Liquid flow on a rotating disk prior to centrifugal atomization and spray deposition

Video observations of the flow patterns that develop on a rotating disk during centrifugal atomization and spray deposition, and subsequent metallographic studies conducted on solid skulls removed from the disk after processing, have indicated a circular discontinuity or hydraulic jump, which is manifested by a rapid increase in the thickness of the liquid metal and by a corresponding decrease in the radial velocity. A mathematical model has been developed that is capable of predicting both the occurrence and location of the jump, and the associated changes in the thickness profile and in the radial and tangential velocities of the liquid metal. Good correlations have been observed between model predictions and the flow patterns observed on the skull after atomization, and the effects of changes in material and operational parameters such as kinematic viscosity, volume flow rate, metallostatic head, and disk rotation speed have been quantified. Liquid metal flow is controlled primarily by the volume flow rate and by the metallostatic head prior to the hydraulic jump and by the centrifugal forces after the jump. The implications of these observations in terms of the atomization process are discussed.