Improvement of Mesh Atomizer Performance by Electrolytic Polishing

Abstract

Piezoelectric atomization, which breaks liquid into tiny droplets, is widely used in aerospace, medicine, and health. Most research in piezoelectric atomizers has increased the atomization amount by improving mechanical structure and optimizing the vibration characteristics. However, as the core component of the atomizer is to realize atomization using the dynamic conical angle effect, the micro-tapered hole on the atomizing sheet has not been deeply studied. To eliminate the negative influence of the uneven burr caused by the hole machining process on the atomizing sheet, electrolytic polishing processing is proposed in this study to improve the quality of the micro-tapered holes. First, a theoretical model of the atomization amount and the conical angle is established. Second, the hole diameter and burr height are measured using a microscope, and the effectiveness of polishing on the burr removal of holes is verified. Lastly, the relationship between the conical angle and atomization amount is determined through an atomization amount experiment, which guides the revision of the theoretical model. The experimental results show that when the conical angle is 48,267° (the polishing time is 5 min), the atomization amount reaches a maximum of 5.202 mL/min, which is 3.93 times larger than that of the untreated one. This study demonstrates that polishing can effectively remove burr in the process of hole machining, which provides theoretical guidance for improving the quality of atomization sheets, and will further improve the atomization number of atomizers.