An hydraulic spray nozzle is a device which makes use of the pressure energy of a liquid to increase its velocity through an orifice and break it into drops.

Its performance can be identified and described precisely, so that the design engineer can specify exactly the spray nozzle required for a given process. There are 3 main spray patterns produced by the large range of hydraulic nozzles:-

1) Full Cone – Circular and Square Pattern;
2) Flat Fan Pattern;
3) Hollow Cone Pattern.

With a full cone spray pattern the liquid is evenly distributed over a circular or square area.

A wide choice of full cone nozzles is available for general purpose applications, while additional nozzle types can be specially designed for specific applications. Some of the more common types are shown below however there are many more than can be shown here.

Slotted Vane - Type AA

This type of construction offers a compact nozzle length, generally shorter than other types and is used in applications where there are space restrictions, and a very even spray distribution is a high priority.

Their compact design makes them the best choice where a plastic material like PVC, PP or PTFE is required.

Typical Applications - gas cooling, fire fighting, chemical process engineering, washing and cleaning applications

Connection: 3/4" to 3" BSP
Spray angles: 90°, 120°
Material: 316 Stainless Steel, Brass, PVC, PP, PTFE (Teflon*), Other plastic materials on request

Slotted Vane - Type AE

Designed to deliver large volumes at low pressure while still maintaining spray pattern and liquid distribution.

Typical Applications - coke quenching, cooling and scrubbing of gas

Connection: 80mm to 250mm flange
Spray angles: 90°, 120°
Material: Carbon Steel, 316 Stainless Steel & Cast Iron

Because of their special integrated 'S' shape vane they offer the largest free passage available in the full cone nozzle range. Ideal for handling dirty or recirculated liquids or foreign matter, or wherever there is danger of the nozzle clogging.

Typical Applications - Fire protection, gas scrubbers, cooling, washing, recirculated liquids with large solids

Connection: 3/4" to 2 " BSP
Spray angles: 90°
Material: 316L Stainless Steel

Vaneless - Tangential Inlet - Type AT

These are a non clogging nozzle which can produce a full cone spray pattern without any vane inside the whirl chamber. The outlet orifice is at 90° to the axis of the inlet. The droplets are coarse and the spray angle very stable.

Typical Applications - Rotary filter washing, washing & cleaning processes, cooling of gases, spraying onto filter mats in air washers, surface cooling.

Connection: 1/8" to 1" BSP
Spray angles: 60°, 90°, 120°
Material: 316 Stainless Steel, Brass

These full cone nozzles offer a three piece design which has the convenience of being able to disassemble them to clean.

Connection: 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" to 1/2" BSP
Spray angles: 60° to 120°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless Steel, Brass

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Same three piece design as BA/BC but having a square pattern which provide even greater coverage over a surface which the round pattern does not provide.

Typical Applications - Drop production in chemical reactors, scrubbing, washing and rising processes.

Connection: 1/8", 1/4", 3/8" to 1/2" BSP
Spray angles: 60° to 80°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless Steel, Brass

This two piece design has the largest range of spray angles and capacities. There is an extensive range to select from and they are an economical nozzle.

Connection: 1/4" to 10" BSP
Spray angles: 60° to 120°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316L Stainless Steel, Brass

X - Vane - Two Piece - Square Spray - Type BF/BH

Economical two piece design. They are used where the coverage of a surface has to be as even as possible.

Connection: 1/8" to 6" BSP
Spray angles: 60° to 120°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316L Stainless Steel, Brass

X - Vane Narrow Spray Angles - Type BR/BU

These nozzles produce a solid cone spray where the coarse droplets are concentrated within a narrow spray angle to maximise their impact force.

Typical Applications - Fire suppression, washing and cooling inside pipes, agitating liquids inside tanks, vats and cooling towers, suppressing foam.

Connection: 1/8" to 3" BSP
Spray angles: 15°, 30°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless Steel, Brass

Cluster Spray Nozzle - Type CA

CA multiple spray full cone nozzles produce a cloud of consistently sized fine droplets. These multi-orifice nozzles produce a finer spray than a standard full cone, single orifice nozzle working at the same pressure and delivering the same quantity of liquid.

Typical Applications - Gas cooling, fire suppression

Connection: 1/2", 3/4", 1", 2" BSP
Spray angles: 60°, 130°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless Steel, Brass

Spiral Full Cone Spray Nozzles - Type E

Spiral nozzles work on the impact principle by deflection of a water stream onto a spiral surface which generates a continuous spiraling liquid curtain. The spray droplets do not have the same even distribution that is produced by other types of full cone nozzles, however they possess other features such as:-

1. the spray angle is maintained even at very low pressures and when spraying high viscosity liquids
2. because they don't have a vane in them they are virtually clog free
3. they produce much smaller droplets than standard full cone nozzles
4. they are available in the widest range of materials of any nozzle type

Typical Applications - fire fighting, gas and smoke scrubbing, gas cooling, dust suppression & chemical processors.

Connection: 1/4" to 4" BSP
Spray angles: 60° to 180°
Material: 316L Stainless Steel, Brass, PVC, PP, PVDF (Kynar), PTFE (Teflon*), Hastelloy C276

Hydraulic – Flat Fan Spray Nozzles

A complete range of flat fan nozzles is available. Different techniques are available to produce a flat spray, each one offering specific design and spray properties so that it is possible to choose the one nozzle meeting all or most of the requirements for a given case.

High Pressure Washing – Type F
Type F flat fan nozzles are designed for high pressure washing applications. Their specially designed inner profile allows for an even jet distribution, which results in effective and uniform cleaning action over the surface being processed.

Typical Applications:- car washing plants and high pressure cleaners.

Connection: 1/4" BSP or NPT
Spray angles: 0°, 15°, 25°, 40°, 65°
Material: 416 grade stainless steel

Short Body Type GA

The short body of the GA nozzles makes it possible to use nozzle spray pipes in machines and situations where space is very limited.

Typical Applications:- roll cooling in steel mills.

Connection: 1/4" to 3/4" BSP Parallel
Spray angles: 45°, 60°, 90°, 120°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316L Stainless Steel, Brass, PVC, PP, PTFE (Teflon*)

Dovetail Type GY

GY nozzle tips are usually mounted onto a pipe by means of a welded nipple and secured in place by a locknut. They can be easily be replaced with the assurance that the linear spray will be in the correct position because the dovetail maintains the correct orientation.

Typical Applications:- steel mills where spray position is critical.

Connection: Weld-on nipple
Spray angles: 0° to 120°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316L Stainless Steel, Brass

The J type are the most widely used flat fan nozzle because of their large range of capacities, spray angles, connection sizes and materials. The capacities range from 0.06 l/min to 230 l/min @ 3 bar.

Connection: 1/8" to 1" BSP
Spray angles: 0° to 120°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless Steel, Brass

Large Spray Angle Deflection Principle – Type K

K flat jet nozzles work on the deflection principle conveying a stream of water onto a machined deflecting surface, producing a wide angle flat spray pattern having low impact value and small droplets. Their round orifice minimises the risk of clogging.

Typical Applications:- Producing Fire Curtain, cooling and washing of vertical surfaces, washing fruits, stones or any such material on a moving conveyor.

Connection: 1/8" to 1" BSP
Spray angles: 90° to 140°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless Steel, Brass

High Impact Flat Fan – Type K

High Impact K type nozzles work on the deflection principle and are designed to produce a narrow jet with high impact value and medium size droplets. The round orifice minimises the risk of clogging. They are sometimes called “spoon jets” because of the shape of the deflecting surface.

Typical Applications;- high pressure cleaning processes, felt washing in paper machines, washing products on a moving conveyor.

Connection: 1/8" to 3/4" BSP or NPT and quick connect
Spray angles: 15° to 50°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless Steel, Brass

Hollow Cone Spray Nozzles
Hollow Cone nozzles produce a circular spray where the liquid is distributed around the perimeter or circumference of the circle. They generate fine droplets. There are many different hollow cone nozzles available but they can be broadly divided into 4 basic types - Tangential Spray, Axial Spray, Deflection Type Axial Spray, Hydraulic Atomisers

Tangential Nozzles Type PA/PB; PE/PF

These nozzles work on the tangential flow principle where the centrifugal force inside the whirl chamber provides the energy for liquid breakup. As they have no internal vanes they are not susceptible to clogging and so are ideal when using recycled water or when there is solid matter in the liquid.

Typical Applications: gas and smoke scrubbing, cooling of large tanks and storage vessels, humidifying, dust suppression, foam control, fire fighting, chemical process engineering.

Connection: 1/8" to 2 1/2" BSP
Spray angles: 50° to 130°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316L Stainless Steel, Brass

Tangential Nozzles Type PN

This range of hollow cone nozzles are made from tough glass fiber reinforced polypropylene for high mechanical strength and dimensional stability. They offer good corrosion resistance and moderate price. Together with their special polypropylene pipe clamps they offer the best solution in all cases where large quantities of nozzles have to be easily assembled onto pipe manifolds. The maximum recommended operating temperature is 75 degrees C.

Typical Applications: air humidification, gas scrubbing, dust suppression, foam control.

Connection: 3/8" to 1/2" BSP
Spray angles: 70°, 130°
Material: Glass fibre reinforced polypropylene

Axial Spray with Swirl Vane - Type RA
These nozzles have an internal vane with two precision machined spiral grooves and produce a very fine spray in line with the inlet pipe.

Typical Applications: dust suppression in coal mines, cooling and scrubbing of air and gas, desuperheating steam, spray drying.

Connection: 1/8", 3/8" to 1/2 " BSP
Spray angles: 60°, 80°, 90°
Material: 316L Stainless Steel, Brass

Axial Spray Without Swirl Vane – Type RB

The RB nozzles work on the tangential principle and produce a hollow cone spray pattern, in line with the nozzle inlet pipe. Having no internal vane minimises the danger of clogging while still producing fine droplets. They are especially suited to dust suppression applications in coal mines.

Typical Applications: dust suppression in coal mines, cooling,

Connection: 3/8" to 1 1/2" BSP
Spray angles: 60°, 70°, 80°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, Brass

Deflection Type Axial Spray – Type RC

RC nozzles produce hollow cone spray pattern with very wide angles perpendicular to the inlet pipe. The spray is produced by deflection of the water flow against a fixed plate in front of the nozzle orifice.

Typical Applications: fire fighting, cleaning or spraying inside pipes and cylinders.

Connection: 1/4" to 3/8" BSP
Spray angles: 150°, 180°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, Brass

Hydraulic Atomisers Type RX/RZ

Hydraulic atomisers are designed to deliver a very finely atomised hollow cone spray even at low pressures. The nozzles contain a precisely machined insert with tiny passages, which can be disassembled for cleaning should the nozzle become clogged. Protection against clogging can be achieved by fitting a strainer on the inlet. Flow rates range from 0.06 to 2 l/min @ 3 bar.

Typical Applications: humidifying processes in the textile industry, dust suppression, air moistening.

Connection: 1/4" BSP
Spray angles: 30° to 90°
Material: 303 Stainless Steel, 316 Stainless Steel, Brass

*Teflon is a Registered Trademark of Dupont Co