Glossary
Simplex atomizer
Definition
Pressure atomizer with a single fuel line: the whole flow delivered by the pump is sprayed, and the output is set by the fuel pressure.
The simplex atomizer is the simplest and by far the most common oil burner nozzle: one fuel line, one swirl chamber, one orifice. The pump pressure forces the fuel through tangential slots into the swirl chamber, where it leaves the orifice as a hollow or solid cone.
Because the only control variable is pressure, the turn-down of a plain simplex atomizer is limited to roughly 1:2 — below about 5 bar the cone breaks up. Where a wider modulation band is required, a spill-back, disc or air/steam atomizer is used instead.
Fluid Control Instruments Ltd has manufactured this atomizer for many years and developed it to a quality level without compromises: a protective chamber in front of the bore, a double filter made of sintered bronze balls instead of cut wire, and an internal geometry that makes the flow rate less dependent on oil temperature. Every atomizer is 100 % tested for flow rate, spray angle and spray pattern.