FOAM GENERATORS WITH AIR EJECTION BY THE FOAM-FORMING

SOLUTION

M. I. Fes'kov and A. D. Buyanov UDC 622.807

Foam is a promising method of coal dust suppresion in longwall faces worked by

cutter-loaders. Various types of foam generators are used. The simplest in design and
the most suitable for mine conditions is a foam generator with air ejection by a stream
of foam-forming solution, because it does not require a special ventilator for the com-
pressed air (Fig. i).
Rational design of a foam generator reduces to choosing the geometrical dimensions
and initial parameters which will give the highest foam production with maximum foam
factor. In this connection it is important to know the attainable foam factor and the
factors influencing it.
A foam generator with air ejection by the jet of foam-forming solution is a jet
apparatus operating with a liquid--gas system. In such a foam generator the liquid flows
out of the nozzle in the form of a hollow cone, which gives the highest coefficient
ejection in comparison with flow in the form of a central jet.
The equation of energy balance for areas I and II with an isobaric process will
take the following form (see Fig. i):

Eo=EI+E2+E3; (i)

here Eo is the kinetic energy of the liquid flowing from the nozzle in section I--I, in
J/sec, El is the total energy of the llquld--air mixture (foam) at the outlet from the
foam generator (section II--II), in J/sec, E2 is the energy lost in overcoming local re-
sistances, in J/sec, and E3 is the energy expended on foam formation, J/sec.
In turn, the kinetic energy of the jet emerging from the nozzle can be found from
the expression

Eo---- ~2QopogH;
(2)
here ~ is the nozzle discharge coefficient, Qo
is the flow rate of the liquid through the noz-
!I 2 1 3 Iif zle in m3/sec, 0o is the density of the liquid
A ix I / ~, _ ~ - - - - ' % - - L ' - ~ r n in kg/cm 3, g is the acceleration due to gravity
in m/sec 2, and H is the pressure of the liquid
in front of the nozzle in m H20.
I ,J
Air IH The total energy of the liquid-air mix-
ture in section II--II for an isobaric process
Fig. i. Diagram of foam generator is equal to the kinetic energy of the current,
with air ejection by the foam-form-
ing solution. I) Tube; 2) nozzle; (QoOo+Q~v~,
3) grid. Ez-'- 2 ' (3)

Translated from Fiziko-Tekhnicheskie Problemy Razrabotki Poleznykh Iskopaemykh,

No. 4, pp. 146-148, July-August, 1975.

9 1976 Plenum Publishing Corporation, 227 West 17th Street, N e w York, N.Y. 10011. No part o f this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording
or otherwise, without written permission o f the publisher. A copy o f this article is available from the pu blisher for $15. 00.

449
 TABLE i. Results of Experimental Tests on Foam Generators of
Various Diameters
~ O p t i m u m n o z - i Foam Velocity
9 H, m
a n n i e of dlve~dzre-griddistanq factor, )f foam from .
D, m m dn, m m H20
~ c e Li, m K enerator, m / s e e

C o m p l e t e cone, 250 120-- 130

100 40 1,30
70 ~

150 40 T h e same 350--400 1,25

200 40 The s a m e 500--550 800--900 1,33

*The lower figure is the achieved foam factor in the absence

of energy loss on overcoming local resistances.

where Qa = Qok is the volume of ejected air in m3/

i !
6wl i : -~
sec, k is the ejection coefficient, Pa is the den-
i sity of the air in kg/m 3, and VII is the velocity
of the liquid--air mixture in section II--II in m/sec.
Transforming Eq. (3) we get

Qso (I -'.. k)~ (po "- pak)

zoo i ! v2 : !\
El: 2F ~1 (4)

0 1,0 2,0 3,0 L where FII is the cross-sectional area of the foam
generator in section II--II in m 2. The energy lost
Fig. 2. Foam factor vs nozzle-
on overcoming local resistances in the foam genera-
grid distance. Diameters of
foam generators: i) I00 mm; tor is
2) 150 mm; 3) 200 mm.
E2=E4+Es+E6+ET, (5)
where E~ is the loss of kinetic energy associated with movement of the current in J/sec,
Es is the loss due to impact of liquid drops on the walls of the foam generator (E5 de-
pends on the angle of divergence of spray) in J/see, E6 is the loss due to overcoming
the resistance of the water--air current in J/see, and E7 is the loss due to emergence
of the liquid--air mixture from the foam generator, in J/sec.
The quantity of energy expended on forming the foam is

Es ~ oS,
(6)

where o is the surface tension of the solution in N/m, and S is the area of the new sur-
face in square meters. We will assume that the foam consists of spherical bubbles.
Then we can put

6k f Qo
s = a (7)

where f is the coefficient of participation of ejected air in foam formation, and d is

the mean diameter of the bubbles in m. The quantity k~ = K is the foam factor. If all
the ejected air participates in foam formation, k = K. Transforming Eq. (6) we get

6QoKO
G-- d (8)
If f = i, after substitution and transformation, Eq. (i) becomes

Po 3 D~ o K 'A Po D~
~ -"- ~ K~ -! .~ d~ dPdh' P~ ~ _- o, (9)

450
where

n~D *
A - E0ZGQ~0 a,

and d n is the diameter of the nozzle in m.

From Eq. (9) we get the attained foam factor in the absence of energy losses on
overcoming local resistances (E2 = 0).
From Table i we see the validity of the conclusion, following from Eq. (9), that
the foam factor in a foam generator with air ejection by a jet of foam-forming solution
depends on the ratio between the diameters of the foam generator and the nozzle.
The foam factor is greatly influenced by the nozzle-grld distance (Fig. 2), which
must be such that the air velocity in front of the grid takes its mean value in the
cross section and that drops of foam-forming solution do not fall out of the flow.
The foam factor also varies with the angle of divergence of the spray of foamed
solution. In our experiments, for all three foam generators we found that the optimum
angle of divergence was 70 = . The foam factor depends on the roughness of the walls of
the foam generator, the number of grids on which the foam is formed, and the distance
between them.
The equation of energy balance can be used to calculate design parameters for foam
generators with air ejection by the foam-formlng solution. In such foam generators we
can obtain the required foam factor for dust suppression in mines with cutter-loaders
and heading machines.

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