Air-Blast Cross-Flow Atomization of Cold Fluids

The motivation for this work is to gain a better understanding of how particle characteristic can be controlled when metallurgical slags are atomized in cross-flow air atomization. The effect of certain process parameters on the characteristics of liquid droplets produced by air-blast atomization has been investigated using water, castor oil, and glycerin. The gas-to-liquid ratio as well as the distance between the liquid and air stream were manipulated to understand their effect on the particle shape and size. The effect of liquid viscosity on the size and shape of droplets was also investigated. Droplets were observed in-flight with the use of shadow imaging, which were analyzed to provide information regarding the mentioned characteristics. It was found that a single correlation expressed as kinetic energy of the atomizing air per unit mass of the atomized liquid can explain the effects of gas/liquid ratio and distance between the air nozzle and crash point. The average particle size decreased with an increase in the gas-to-liquid flow rate ratio, increased with increasing distance between the liquid and air stream, and increased with increasing viscosity. The aspect ratio was consistent and close to unity for all water atomization experiments.