5

Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production

Udo Fritsching and Volker Uhlenwinkel
University of Bremen
Germany

1. Introduction
Atomization of a molten liquid melt is a versatile method for powder production. Main
operational parameters and physical conditions for a suitable atomization process for
different applications in powder production are:
- melt type: surface tension, viscosity and temperature range (solidification temperature),
- process type: aimed throughput, energy efficiency,
- product type: particle size distribution (mean particle size and width of distribution).
Most atomization processes e.g. for metal powder production are gas atomization processes
using twin fluid atomizers. For these applications, besides the use of standard atomizer
types, relevant developments are ongoing to derive advanced atomizer concepts for
improved powder products and energy and resources effective atomization processes.
Main aims of atomizer developments are:
- minimization of (mean) particle sizes,
- narrowing of the particle size distribution width,
- effective use of resources (gas and feed stock),
- technical production of complex melt systems for powder applications.
In this contribution the development of gas atomization units is described, which utilize
characteristic flow effects of a molten metal stream in relation to the flow of compressed
gases for efficient fragmentation of liquids and melts. The interaction of gas and liquid melt
in the twin-fluid atomization process is used for understanding and optimization of melt
fragmentation processes.

2. Atomization of liquids and melts

Atomization of liquids (e.g., pure liquids, solutions, suspensions and emulsions, or melts) is
a classic process engineering unit operation. The process of liquid atomization has
applications in numerous industrial branches, for example, in chemical, mechanical,
aerospace, and civil engineering as well as in material science and technology and
metallurgy, food processing, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and forestry, environmental
protection, medicine, and others.
Within atomization, the bulk fluid (continuous liquid phase) is transformed into a spray
system (dispersed phase: droplets). The disintegration process itself is caused either by

www.intechopen.com
100 Powder Metallurgy

intrinsic (e.g., potential) or extrinsic (e.g., kinetic) energy, where the liquid, which is
typically fed into the process in the form of a liquid jet or sheet, is atomized either due to the
kinetic energy contained in the liquid itself, by the interaction of the liquid sheet or jet with a
(high-velocity) gas, or by means of mechanical energy delivered externally, e.g., by rotating
devices.
The main purpose of technical atomization processes is the generation of a significantly
increased gas–liquid interface in the dispersed multiphase system. All transfer processes
across the gas–liquid phase boundary directly depend on the driving potential difference of
the exchange property (heat, mass, or momentum) and the size of the exchange surface. This
gas–liquid contact area in a dispersed spray system is correlated with the integral sum of the
surfaces of all individual droplets within the spray. An increase in the relative interphase
area in a dispersed system intensifies momentum, heat, and mass-transfer processes
between the gas and liquid. The total flux of exchange within spray systems is thereby
increased by several orders of magnitude.
Within the atomization process typically a liquid stream (jet or sheet) is disintegrated into a
large number of droplets of various sizes. As all of the solid state materials as minerals,
ceramics, glass and metals may be converted into the liquid state by melting, powders from
all of these materials may be produced via atomization of the liquid melt and consecutive
solidification of the droplets in the spray to achieve a powder.
The area of melt atomization differs in several ways and properties from a conventional
atomization process (lets say from water or fuel atomization) due to the physical melt
conditions as:
- high temperatures above the relevant melting point
- comparably high surface tensions (metal melts)
- comparably high viscosity (glass or ceramic melts)
The general physics, devices and application of (conventional) atomization and spray
processes have been reviewed and intensively published as e.g. in (Lefebvre, 1989; Bayvel &
Orzechowski, 1993; Fritsching; 2006; Ashgriz, 2011).

2.1 Gas atomization of liquid melts

Several principle atomisation mechanisms and devices exist for disintegration of molten
metals. An overview on molten metal atomisation techniques and devices is given e.g. by
(Lawley, 1992; Bauckhage, 1992; Yule & Dunkley, 1994, and Nasr et al., 2002). In the area of
metal powder production by atomisation of molten metals typically twin-fluid atomisation
by means of inert gases is used. Main reasons for using this specific atomisation technique
are:
- the possibility of high throughputs and disintegration of high mass flow rates
- the greater amount of heat transfer between gas and particles for rapid partially cooling
the particles
- the direct delivery of kinetic energy to accelerate the particles towards the
substrate/deposit for compaction
- the minimization of oxidation risks of the atomised materials within the spray process
by use of inert gases.

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 101

A common characteristic of the used variations of twin-fluid atomizers for molten metal
atomisation is the vertical exit of the melt jet from the tundish via the (in most cases
cylindrical) melt nozzle in the direction of gravity. Also in most cases the central melt jet
stream is surrounded by a gas flow from a single (slit) jet configuration or a set of discrete
gas jets, which are flowing in parallel direction to the melt flow or within an inclination
angle of attack towards the melt stream. The coaxial atomizer gas usually exits the atomizer
at high pressures with high kinetic energy.
Two main configurations and types of twin-fluid atomizers need to be distinguished within
molten metal atomisation. The first kind is called the confined or close-coupled atomizer
and the second kind is called the free-fall atomizer. Both concepts are illustrated in Figure 1.

Fig. 1. Gas atomization principles of melts: Close coupled atomizer (left) and free-fall
atomizer (right)

The gas flow in the close-coupled atomizer immediately covers the exiting melt jet. Within
the confined atomizer the distance between gas exit and melt stream is much smaller than in
the free-fall arrangement, where the melt jet moves a certain distance in the direction of
gravity before the gas flow impinges onto the central melt jet. The close-coupled
configuration generally tends to yield higher atomisation efficiencies (in terms of smaller
particles at identical energy consumption) due to the lower distance between the gas and
melt exits. But the confined atomizer type is more susceptible for freezing problems of the
melt at the nozzle tip. This effect is due to the extensive cooling of the melt by the expanding
gas flow, which exits in the close-coupled type nearby to the melt stream. During isentropic
gas expansion the atomisation gas temperature is lowered (sometimes well below 0°C).
Because of the close spatial coupling between gas and melt flow fields, this contributes to a
rapid cooling of the melt at the tip of the melt nozzle. The freezing problem is relevant
especially for spray forming applications. In this process, in all technical applications a
discontinuous batch operation is performed (e.g. due to the batchwise melt preparation or
the limited preform extend to be spray formed). The operational times of spray forming
processes are ranging from several minutes up to approximately one hour. The thermal
related freezing problem is most important in the initial phase of the process directly when
the melt stream exits the nozzle for the first time. At that point the nozzle tip is still cool and
needs to be heated first e.g. by the hot melt flow. This heating process lasts a certain time.
Therefore, thermal related freezing problems are often to be observed in the first few
seconds of a melt atomisation process.

www.intechopen.com
102 Powder Metallurgy

In addition to the thermal related freezing problem within the melt nozzle, also chemical or
metallurgical related problems in melt delivery systems are found frequently. Not all of
these problems are solved yet in melt atomisation applications. A range of problems arises
from the possible change of material composition of the melt, or that of the tundish or
nozzle material, due to possible melt/tundish reactions or melt segregational effects from
diffusion. This reaction process kinetics is somewhat slower than the thermal freezing
process kinetics mentioned before and may contribute to operational problems at a later
temporal state of process operation.
Free-fall atomizers are much less problematic than close-coupled atomizers in terms of
thermal freezing processes, as the melt jet stream and the gas stream are well separated at
the exit of the melt from the delivery system (tundish exit). Therefore, the cooling of the melt
due to the cold gas occurs at a later position than within close-coupled atomizers. The free-
fall atomizer obeys as an additional advantage in the frame of spray forming the possibility
of controlled mechanical or pneumatic scanning and therefore oscillating the gas atomizer
with respect to one axis. Also concepts of spatial/temporal distribution of segments of gas
jets within the nozzle can be used for atomisation. By doing so, the free-fall atomizer gives
the operator an additional degree of freedom with respect to the control and regulation of
the mass flux distribution of droplets in the spray. This most important physical property of
the spray within other atomizer nozzle systems can (within a running process) only be
influenced by changing the atomizer gas pressure. By controlled scanning of the nozzle, the
mass flux can also be distributed over a certain area (necessary e.g. for flat product spray
forming).

3. Free-fall atomizer design for melts

The design of a conventional free-fall atomizer is simple, robust and very reliable. Thus the
free-fall atomizer concept has several applications in liquid processing. Free-fall atomizers
are applied e.g. in spray drying facilities, in powder production devices, or in spray forming
processes (Yule & Dunkley, 1994; Fritsching, 2008). Figure 1 shows a sketch of a
conventional external mixing free-fall atomizer. The design is based on the combination of
two gas nozzle systems, namely a primary and a secondary gas nozzle (Fritsching, &
Bauckhage, 1992). The secondary nozzle is the main atomization unit. The concentric gas jets
from the secondary nozzle impinge onto the central liquid jet that is disintegrated due to
instabilities from the shearing action of the secondary gas flow and its relative velocity
(Markus et al., 2002). The disintegration process of the liquid jet in the atomization zone is
located underneath the secondary gas nozzle (Lohner et al., 2003; Heck, 1998). Due to this
separation of the atomization area and the atomizer body, the free-fall atomizer is mainly
used for atomization of viscous or high temperature liquids and melts.
Due to the inclination of the secondary gas flow, underneath the secondary gas nozzle a
recirculation gas flow area may occur depending on the atomizer design and operation
conditions. If the intensity of the recirculation flow is reasonably high, liquid ligaments or
droplets are transported back to the atomizer body. Here, these sticking fragments may clog
the gas and/or liquid orifices and negatively influence or even stop the atomization process.
In common free-fall atomizer designs the recirculation gas flow is suppressed by the use of a
primary gas nozzle. The primary gas flow is coflowing to the liquid jet thereby guiding the
liquid into the atomization area without recirculation.

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 103

liquid/melt supply

primary gas nozzle

x
primary gas

secondary gas nozzle

secondary gas flow

recirculation gas
flow

atomization zone

Fig. 2. Main components and areas of a conventional free-fall atomizer (From Czisch &
Fritsching, 2008a, with permission)

During operation of the free-fall atomizer, the gas mass flow rates of both gas nozzle
systems are controlled by the primary and secondary gas pressures respectively (pressure
levels are given as of overpressure) (Czisch & Fritsching, 2004). Problems may occur during
atomizer operation if the pressure ratio between the primary and the secondary nozzle is
improperly adjusted and an intense recirculation flow is generated. The applicable
maximum gas pressure of the primary gas nozzle is limited by initial disturbances that may
be generated on the liquid jet before reaching the atomization area. Therefore, the secondary
gas pressure is limited also because the secondary gas mass flow rate determines the
necessary primary gas mass flow rate for prevention of recirculation. This coupling of the
two nozzle systems limits the applicability of the free-fall atomizer (Fritsching, 2004; Heck et
al., 2000; Bergmann et al., 2001).
To improve the operating conditions of the free-fall atomizer it is intended to increase the
gas pressures while the recirculation flow is still suppressed. In this case the recirculation
gas flow underneath the secondary gas nozzle must be prevented in a different way. It is
proposed here that a cylindrical ring device installed into the gas flow of the secondary gas
nozzle can improve the atomization performance. The applied device utilizes the Coanda
effect (Wille & Fernholz, 1965) and the injector principle to influence the local atomization
gas direction. Within the confined flow device (called here the Coanda-ring) an under-
pressure zone is generated which deflects the gas flow downwards and increases the
pressure difference between the inner zone and the ambient gas pressure. This downward
reflection of the gas stream effectively increases the gas entrainment from outside the main
flow and therefore increases the total gas mass flow rate. This effect increase becomes
important because the liquid jet interaction within the secondary nozzle is increased and the
recirculation gas flow is suppressed.

3.1 Numerical simulation of free-fall atomizer gas flow

The improvement of the atomizer design and operating conditions is based on numerical
investigations of the gas flow field of a conventional free-fall atomizer (primary and
secondary gas nozzle; see figure 2). Nitrogen is used througout this study as atomizer gas.
By applying a axisymmetric two-dimensional flow simulation it is assumed that the gas exit

www.intechopen.com
104 Powder Metallurgy

configuration is that of a circular slit nozzle (Lohner, 2002; Lohner et al., 2005).
Compressibility (assuming ideal gas flow) as well as turbulence effects (using the
conventional k-eps turbulence model) are taken into account. The gas condition at the
nozzle exit is assumed as perfectly expanded (supersonic). Pressure levels are given as
overpressure (pressure level exceeding the ambient pressure). The orifice areas of primary
and secondary gas are kept constant. Therefore, the gas mass flow rates of the primary and
the secondary gas nozzle are varied by changing the stagnation gas pressures for primary
and secondary gas, respectively.
In Figure 3 the influence of the primary gas pressure, at constant secondary gas pressure (0.5
MPa), is shown in terms of gas streamlines. Two different operating conditions are to be
distinguished, separated by the center line in the figure. On the left of the figure the gas flow
field is illustrated with primary and secondary gas flow. One can see a reasonable
recirculation flow only close to the primary gas orifice. Entrained gas fom the outside as
well as the primary gas stream is flowing with the liquid through the passage of the
secondary gas nozzle. No recirculation gas flow underneath the secondary gas nozzle is
present. On the right of the figure the gas flow field is illustrated when only the secondary
gas (atomization gas) is applied but no primary gas. The shown streamlines illustrate an
intensive recirculation flow area located from underneath the secondary gas nozzle up to
the primary gas nozzle. Thus, at constant secondary gas pressure the intensity of the gas
recirculation underneath the secondary gas nozzle decreases with increasing primary gas
pressure. But the intensity of the recirculation gas flow close to the primary gas nozzle
increases with increasing primary gas pressure.

pprimary = 0.025 MPa pprimary = 0 MPa

psecondary = 0.5 MPa psecondary = 0.5 MPa

Fig. 3. Flow field of a conventional free-fall atomizer at different operating conditions (From
Czisch & Fritsching, 2008a, with permission)

In Figure 4 the axial gas flow velocity on the center line of the atomizer at constant
secondary gas pressure (0.5 MPa) is plotted for varying primary gas pressures. For primary
gas pressures exceeding 0.025 MPa the recirculation gas flow underneath the secondary gas
nozzle is suppressed (no negative velocities in that area). The intensity of the recirculation
close to the primary gas nozzle increases with increasing primary gas pressure.

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 105

400
primary gas influence
300

.
axial gas velocity [m/s]
200

100

0 0.000 MPa

-100 0.009 Mpa

-200 0.025 MPa

secondary gas influence
-300 0.100 MPa

-400
0 50 100 150 200
distance x [mm] .

Fig. 4. Axial gas velocity on the center line at varying primary gas pressures (secondary gas
pressure 0.5 MPa) (From Czisch & Fritsching, 2008a, with permission)

In Figure 5 the flow field of the free-fall atomizer without primary gas application is
illustrated as streamline distribution (left) and local static pressure distribution (right) at a
secondary pressure of 0.5 MPa. A recirculation flow field generated underneath the
secondary gas nozzle is visible. The area with highest pressure is located where the
atomization gas streams impinge onto the center line. The local static pressure exceeds 50
kPa in this area.

Fig. 5. Flow field (left) and pressure distribution (right) of a conventional free-fall atomizer
generated only by the secondary gas flow (scale indicates pressure level in Pa) (From Czisch
& Fritsching, 2008a, with permission)

Figure 6 shows the flow situation of a free-fall atomizer without primary gas application but
with the installed Coanda-flow ring device at a secondary gas pressure of 0.5 MPa. On the
left the flow field is illustrated by its streamline distribution and on the right the static
pressure distribution is displayed. No recirculation flow field is generated in this case. On
the right it can be seen that at the entrance of the installed Coanda-flow device an
underpressure area is generated. Depending on the negative pressure ratio, between the
underpressure area close to the atomization zone and the environmental gas pressure, the

www.intechopen.com
106 Powder Metallurgy

gas flow is deflected downwards. Thus the mass flow rate increases though the liquid
passage of the secondary nozzle suppressing the recirculation completely. The maximum
underpressure within the Coanda-flow device exceeds –60 kPa for the given secondary gas
pressure.

Fig. 6. Flow field (left) and pressure distribution (right) of a free-fall atomizer generated only
by the secondary gas flow but with installed Coanda-flow device (scale indicates pressure
level in Pa) (From Czisch & Fritsching, 2008a, with permission)

The axial velocity on the center line of the atomizer is plotted in Figure 7 versus the varying
secondary gas pressure with usage of the Coanda-flow device. In this investigation no
primary gas nozzle is used at all. There is almost no effect on the axial gas velocity with
increasing gas pressure until the gas passed the installed flow device. Up to this point the
flow is completely dominated by the entrained gas flow from outside. After the gas passed
the Coanda-flow device, the axial gas velocity increases with increasing secondary gas
pressure. Thus it is possible to achieve a recirculation free flow without applying any
primary gas by using the Coanda-flow device.

3.2 Atomization experiments

Model atomization experiments are used to verify the outlined improvements of the
operation of the free-fall atomizer with the installed Coanda-flow device. The main aim in
this part of the investigation is the proper adjustment of the gas flow rates (or pressures) to
ensure stable atomization conditions. Within these model experiments water is atomized by
air at room temperature at various pressures (overpressure above the ambient pressure). In
Figure 8 (left) a photograph of the atomization area is shown without the Coanda-flow
device at 0.5 MPa secondary gas pressure and without primary gas application. Obviously
an unstable atomization occurs where droplets are transported from the atomization area
upwards towards the atomizer body due to the generated recirculation flow. The instability
of the atomization is visible even as three-dimensional structure (asymmetric). When the
Coanda-flow device is installed (Figure 8 right) the atomization at 0.5 MPa secondary gas
pressure and without primary gas becomes stable, i.e., no major recirculation in the
atomization area occurs at all.

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 107

400
primary gas influence
300

axial gas velocity [m/s] .

200

100

0
0.5 MPa
-100
secondary gas influence
0.7 MPa
-200

-300 0.9 MPa

-400
0 50 100 150 200 250
distance x [mm] .
Fig. 7. Axial gas velocity on the center line at varying secondary gas pressures with installed
Coanda-flow device (no primary gas nozzle) (From Czisch & Fritsching, 2008a, with
permission)

Fig. 8. Model experiments without (left) and with Coanda-flow device (right) (psec = 0.5
MPa, no primary gas, liquid mass flow rate 435 kg/h) (From Czisch & Fritsching, 2008a,
with permission)

The derived Coanda-flow device is adapted within a free-fall atomizer for powder
generation from viscous mineral melts. In this application, hot atomization gas is used to
suppress fibre formation during viscous melt atomization and to produce spherical
particles. Results for achieved particle size spectra have been reported in (Lohner, 2002;
Lohner et al., 2005). In Figure 9 the particle size distributions of two different atomization
runs are compared at similar operating conditions but with and without the installation of
the Coanda-flow device. A mineral melt (liquid melt, no solid particles included) is
atomized at a liquid mass flow rate of 300 kg/h. The liquid temperature is app. 1873 K and
the gas temperature about 1273 K. The viscosity of the melt at the atomization temperature
is 0.2 Pas. The secondary gas pressure used in these cases is similar (0.55 MPa and 0.58 MPa
respectively). In the case without the flow device, a primary gas flow is applied at a pressure
of 0.18 MPa. This relatively high primary gas pressure allows the suppression of major gas
recirculation, but the appearance of the spray structure indicated that some instabilities

www.intechopen.com
108 Powder Metallurgy

from the primary gas flow seem to occur. A rather broad particle size distribution results
with an indication of a bimodal distribution shape resulting from atomization presumably
due to the primary and the secondary gas flows. With the installed Coanda-flow device, a
very stable atomizer operation was observed. The resulting mass median droplet diameter
(MMD) is app. 280 µm for the conventional free-fall atomizer and app. 140 µm for the free-
fall atomizer with the installed flow device. Therefore, the droplet diameter was halved
when compared to the conventional free-fall atomizer results.

100
90
80
70
Cumulative [%]

60
50
40 conv. free-fall atomizer
30
20
free-fall atomizer with flow device
10
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
particle size [µm]
Fig. 9. Particle size distribution with and without applied Coanda-flow device for mineral
melt atomization (without Coanda-flow device: psec = 0.55 MPa, pprim = 0.18 MPa; with
Coanda-flow device: psec = 0.58 MPa, no primary gas; liquid mass flow rate 300 kg/h, liquid
viscosity 0.2 Pas, gas temperature 1273 K, melt temperature 1873 K) (From Czisch &
Fritsching, 2008a, with permission)

4. Hybrid atomization: Rotary film formation plus gas jet desintegration

Viscous melts, for example glass melts or liquid slags, have a comparably high viscosity and
low surface tension. Powder production by gas atomization of such viscous melts is a
difficult task because of the rapid cooling of the generated ligaments during melt
fragmentation that may cause fibre formation instead of a particulate product. In addition,
the increasing temperature of the melt within the process increases the melt viscosity that on
the other side decreases the dynamic energy transfer rate between gas and liquid. Therefore,
the disintegration time-scale increases and the liquid fragments may be transported out of
the area where the most effective atomization occurs. Depending on this decreasing energy-
transfer rate, the resulting particle size increases and the efficiency of the atomization
process decreases.
By using external mixing gas atomizers with heated atomization gases, in principle a
particle product can be obtained (Lohner, 2002; Lohner et al., 2005; Czisch et al., 2003). The
efficiency of the atomization process decreases with increasing viscosity and the minimum
particle size is limited by the available energy input (Yule & Dunkley, 1994; Strauss, 1999;
Dunkley, 2001). Concepts for atomization of highly viscous liquids or melts have already
been developed (Pickering et al, 1985; Fraser & Dombrowski, 1962; Campanile & Azzopardi,

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 109

2003). Certain limits of these existing technologies are to be seen when realizing an
appropriate (low) particle size or a low fibre-to-particle ratio at high melt-mass flow rates.
To increase the efficiency and to decrease the resulting particle size of an atomization
process, one can increase the specific surface energy before atomization (Lefebvre, 1980).
With respect to twin fluid (gas) atomization, the fragmentation must take place in a region
where the velocity difference between the atomization gas and the melt is highest. Thus the
melt must be transformed and transported into an area where the maximum velocity
difference occurs. To increase the specific surface energy before atomization, a rotating
device such as a disc can be used, obtaining high efficiency for transformation. To prevent
liquid accumulation effects at the rim of the disc and to decrease the film thickness, the
rotary device must operate in sheet-formation mode, generating a free-flowing liquid film
from the edge of the disc. The generated film is atomized subsequently by a high-speed gas
flow emerging from an external mixing gas atomizer. This configuration allows the
generation of a high velocity difference between the atomization gas and the melt film. To
prevent fibre formation, the atomization gas needs to be heated. The formation of the free-
flowing film is influenced by the local gas flow field. The generated gas flow field can be
used to support the transport of the free-flowing film into the most efficient atomization
zone. Thus the gas flow field has to be determined by an appropriate atomizer design. An
atomizer concept based on the discussed aspects is the prefilming hybrid atomizer.

4.1 The prefilming atomizer concept

The aim of the development is an atomizer design for highly viscous liquids and melts at
high throughputs that produce a considerably low droplet size. The prefilming hybrid
atomizer introduced here is a combination of a single-fluid rotary atomizer and an external
mixing twin-fluid atomizer. The advantage of this specific design is that the feed material is
first spread out by a spinning disc due to centrifugal forces, thereby increasing the initial
liquid surface prior to the gas atomization process. The rotary atomizer is operated in sheet
formation mode so that in the vicinity of the rotary disc a free prefilm is formed. This
prefilm is subsequently guided into the atomization zone of the external mixing atomizer by
means of intrinsic aerodynamic forces in the gas flow field. In Fig. 10 the principle of the
prefilming hybrid atomizer is illustrated. To ensure stable atomization, aerodynamic forces
are used to protect the atomizer body from coming into contact and being blocked by parts
of the liquid (melt). A sufficiently small gas mass flow rate from the inside of the atomizer
protects the atomizer body.
The flow field of gas and liquid of the prefilming hybrid atomizer is illustrated in Fig. 11.
Different local flow regimes need to be distinguished. The inner entrainment reaches the
atomization area through the atomizer liquid stream passage. The outer entrainment
reaches the atomization area directly, and the recirculation gas flow reaches the atomization
area from below the rotary disc. All flow regimes are initialized be the atomization gas. The
film movement mainly depends on the acting aerodynamic and inertial forces caused by the
momentum distribution of the inner entrainment flow, the recirculation gas flow
momentum, and the film momentum itself. The aim of the prefilming hybrid atomizer
design is to generate a maximum recirculation momentum where the liquid film is
transported close to the gas outlet.

www.intechopen.com
110 Powder Metallurgy

viscous liquid
external mixing

atomizer

atomization

gas

rotary disk

Fig. 10. Sketch of the prefilming hybrid atomizer (From Czisch & Fritsching, 2008b, with
permission)

inner

entrainment

outer

entrainment

gas
recirculation
momentum gas flow

Fig. 11. Gas flowfield and effective momentum transfer of the prefilming hybrid atomizer
(From Czisch & Fritsching, 2008b, with permission)

4.2 Numerical simulation

Numerical simulations are used to derive the suitable atomizer design for efficient viscous
melt atomization. The aim of the numerical simulations is to derive conditions where a
maximum gas momentum on the free flowing liquid film acts against the main axial
atomization gas direction. Because the highest velocity difference between gas and liquid
and therefore the most efficient atomization area is close to the atomization-gas outlet, the
recirculation momentum must be maximized to transport the liquid film towards the outlet
of the atomization gas. Within the gas flow simulations the axial momentum of the
recirculation gas flow is analyzed at the location of the free-flowing liquid film. In Figure 12
the recirculation momentum depending on the atomization gas outlet angle is shown. The
recirculation momentum starts at gas outlet angles above 15°. For outlet angles less than 15°
the inner entrainment momentum dominates the interaction with the film. At outlet angles
above 15° the recirculation momentum dominates the interaction and it increases with
increasing outlet angle. A reasonable high recirculation momentum is reached at outlet
angles between 45° to 50°. The atomization gas outlet angle for the design of the hybrid
atomizer has therefore been set to 45°.

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 111

0
-5

recirculation momentum .
-10 x
r
-15

[kg m/s]
-20
analyzed
-25
-30 area

-35 p = 0,89bar
0.89bar

-40 p = 1,78bar
1.78bar

-45
p = 2,64bar
2.64bar

atomization gas angle  [0]

0 20 40 60

Fig. 12. Axial recirculation momentum on the free flowing film (From Czisch & Fritsching,
2008b, with permission)

D = 124mm Spacing t  t
tnozzle = 0 nozzle
d

h =10mm
t
x drota120m
r
 


 
d

Fig. 13. The constructive parameters of the hybrid atomizer design (From Czisch &
Fritsching, 2008b, with permission)

In the same way as the gas outlet angle, all constructive parameters of the atomizer have
been determined separately by variation runs within the simulation. In Figure 13 the
resulting optimum parameter set for the prefilming hybrid atomizer is shown. The design is
based for the atomization of mineral melts at a temperature of 1873 K where the liquid
viscosity is 1 Pas and the melt mass flow rate is aimed at 300 kg/h. A gas jet spacing of 0 has
been chosen, therefore a slit nozzle is used as gas-flow exit geometry.

4.3 Model experiments

In Figures 14 and 15 experimental results of atomization of water and glycerol are
illustrated. The mass median droplet size in the spray measured by laser diffraction is
plotted against the air-to-liquid mass-flow ratio (ALR). The efficiency of the hybrid atomizer
is evaluated in comparison with a conventional free-fall atomizer (Lohner et al, 2003). The
free-fall atomizer is a common device for powder production (Bauckhage & Fritsching,
2000) and spray forming applications (Fritsching and Bauckhage, 2006). When low viscous

www.intechopen.com
112 Powder Metallurgy

liquid as e.g. water is atomized, the efficiency of the hybrid atomizer is low. For a constant
liquid-mass flow rate, at identical ALR the hybrid atomizer produces coarser particle sizes.
In this case the increase of the specific surface energy before atomization is not an
advantage. It becomes advantageous only when the viscosity increases. Fig. 15 shows that at
constant ALR, the hybrid atomizer produces finer particles than a conventional atomizer for
viscous glycerol atomization. In this case, a mass-median particle size of less than 30 µm is
achieved.

350 conv. 400kg/h

conv. 700kg/h
mass median particle size .

300
conv. 1000kg/h
250
d 50,3 [µm] .

hyb. 400kg/h
200
hyb. 700kg/h
150 hyb. 1000kg/h

100

50

0
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5
ALR [-] .

Fig. 14. Experimental results for atomizing water by air (From Czisch & Fritsching, 2008b,
with permission)

350 conv. 395kg/h

conv. 710kg/h
mass median particle size .

300
conv. 1001kg/h
250
d 50,3 [µm] .

hyb. 414kg/h
200 hyb. 696kg/h

150 hyb. 1007kg/h

100

50

0
0 0,5 1 1,5 2 2,5
ALR [-] .

Fig. 15. Experimental results for atomizing glycerol by air (From Czisch & Fritsching, 2008b,
with permission)

4.4 Melt atomization experiments

For atomizing viscous melts by the hybrid atomizer concept, a pilot plant for hot-gas
atomization has been used (Lohner at al., 2005). The main part of the plant is a spray tower
(about 5.5 m in height). On top of the spray tower, the material is melted by an induction
heating device. As material to be atomized, a blast-furnace slag is used for the trials. The
melt temperature before atomization is measured as 1813-1843 K with a mean temperature
of 1826 K. Through the bottom pouring crucible, the melt flows out due to gravity at melt-
mass flow rates up to 300 kg/h. The hybrid atomizer located underneath the crucible is
operated using heated gas. Gas temperatures up to 1273 K and gas pressures up to 2 bar

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 113

(relative overpressure against ambient pressure) have been realized within hybrid atomization
runs. Hot gas is produced by means of a discontinuous heat exchanger (cowper). The ceramic
bulk material inside the cowper is heated by a propane burner. After this heating process,
compressed gas or steam is blown through the cowper. The preset values of atomization gas
temperature and gas pressure are obtained by mixing the heated gas from the cowper with gas
at room temperature. The resulting melt droplets in the spray may be quenched and solidified
about 2 m below the atomization nozzle. The solidified powder is collected at the bottom of
the spray tower, the fine powder fraction is deposited in the cyclone.
Fig. 16 shows a Scanning-Electron-Micrograph of the sprayed powder from the mineral melt
atomization experiment using the hybrid atomization system. A particle fraction of the as
sprayed material in the size range from 110 to 350 µm is shown. Mostly spherical particles
are to be seen, the fraction of particles to the fraction of fibers in total is above 90 %. In Fig.
16 (right) particles size results for the atomization of this mineral slag melt at different
atomization gas temperatures and gas pressures (relative) are shown. The mass-median
particle size of the resulting powder is plotted versus the atomization gas temperature. The
gas temperature given in the graph is after expansion (a.e.).

500 p0 = 0.42bar
mass median particle size .

450
400 p0 = 0.77bar
350
p0 = 1.00bar
d50,3 [µm]

300
250
p0 = 1.55bar
200
150 p0 = 1.98bar
100
50
0
-50 100 250 400 550 700 850 1000

atomization gas temperature T0*,a.e. [0C]

Fig. 16. Micrograph of hot-gas atomized mineral melt particles (size fraction 110 – 350 µm)
and results for atomizing mineral melt at an angular disc speed of 1500/min (From Czisch
& Fritsching, 2008b, with permission)

The maximum gas temperature before expansion is 1273 K. With increasing gas temperature
and increasing atomization gas pressure the particle size decreases. For this set of
experimental conditions, the achieved minimum mass median particle size is 210 µm.
Compared with the model experiments and the material properties of glycerol the minimum
particle size is rather coarse. This results from the limited maximum atomization gas
temperature available in the facility. The achieved temperature is still too low in comparison
with the melt temperature. Before and within the disintegration process, the melt is cooled
down rapidly, so the viscosity increases and the disintegration efficiency is limited.

5. Pressure-gas-atomization
Pressure-gas-atomization is another disintegration process which can be subdivided in two
steps: a pre-filming and a gas atomization step. During the pre-filming step, a large molten

www.intechopen.com
114 Powder Metallurgy

metal surface is generated to prepare an efficient second disintegration step by gas

atomization. In the following, the development, the principle, and the results of the
pressure-gas-atomization are described.

5.1 Principle
Pressure-gas-atomization became possible after the development of the pressure atomizer.
The idea of a pressure atomizer for molten metal was born in the 90`s by Sheikhaliev and
later published by Dunkley and Sheikhaliev (Dunkley & Sheikhaliev, 1995). Originally, the
authors called this atomization technique “Centrifugal Hydraulic Atomization”. Here, the
metal was melted in a crucible placed in a pressure vessel and the molten metal was
tangentially fed into a small swirl chamber where the molten metal starts to rotate.
Typically, on the centreline of the swirl chamber a gas core develops due to centrifugal
forces. Finally, at the lower end of the conical part of the swirl chamber a hole with a
diameter between 1 and 2 mm allows the melt to leave the swirl chamber as a thin film
creating a hollow cone inside the spray chamber (fig. 17). Normally, a pressure difference of
0.4 to 1.0 MPa between the pressure vessel and the spray chamber is sufficient to achieve a
hollow cone of a molten metal. Commonly, this principle is used for cold liquids as an
effective atomization system. For a long time, it was doubted if this principle can be applied
to molten metal because of their much higher surface tension and the nozzle heating was
another challenge. Finally, the molten melt film becomes instable and disintegrates to
ligaments and relatively large droplets (mass median diameter far above 100 µm).

10mm

Fig. 17. Schematic (above) and picture (below) of pressure atomization using pure tin
(Achelis, 2009).

The pressure-gas-atomization was developed to achieve smaller particles and a narrow size
distribution. It combines the pressure atomization as a pre-filming step and the gas
atomization. As the second step a gas-ring-atomizer is used to disintegrate the molten metal
film, ligaments, and any large droplets. This idea results in a patent published in 2002
(Uhlenwinkel, 2002) and initiated intensive investigations (Lagutkin et al., 2003b, 2004b;

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 115

Achelis et al., 2006, 2008, 2009). The hollow cone film/spray is surrounded by the gas-ring-
atomizer. Due to the high velocity gas flow from the gas-ring-atomizer, the hollow cone
spray from the pre-filming process is atomized into small droplets. Simultaneously, the
particles are mainly directed to the centreline of the atomizer axis (Fig. 18).

Fig. 18. Schematic (left) and pressure-gas-atomization of pure tin (right), (Achelis et al.,
2006a).

5.2 Pre-filming
A pressure difference of about 0.4 MPa is necessary to achieve a fully developed hollow cone if
pure tin is used. Fig. 19 shows the effect of the pressure on the cone angle. A fully developed
cone is already achieved with a pressure of 0.45 MPa but the cone angle Θ is still small (29°).
Higher pressure yields in a large cone angle as demonstrated in the figure as well.

Fig. 19. Effect of the pressure pL on the spray cone angle Θ during pressure-atomization of
pure tin (Achelis, 2009).

A high speed video camera was used to investigate the break-up of the liquid metal film.
The pictures in fig. 20 represent single images of different alloys. The image section shows
the area below the gas-ring-atomizer (not in use). The tin film is hidden by the gas-ring-
atomizer and only the ligaments of the oscillating film are seen below the gas ring nozzle.

www.intechopen.com
116 Powder Metallurgy

Verfahrensprinzip: Druck-Zerstäubung

10 mm

Sn SnCu30 AlSi12
Alloy
Images from high speed video camera
Recording frequency; 63 000 frames/s

Fig. 20. Break-up of liquid metal films using several alloys. Different film length and break-
up mechanism (Achelis et al., 2010).

From the ligaments multiple droplets are generated which are clearly visible below the gas-
ring-atomizer. The film break-up of the SnCu30 alloy is totally different. The film can be
recognized as the dark area with some bright reflection zones at the surface. The film length
is much longer compared to pure tin and the break-up mechanism is dominated by a
perforation of the film. The holes in the film grow quickly until only ligaments are left which
will break into multiple droplets as well. Finally, the last image (right) shows that the metal
film of the AlSi12 alloy is again longer. Bright areas on the surface are just reflections. The
spray cone is not fully developed which is indicated by the non-conical shape of the cone. A
higher pressure pL is necessary to achieve a fully developed hollow cone for this alloy.

5.3 Gas flow in the vicinity of the gas-ring-atomizer

The gas flow generated by the gas ring atomizer has been studied carefully for the design of
the atomizer. The gas-ring-atomizer can induce strong recirculation zones which can affect
the atomization and result in an instable process. Simple pressure measurements on the
centreline of the atomizer can help to understand the gas flow in the vicinity of the gas-ring-
atomizer. Fig. 21 shows the pressure on a tube surface located on the centreline using
different gas-ring-atomizer designs. The location and the intensity of the maximum pressure
indicate the risk of recirculation zones. The highest risk is given for the ring slit nozzle with
a maximum pressure value of 25 kPa just 10 mm below the gas-ring-atomizer. The other
atomizers have several discrete holes with different exit angles and same total exit areas of
18.5 mm². An angle of 0° represents the direction straight downwards.
The flow situation was also studied by using water as fluid instead of molten metal. To get
an interior view of the spray cone a laser light sheet was used to illuminate the central plane
of the spray cone (Fig. 22). White arrows exhibit the exit and direction of the gas jets.
Obviously, the ring slit nozzle attacks the water film from the pressure nozzle directly and
droplets come very close to the gas nozzle. In case of molten metal this will lead to an
instable process. This result corresponds to the pressure measurements in the figure before.
Therefore, discrete holes in the ring gas atomizer are preferred for pressure-gas-atomization.
An exit angle of 0° was chosen for the atomization of molten metal.

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 117

nozzle exit angle +15°, exit area 18.5mm²

nozzle exit angle 0°, exit area 18.5mm²

Pressure difference Δp [kPa]

nozzle exit angle -15°, exit area 18.5mm²

Ring nozzle with 0°, exit area 19.1mm²

Distance from the gas nozzle z [mm]

Fig. 21. Pressure on the surface of a tube placed on the centreline of the gas-ring-atomizer
indicates the gas flow field in the vicinity of the atomizer. The effect of different atomizer
designs is shown (Lagutkin et al., 2003a/b).

z
10mm

+15 0 -15 0 (ring slit)

Gas nozzle exit angle β in °
Central plane of the spray cone illuminated by a laser light sheet
Pressure gas atomization, fluid: water
Bright area = high amount of particles

Fig. 22. Influence of different atomizer designs on the spray cone of a pressure-gas-atomizer.
The central plane of the spray cone is illuminated by a laser light sheet and water is used as
a liquid (Uhlenwinkel et al., 2003).

5.4 Melt flow rate

The production rate is an important feature for an atomization processes. Typically the mass
flow of the pressure gas atomization can be varied between 70 and 200 kg/h using tin and
tin-copper alloys. As expected, the melt flow rate can be adjusted by the pressure difference
between the pressure vessel and the spray chamber. The gas pressure in the gas-ring-
atomizer does not influence the melt flow.

www.intechopen.com
118 Powder Metallurgy

5.5 Particle size

Typically, the mass median diameter without gas atomization (only pressure-atomizer) are
in the range of 400 to 500 µm. The gas to metal ratio (GMR, here in kg gas / kg melt) is the
key parameter to control the mean particle size. Fig. 23 shows that already with low GMR
(below 1.0) the mass median diameter can be varied between 40 and 100 µm for pure tin.
Even mean particles sizes of approximately 20 µm can be achieved. An increase of the
copper content up to 50 weight percent does not make a big difference to the mass median
diameter. Only a copper content of 63 weight percent results in larger mean particle sizes. It
is assumed the higher surface tension is the main reason for this behavior. All
measurements were accomplished by laser diffraction. A superheat of 100 K in the crucible
was enough to achieve mostly spherical particles.
Druck-Gas-Zerstäuber
Mass median diameter d50,3 [µm]

Gas to metal ratio (GMR)

Fig. 23. Effect of the GMR on the mass median diameter for different alloys. The superheat
TS was almost 100K above the liquidus temperature of the alloy (Achelis et al., 2009).

Normally, the size distribution is characterized by another parameter, for example the
geometric standard deviation σg = d84,3/d50,3 = d50,3/d16,3 . Both values are the same if the
distribution follows a log-normal size distribution. Here, the standard deviation is defined
as σg = d84,3/d50,3. The results in fig. 24 are plotted versus the mass median diameter.
Obviously, the geometric standard deviation depends on the mean particle size and a low
mean particle size results in a higher geometric standard deviation. This holds for pure tin
and this tin-copper alloys as well. A standard deviation below 2.0 achieved by a gas
atomization technique is considered extremely good.
Of course, there are other parameters effecting the particle size distribution, specially the
design of the atomizers. But the examples shown are representative. The mass median
diameter can be calculated by the following semi-empirical equation (Achelis, 2009):

     L   M L  2    M L   360 
 1.45 m 0.07  L 2     1    0.01 L  1    
0.6 0.1 0.5 0.37

  LL 
   G uG   G   MG     MG    
0 .4
d 50,3 (1)

 

Here, the mass median diameter d50,3 (in m) depends on the surface tension σL, density L
and viscosity ηL of the melt, the gas density G, the gas velocity uG at a distance of 25 mm

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 119

Fig. 24. Geometric standard deviation σg versus the mass median diameter d50,3 for different
alloys to characterize the particle size distribution of a pressure-gas-atomization (Achelis et
al., 2010).

 , and the spray

from the orifice, the film thickness δ, the melt and gas mass flow M G and M L
cone angle Θ. The film thickness is calculated from the equation given in (Rizk & Lefebvre,
1985 cited in Achelis, 2009) for a pressure atomizer:

 D L M L  L 
  3.66  
  L p L 
(2)

In equation (2) DL means the exit diameter of the nozzle.

5.6 Particle velocity

Particle velocities are of interest for the verification of process modeling and for the
calculation of cooling and solidification rates. Several measuring techniques are available to
measure the particle velocity in the spray cone (e.g. Laser Doppler Anemometry LDA, Phase
Doppler Anemometry PDA, Particle Image Velocimetry PIV). Some results of a PDA
measurement are presented in fig. 25. Here, the mean velocity on the centreline of the spray
cone is plotted versus the gas pressure in the gas-ring-atomizer at a distance of 165 mm. The
molten tin was superheated to a temperature of 275 °C and the melt flow reached 180 kg/h.
The variation of the gas pressure resulted in a gas mass flow range between 117 and 198
kg/h. Because of the increased gas flow the mean particle size was reduced and both higher
gas velocities and smaller particles added up to mean particle velocity between 70 and 135
m/s.

5.7 Particle shape

Generally, inert gas atomized metal show spherical shape. Therefore, the mean circularity C
= 4 projection area / (perimeter)² of the particles is close to 1.0. But frequent collisions
between liquid or semi-liquid droplets and solidified particles in the spray cone can result in

www.intechopen.com
120 Powder Metallurgy

Druck-Gas-Zerstäuber

Mean particle velocity [m/s]

Pressure in the gas nozzle [MPa]

Fig. 25. Correlation between pressure in the gas nozzle and mean particle velocity on the
centreline for pure tin measured by Phase-Doppler-Anemometry (Lagutkine et al., 2004a)

agglomerations and/or multiple small particles (satellites) attached to a bigger one. This
will reduce the flowability of the powder which is an important quality feature. Often,
satellites occur because of the gas flow in the spray chamber. Close to the wall of the spray
chamber the gas velocity direction is contrary to the main flow direction and small particles
are transported to the spray cone again and collide with the droplets. This recirculation zone
inside the spray chamber can be avoided by a recirculation of the clean gas (after the particle
collector (cyclone and/or filter) and the fan). The clean gas is added at the top of the spray
chamber and - as a side effect – leads to a better visibility of the atomization process.
There appears to be a significant influence of the gas recirculation on the circularity of the
powder (figure 26). With gas recirculation the mean circularity of the powder is very close to
Mean circularity [-]

with gas recirculation

without gas recirculation

Mass median diameter d50,3 [µm]

Fig. 26. Mean circularity versus mass median diameter with/without gas recirculation
measured by image analysis (G3 Morphology, Malvern), (Achelis et al., 2010)

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 121

1.0 and the SEM picture on the right side confirms this result clearly. Without gas
recirculation the circularity drops considerably and SEM figure shows the reason of this
behavior in agglomerates and multiple satellites.

6. Conclusions and future Investigations

Gas atomization is the most versatile method to produce powders by atomization of a liquid
melt. In this context, free-fall atomizers are external mixing gas atomizers based on a
combination of a primary and a secondary gas nozzle. The primary gas stabilizes the
atomization process and the secondary gas is used for atomization of the liquid. If only the
secondary gas is used, a gas recirculation flow underneath the secondary nozzle occurs. This
recirculation flow may cause the transport of atomized ligaments or droplets in the direction
of the atomizer body. Liquid impinging on the atomizer body may clog the gas orifices and
badly influence the atomizer performance. Thus in common free-fall atomizer design, the
primary gas is used to suppress the recirculation flow and to stabilize the atomization
process.
To improve the operating conditions and to overcome limitations of the free-fall atomizer, a
Coanda-flow ring device was developed and installed inside the secondary gas flow. By
using the Coanda-flow device, the secondary gas flow is deflected in the downward
direction, the entrainment mass flow is increased, and, therefore, a primary gas nozzle is not
necessary for suppression of gas recirculation. The concept was derived and verified by
means of numerical gas flow simulations and model experiments. The application of the
flow-adapted design option for free-fall atomizers was demonstrated by the atomization of a
viscous melt. The results indicated a stable operation of the free-fall atomizer even at higher
secondary gas pressures, as well as a finer particle yield.
The concept of a prefilming hybrid atomizer has been introduced. The atomizer is designed for
atomizing highly viscous liquids and melts. Physical gas flow effects are utilized to increase
the atomizer efficiency. The hybrid atomizer design is based on numerical flow simulations of
the gas phase. Experiments where water a viscous model liquid (glycerol) a have been
atomized with air show a higher disintegration efficiency than a conventional external mixing
atomizer for the viscous liquid atomization process. Model experiments atomizing fluids of
low viscosity like water show an insufficient atomization efficiency of the hybrid atomizer
design. Thus the hybrid atomizer concept is a novel device for highly viscous liquids and
melts. The experimental results for atomization of a mineral melt by heated gases underline
the success of the hybrid atomization process with some limitations. For the present
conditions, a minimum mass-median particle size of 210 µm has been achieved. The coarse
product obtained by melt atomization is due to limitations of the available maximum
atomization gas temperature and may be overcome in future developments.
The complexity of the pressure-gas-atomization is a drawback for frequent applications in
industry. To overcome the problem the system can be simplified in the future if it is used
with low melting point alloys. Today, pumps for molten metal like tin alloys are available
and the complexity of the system can be reduced considerably because a pressure vessel is
not necessary anymore and thus the process principally can operate continuously.
Another future objective is the use of the pressure-gas-atomizer for coating applications. It
has already been proofed that this atomization system is dedicated to generate thick

www.intechopen.com
122 Powder Metallurgy

coatings on a tube. As an example a steel tube with a diameter of the 80 mm was coated
with a 10 mm thick tin layer. The density of the coating was much better the than 99% of the
full density (Uhlenwinkel et al., 2008).

7. Acknowledgments
The results that have been presented here are mainly based on the project work of several
PhD students at the Particles and Process Engineering department of the University of
Bremen. Namely the contributions of Dr.-Ing. L. Achelis, Dr.-Ing. S. Markus, Dr.-Ing. H.
Lohner, Dr.-Ing. U. Heck, Dr. S. Pulbere and Dr.-Ing. C. Czisch are acknowledged. The
cooperation in these fields with international colleagues, namely Dr. S. Lagutkin, Prof. S.
Sheikhaliev and Dr. V. Srivastava is greatfully acknowledged.
The financial support of the projects has been mainly given by the German Research
Foundation (DFG), whose support during the past decade in several areas and through
projects is greatfully acknowledged.

8. References
Achelis, L.; Uhlenwinkel, V.; Lagutkin S. & Sheikhaliev, S. (2006): Atomization Using a
Pressure-Gas-Atomizer. Proceedings of the International Conference on Powder
Metallurgy 2006, Busan (South Koria), Sept. 2006
Achelis, L. & Uhlenwinkel, V. (2008): Characterisation of metal powders generated by a
pressure-gas-atomizer. MSE A 477 (2008), pp.15-20
Achelis L. (2009): Kombinierte Drall-Druck-Gaszerstäubung von Metallschmelzen. Shaker Verlag,
Aachen 2009, ISBN 978-3-8322-8012-3
Achelis, L.; Sulatycki, K.; Uhlenwinkel, V. & Mädler, L. (2010): Spray angle and particle size
in the pressure gas atomization of tin and tin-copper alloys, Proceeding of the
International Conference on Powder Metallurgy 2010, Florence (Italy), October 2010
Anderson, I.E. & Figliola, R.S. (1998). Observations of gas atomization process Dynamics, in
Modern Developments in Powder Metallurgy, Gummeson, P.U. &Gustafson, D.A. Eds.,
Metal Powder Industries Federation, Princeton, N.J., Vol. 20, pp. 205–223
Ashgriz, N. (2011). Handbook of Atomization and Sprays, Springer, New York
Bayvel, L. & Orzechowski, Z. (1993). Liquid Atomization, Taylor & Francis ,Washington
Bauckhage, K. (1992). Das Zerstäuben metallischer Schmelzen, Chem.-Ing.-Tech., Vol. 64 No.
4, pp. 322–332
Bauckhage, K. & Fritsching U. (2000). in: K.P. Cooper, I.E. Anderson, S.D. Ridder, F.S.
Biancaniello (Eds.) Liquid Metal Atomization: Fundamentals and Practice, TMS,
Warrendale, USA, pp. 23 – 36
Bergmann, D.; Fritsching, U. & Bauckhage, K. (2001) Simulation of molten metal droplet
sprays, Comp. Fluid Dynamics-Journal, Vol. 9, pp. 203 – 211
Bradley, D. (1973). On the atomization of liquids by high-velocity gases, Part 1, J. Phys. D:
Appl. Phys., Vol. 6, 1724–1736, Part 2, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., Vol. 6, pp. 2267–2272
Campanile, F. & Azzopardi, B.J. (2003). in: Cavaliere, A. (Ed) CD-ROM Proc. International
Conference on Liquid Atomization and Spray Systems ICLASS 2003, Sorrento, Italy, 13-
17.07.2003, ILASS-Europe

www.intechopen.com
Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production 123

Czisch, C.; Lohner, H.; Fritsching, U., Bauckhage, K. & Edlinger, A. (2003). in: K. Bauckhage,
U. Fritsching, J. Ziesenis, A. Uhlenwinkel, A. Leatham (Eds), Proc. Spray Deposition
and Melt Atomization Conf. SDMA 2003, Bremen, 22.-25.6.2003
Czisch, C.; Lohner, H. & Fritsching, U. (2004). Einfluss der Gasdüsenanordnung auf den
Desintegationsvorgang und das Zerstäubungsergebnis bei der Zweistoff-
zerstäubung, Chem.-Ing.-Tech., Vol. 76, No. 6, pp. 754-757
Czisch, C. & Fritsching, U. (2008a). Flow-adapted design for Free-fall atomizers, Atomization
and Sprays, Vol. 18 No. 6, pp. 511-522
Czisch, C. & Fritsching, U. (2008b). Atomizer design for viscous-melt atomization, Mat. Sci.
Engng. A Vol. 477 No. 1-2, pp. 21-25
Dombrowski, N. & Johns, W.R. (1963). Chem. Eng. Sci., Vol. 3, pp. 203-214
Dunkley, J.J. & Sheikhaliev, S. (1995): Single Fluid Atomization of Liquid Metals, Proceedings
of the International Conference on Powder Metallurgy & Particulate Materials, Seattle
(USA), May 1995, Vol. 1, pp. 79-87
Dunkley J.J. (2001). in: 2001 International Conference on Powder Metallurgy and Particulate
Materials PM2TEC 01, 2-29-2-35, 2001, Metal Powder Industries Federation,
Princeton, USA
Fraser, R.P.; Dombrowski, N. & Routley, J.H. (1962). Chem. Eng. Sci., Vol. 18, pp. 339-353
Fritsching, U. & Bauckhage, K. (1992). Investigations on the atomization of molten metals:
The coaxial jet and the gas flow in the nozzle near field, PHOENICS J. Comp. Fluid
Dynamics, Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 81-98
Fritsching, U. (2004). Spray Simulation: Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Sprayforming
Metals, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK
Fritsching, U. & Bauckhage, K. (2006a). Sprayforming of Metals, in: Ullmann´s Encyclopedia
of Industrial Chemistry, 7th Edition, 2006 Electronic Release, Wiley VCH,
Weinheim, Germany
Fritsching, U. (2006b). Spray Systems, in: Multiphase Flow Handbook, Ed.: C.T. Crowe,
CRC-Press, Boca Raton, Fl, USA, 2006, Chapter 8, pp. 8.1 - 8.100; ISBN: 0849312809
Heck, U. (1998). Zur Zerstäubung in Freifalldüsen, VDI Verlag GmbH Düsseldorf, Germany
Heck, U.; Fritsching, U. & Bauckhage, K. (2000). Gas-Flow Effects on Twin-Fluid
Atomization of Liquid Metals, Atomization and Sprays, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 25 – 46
Lagutkin, S.; Achelis, L.; Sheikaliev, S.; Uhlenwinkel, V. & Srivastava V. (2003a):
Atomisation Process for Metal Powder. Proceedings of the International Conference on
Spray Deposition and Melt Atomization 2003, Bremen (Germany), June, 2003,
Lagutkin, S. (2003b): Development of Technology and Equipment for Metal Powder Production by
Centrifugal-Gas Atomization of Melt. Ph.D. thesis. Ekaterinburg, Ural Department of
Academy of Sciences. 2003, in Russian
Lagutkin, S.; Uhlenwinkel, V.; Achelis, L.; Pulbere, S. &. Sheikhaliev S. (2004a): Centrifugal-
Gas Atomization: Preliminary Investigation of the Method, Proc. International
Conference on Powder Metallurgy 2004, Wien, Austria, Oct. 2004, Vol. 1, S.71-76
Lagutkin, S.; Achelis, L.; Sheikhaliev, S.; Uhlenwinkel, V. & Srivastava V. (2004b):
Atomization process for metal powder. MSE-A 383 (1), (2004), pp. 1-6
Lavernia, E.J. & Wu, Y. (1996). Spray Atomization and Deposition, J. Wiley & Sons, Chichester
Lefebvre, A.H. (1980). Prog. Energy Combust. Sci., Vol. 6, pp. 233-261
Lefebvre, A.H. (1989). Atomization and Sprays, Hemisphere Publ. Corp., US

www.intechopen.com
124 Powder Metallurgy

Liu, H. (2000) Science and Engineering of Droplets: Fundamentals and Applications, William
Andrew Publ., Norwich, USA
Lohner, H. (2002). Zerstäuben von Mineralschmelzen mit Heißgas, PhD. thesis, University
Bremen
Lohner, H.; Czisch, C. & Fritsching, U. (2003). Impact of Gas Nozzle Arrangement on the
Flow Field of a Twin Fluid Atomizer with External Mixing, Int. Conf. on Liquid
Atomization and Spray Systems, Sorrento, Sep. 2003 (Italien)
Lohner, H.; Czisch, C.; Schreckenberg, P.; Fritsching, U. & Bauckhage, K. (2005).
Atomization of viscous melts, Atomization and Sprays, Vol. 15, No. 2, pp. 169-180
Markus, S.; Fritsching, U. & Bauckhage, K. (2002). Jet Break Up of Liquid Metals in Twin
Fluid Atomization, Materials Sci. & Engng. A, No. 326, pp. 122 – 133
Pickering, S.J.; Hay, N.; Roylance, T.F. & Thomas, G.H. (1985). Ironmaking and Steelmaking,
Vol. 12 No. 1
Rizk, N.K. & Lefebvre A.H. (1985) : Internal Flow Characteristics of Simplex Swirl Atomizer.
Journal of propulsion and power, Vol. 1 (1985) No. 3, New York, pp. 193-199
Strauss, J.T. (1999). Hotter gas increases atomization efficiency, Metal Powder Report, Vol. 11,
pp. 24-28
Uhlenwinkel, V. & Sheikhaliev S., et al. (2002): Verfahren und Vorrichtung zum Herstellen von
Metallpulver und keramischem Pulver, Pat.Nr. 10237213, 14.Aug. 2002
Uhlenwinkel, V.; Achelis, L.; Sheichaliev, S. & Lagutkin, S. (2003): A new Technique for
Molten Metal Atomization. Proc. ICLASS 2003, Sorento, Italy, June, 2003
Uhlenwinkel, V.; Achelis, L. & Mädler, L. (2008): New atomization process to achieve high
production rates during thermal spraying of thick coatings, Proceedings of the
International Thermal Spray Conference 2008, Maastricht (Netherlands), June 2008
Wille, R. Fernholz, H. (1965). Report on the First European Mechanics Colloquium on the
Coanda Effect, J. Fluid Mech., Vol. 23, pp. 801-819
Yule, A.J. & Dunkley J.J. (1994). Atomization of Melts, Clarendon Press Oxford, UK

www.intechopen.com
 Powder Metallurgy
Edited by Dr. Katsuyoshi Kondoh

ISBN 978-953-51-0071-3
Hard cover, 124 pages
Publisher InTech
Published online 09, March, 2012
Published in print edition March, 2012

From high-performance, economical and environmental points of view, Powder metallurgy process shows
remarkable advantages in production of parts and components due to their special compositions by elemental
mixing and 3-dimensional near net shape forming methods. Powder metallurgy process can be applied to not
only metal materials but also ceramics and organic materials, which both are employed as structural and
electrical products. Author contributions to Powder metallurgy present excellent and significantly important
research topics to evaluate various properties and performance of P/M materials for applying these materials
as actual components. In particular, the life estimation of P/M ferrous materials by sliding contact fatigue test
and tribological performance evaluation of P/M semi-metallic materials are focused and introduced in this
book.

How to reference
In order to correctly reference this scholarly work, feel free to copy and paste the following:

Udo Fritsching and Volker Uhlenwinkel (2012). Hybrid Gas Atomization for Powder Production, Powder
Metallurgy, Dr. Katsuyoshi Kondoh (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-51-0071-3, InTech, Available from:
http://www.intechopen.com/books/powder-metallurgy/hybrid-gas-atomization-for-powder-production

InTech Europe InTech China

University Campus STeP Ri Unit 405, Office Block, Hotel Equatorial Shanghai
Slavka Krautzeka 83/A No.65, Yan An Road (West), Shanghai, 200040, China
51000 Rijeka, Croatia
Phone: +385 (51) 770 447 Phone: +86-21-62489820
Fax: +385 (51) 686 166 Fax: +86-21-62489821
www.intechopen.com
© 2012 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This is an open access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.