Prediction of outflow parameters for a shower head.

Abstract

Bathing or showering is one of the main pathways of water consumption. The shower head, as an important part of our bathing facilities, is directly related to water saving and bathing satisfaction. To design a water-saving and comfortable shower, it is extremely important to know its likely outflow parameters .In the resent research, the shower head structure and the water jet characteristics, and the Lagrangian control volume (CV) element integration method is used to establish a theoretical model describing the motion of the jet from the spray-holes of a shower head. The model also includes a method of calculation of the spraying force, considering the velocity distribution over the jet cross-section. The model can be used to predict jet parameters, spraying force, water temperature drop, and sprayed water volume distribution. To validate the predictions,experiments are conducted to measure the spraying force, temperature drop, and sprayed water volume distribution for the shower head. Comparisons between experiments and predictions show that the prediction accuracy of the model is satisfactory and the model can be adopted to evaluate the performance of the shower head. In addition, using the model, the salient jet parameters for the spraying hole are also simulated, and the influences of the flow rate and the size of the spraying hole on the motion of the jet can be assessed. These results guide research and development into water-conservation, energy-conservation, and comfort when showering.