that of the outlet end and having a plurality of water injector nozzles directed substantially inwardly and away from the outlet end, a distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal edge of the manifold to define a second air entrainment inlet to an interior of the manifold,
the method including the steps of:

    1. energising the motor to rotate the fan and draw air into the housing inlet end and eject it from the housing outlet end;
    2. pumping water through the injectors;
    3. atomising the water leaving the injectors by impacting it with the air ejected by the fan; and
    4. entraining additional air through the second air entrainment inlet into the air ejected by the fan.





BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of an example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a side view of an embodiment of a water atomisation device;
FIG. 2 is front view of the device shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of the device shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 4 is a cross sectional side view of the device shown in FIG. 1.



DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIGS. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of a water atomisation device 10 used to drain bodies of water on mine or construction sites and also to wet a large land surface area for dust control in arid environments.
The device 10 includes a steel, generally longitudinal, cylindrical hollow housing 12. The housing 12 has a diameter of about 1200 mm and is about 2400 mm long. The housing 12 extends between an inlet end 12a and an outlet end 12b. The inlet end 12a defines a first air inlet to an interior of the housing 12.
The housing 12 is mounted to a skid plate assembly 14 by a pair of brackets 16. The brackets 16 allow the angle of the longitudinal axis x-x of the housing 12 to be adjusted in order to adjust the trajectory of the material ejected from the device 10. The skid plate assembly 14 allows the device 10 to be moved using a forklift, as is well understood by persons skilled in the art.
As best shown in FIG. 4, the device 10 includes a fan 18 within the housing 12, between the inlet end 12a and the outlet end 12b. A 75 kilowatt electric motor 20 drives the fan 18.
A hollow annular manifold 22 is mounted to the housing 12 near the outlet end 12b. The manifold 22 is sized and shaped to generally correspond to the size and shape of the outlet end 12b and has a plurality of water injector nozzles 24 which are directed substantially inwardly and away from the outlet end 12b. The nozzles 24 have an internal diameter of about 3.2 mm. This allows relatively dirty water to be pumped through the nozzles without clogging.
A distal edge of the outlet end 12b of the housing 12 is longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal edge of the manifold 22 in order to create an annular gap 25 therebetween of approximately 35 mm in the direction of the longitudinal axis x-x of the housing 12. The manifold 22 has an inlet fitting 22a suitable for connection to a water hose.
As previously mentioned, the housing 12 is generally cylindrical. The housing inlet end 12a includes a venturi part 26, which converges towards the outlet end 12b. The housing outlet end 12b includes a tapered part 28, which converges away from the inlet in 12b. An air flow straightener 30 is positioned within the housing 12, between the fan 18 and the tapered part 28. The housing 12 also includes a cylindrical part 32 between the venturi part 26 and the air flow straightener 30. The fan 18 and the majority of the motor 20 are mounted within the cylindrical part 32.
The operation of the device 10 will now be described. To operate the device 10, the motor 20 is energised to rotate the fan to cause air to be drawn into the inlet 12a and ejected from the outlet 12b at about 45 m/sec. Simultaneously, an external pump (not shown) is connected to the inlet fitting 22a and used to pump water through the nozzles 24 at about 24 liters/second. The water leaving the injectors 24 is atomised when it comes in the contact with the high velocity air (45 m/sec) being ejected from the housing 12 as a plume of air and atomised water. The motor 20 and the fan 18 discharge at least about 2000 liters of air for every 1 liter of atomised water pumped through the water nozzles 24.
As the air passes through the opening in the manifold 22, and past the nozzles 24, it causes additional air to be entrained through the gap 25 between the housing 12 and the manifold 22. The entraining of the additional air through the gap 25 induces a larger volume airstream from the surrounding environment and thereby carries the plume of air and atomised water higher into the atmosphere then would be case without such additional entrained air. This increases the amount of time the atomised water droplets spend in the air and therefore increases the evaporation rate thereof. This also enable the device 10 to be operated with the relatively high water injection rates (about 24 liters/sec) whilst still maintaining a suitable water droplet size. Accordingly, this enables the device 10 to be particularly suitable for relatively fast draining and evaporation of relatively large bodies of water. The combination of the mechanical fracturing of the water particles, the high airstream velocity at the outlet end 12b of the housing 12, the relatively large volume of air actually discharged and the entrained surrounding air enables a significant performance increase in evaporation and also in the control of dust particles when the device is used for dust control.
Although, the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the invention can be embodied in many other forms. For example, acoustic shielding can be added to the housing to reduce the noise generated by the device.

## Claims

1. A device for efficiently draining a body of water by accelerating water evaporation in a surrounding atmosphere, the device including:
a substantially cylindrical and longitudinally hollow housing, the housing extending between an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end defining a first air entrainment inlet to an interior of the housing;
a fan within the housing between the inlet end and the outlet end, the fan configured to eject a first airstream volume from the first air entrainment inlet during use;
a motor for driving the fan; and
a hollow manifold having a shape configured to substantially correspond to that of the outlet end and having a plurality of water injector nozzles including a first set of nozzles and a second set of nozzles in an alternately staggered arrangement relative to one another about the manifold, wherein the first set of nozzles are configured to direct water in first water streams substantially toward a center of the first airstream and the second set of nozzles are configured to direct water in second water streams that are more inline with the first airstream relative to the first water streams away from the outlet end, wherein the water is pumped through the plurality of injector nozzles so as to substantially drain the body of water; and
wherein a distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal edge of the manifold to define a second air entrainment inlet to an interior of the manifold, wherein the second air entrainment inlet is configured to induce a second airstream volume from the surrounding atmosphere in addition to the first airstream volume and increase an amount of time water is suspended in the surrounding atmosphere thereby accelerating water evaporation.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from the proximal edge of the manifold.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing inlet end includes a venturi part, converging towards the outlet end.

4. The device of claim 1, wherein the housing outlet end includes a tapered part, converging away from the inlet end.

5. The device of claim 4, further including an airflow straightener, within the housing, between the fan and the tapered part.

6. The device of claimed 5, wherein the housing includes a cylindrical part between the venturi part and the air flow straightener.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein the fan and the majority of the motor are mounted within the cylindrical part.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the manifold is annular, with a substantially round cross section.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein motor and fan are adapted to eject air from the housing.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the motor, fan and water injectors are adapted to discharge atomized water.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the nozzles each have a water opening to allow substantially dirty water to be pumped through the nozzles without clogging the nozzles during use.

12. The of claim 1, further including an acoustic shield added to the housing so as to reduce noise generated by the device.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of water injector nozzles substantially surround a circumference of the manifold.

14. The device of claim 1, further including adjustable brackets configured to attach a skid plate to the device and adjust the angle of the longitudinal axis of the housing.

15. A device for efficiently draining a body of water by accelerating water evaporation, the device capable of discharging at least 2000 liters of air for every 1 liter of atomized water, the device including:
a substantially longitudinally hollow housing extending between an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end defining a first air entrainment inlet to an interior of the housing;
a fan within the housing between the inlet end and the outlet end, the fan configured to eject an airstream volume from the first air entrainment inlet during use;
a motor for driving the fan to eject air from the housing at about 45 meters/second; and
a hollow manifold shaped to substantially correspond to that of the outlet end and having a plurality of water injector nozzles including a first set of nozzles and a second set of nozzles in an alternately staggered arrangement relative to one another about the manifold, wherein the first set of nozzles are configured to direct water in first water streams toward a center of the first airstream and the second set of nozzles are configured to direct water in second water streams that are more inline with the first airstream relative to the first water streams substantially away from the outlet end;

wherein a distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal edge of the manifold to create a second air entrainment inlet to an interior of the manifold.

16. A method of operating a device for efficiently draining a body of water by accelerating water evaporation, the device including:
a substantially longitudinally hollow housing extending between an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end defining a first air entrainment inlet to an interior the housing;
a fan within the housing between the inlet end and the outlet end;
a motor for driving the fan; and
a hollow manifold shaped to substantially correspond to that of the outlet end and having a plurality of water injector nozzles including a first set of nozzles and a second set of nozzles in an alternately staggered arrangement relative to one another about the manifold, wherein the first set of nozzles are configured to direct water in first water streams substantially toward a center of the first airstream and the second set of nozzles are configured to direct water in second water streams that are more in line with the first air stream relative to the first water streams away from the outlet end, wherein a distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal edge of the manifold to define a second air entrainment inlet to an interior of the manifold,
the method including the steps of:
a) energizing the motor to rotate the fan and draw air into the housing inlet end and eject air from the housing outlet end;
b) pumping water through the plurality of injector nozzles;
c) atomizing the water leaving the injectors by impacting the water with the air ejected by the fan; and
d) entraining additional air through the second air entrainment inlet into the air ejected by the fan.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the air is ejected from the housing.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein air is discharged with atomized water.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein entraining additional air through the second air entrainment inlet into the air ejected by the fan comprises inducing a larger volume airstream from a surrounding atmosphere thereby increasing an amount of time water is suspended in the surrounding atmosphere and accelerating water evaporation and/or controlling dust.

20. A device for efficiently draining a body of water by accelerating water evaporation in a surrounding atmosphere, the device including:
a substantially cylindrical and longitudinally hollow housing, the housing extending between an inlet end and an outlet end, the inlet end defining a first air entrainment inlet to an interior of the housing;
a fan within the housing between the inlet end and the outlet end, the fan configured to eject a first airstream volume from the first air entrainment inlet during use;
a motor for driving the fan; and
a hollow manifold having a shape configured to substantially correspond to that of the outlet end and having a plurality of water injector nozzles including a first set of nozzles and a second set of nozzles in an alternately staggered arrangement relative to one another continuously around the manifold, the first and second sets of nozzles being arranged to direct water at respective first and second water stream angles toward the first air stream relative to the first water stream angle;
wherein the first set of nozzles are configured to direct water in first water streams substantially toward a center of the first airstream and the second set of nozzles are configured to direct water in second water streams that are more inline with the first airstream relative to the first water streams away from the outlet end, wherein the water is pumped through the plurality of injector nozzles so as to substantially drain the body of water; and
wherein a distal edge of the outlet end is longitudinally spaced apart from a proximal edge of the manifold to define a second air entrainment inlet to an interior of the manifold, wherein the second air entrainment inlet is configured to induce a second airstream volume from the surrounding atmosphere in addition to the first airstream volume and increase an amount of time water is suspended in the surrounding atmosphere thereby accelerating water evaporation.