MINI REVIEW article
Front. Phys.
Sec. Fluid Dynamics
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphy.2025.1705908
This article is part of the Research TopicPhysics of Vortices and Vorticity in Flow ControlView all 5 articles
Mini-review: Air-assisted spray nozzles and applications
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
- 2Rong Tong Aero Engine Technology Corporation Limited, Nanjing, China
- 3School of Energy and Power Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
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This mini-review summarizes the fundamental principle, spray phenomena, and atomization mechanism of air-assisted spray nozzles, and applications in various aerospace propulsion systems, agriculture irrigation, and some promising areas. The structural configurations and atomization mechanisms of air-assisted nozzles are first introduced, followed by an analysis of key design parameters and their influence on atomization performance. The air-assisted atomization process is further characterized through typical flow regimes, vortex identification techniques, and integrated experimental–numerical approaches. Current practical applications are reviewed, along with potential optimization strategies for nozzle design. Future development directions should emphasize integration with smart agriculture technologies to address emerging demands and challenges in agricultural irrigation and atomization systems.
Keywords: Air-assisted injector, Atomization, Nozzle design, Droplet size, vortex dynamics
Received: 15 Sep 2025; Accepted: 30 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhao, Huang, HE and Zhong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhixia HE, zxhe@ujs.edu.cn
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