Study on Atomization Characteristics of Nozzles in Artificial Snow-Making Process

With global warming and the rapid growth of the ski industry, the demand for artificial snowmaking technology and improved snow quality has increased, both of which are closely linked to the atomization characteristics of snowmaking nozzles. In this study, the influences of different nozzle interferences and gas-liquid mass mixing ratios (g_glr) on the droplet size distribution and collision mechanism in a spray field were investigated. The nozzle spacing (d) represents the degree of interference between the nozzles, whereas g_glr signifies the varying degrees of mixing disturbance under identical nozzles. The velocity and size distribution of the droplets in the spray field were measured using a laser particle size measuring instrument and a high-speed camera, whereas the fragmentation and collision of the droplets in the spray field were analyzed based on the Weber number (We). The results indicated that the axial velocity of double nozzles exceeded that of single nozzles at varying spacing intervals. Specifically, when the nozzle spacing was 10 cm and 15 cm, the peak axial velocities were recorded as 5.6 m/s and 5.5 m/s, respectively. The droplet size underwent a non-monotonic variation with the axial distance because of the competition between fragmentation and coalescence, which initially decreased before increasing. The interaction between the spray fields of the two nozzles enhanced the droplet collision, resulting in a higher We number than the individual nozzles. Analysis of the flow field of double nozzles under different arrangement conditions revealed that a higher level of uniformity in particle size distribution was observed when g_glr=0.10 and d=15 cm.