화학공학소재연구정보센터
Atomization and Sprays, Vol.20, No.1, 31-40, 2010
DROPLET-PARTICLE COLLISIONS IN INTERSECTING MELT SPRAYS
When powders are produced by atomization of melts, a spray of molten droplets is created, and the droplets typically solidify in flight to form the powder with requested properties. An important powder feature is its flowability, which may be impaired due to nonspherical or aggregated or agglomerated particles. Droplet collisions in a melt spray may lead to coalescence or sticking or aggregation of the particles. The most important parameter for the distinct melt droplet collision outcome is the instantaneous solidification state of both droplets during the binary collision process. The collision process of solidifying melt droplets in sprays is studied here, where collisions in an intersecting spray (interspray) configuration have been investigated. A test facility that forms two intersecting melt sprays has been developed. Spray experiments with Carnauba wax that is separately dyed yellow and red for the two intersecting sprays are performed. The sprayed particle product is characterized regarding the collision outcome. The results illustrate a characterization of collision outcomes of the atomized Carnauba wax droplets in the interspray. Particle size distribution with histogram and cumulative fraction representation, with location, standard deviation, and peak descriptors, is determined.