Flow International Corporation

Richard F Schmid

Chidambaram Raghavan

Curtis L Anderson

Steven S Sisson

An improved and tunable ultrahigh-pressure nozzle for use in generating ultrahigh-pressure fluid jets is shown and described. In a preferred embodiment, a nozzle body is provided with a first conical bore that extends from an entrance orifice to an exit orifice, the bore transitioning into a second conical bore that is formed in a seal. The seal is formed to capture a nozzle orifice and position it in the nozzle body adjacent the exit orifice. By selecting the geometry of the nozzle, namely the diameter of the entrance orifice, and an included angle of the first and second conical bores, it is possible to optimize performance of a fluid jet generated by the nozzle for a selected task and operating parameters.

Tunable ultrahigh-pressure nozzle

A method for uniformly roughening a surface through use of an ultrahigh-pressure fluid fan jet has been shown and described. In a preferred embodiment, an ultrahigh-pressure fan jet is generated by pressurizing a volume of fluid, and forcing the pressurized fluid through a fan jet nozzle. The fan jet is positioned relative to the surface to be treated at a desired distance, and the fan jet is traversed across the surface at a selected rate to uniformly roughen the surface. In a preferred embodiment, the achieved surface roughness is quantified and compared to a desired surface finish. Operating parameters, such as horsepower and traverse rate, may then be adjusted accordingly to achieve the desired surface finish. By uniformly and completely roughening a surface through use of an ultrahigh-pressure fan jet prior to applying a coating to the roughened surface, adherence between the surface and the coating will be improved.

Growing community of inventors

King, WA, United States of America

Richard F Schmid