Atomisation

Atomisation is a very important concept in the branch of chemistry. Atomisation can be defined as a process to convert an analyte into liquid, solution or solid, to form a free atom. In this article, we will study the process of atomisation, its importance, factors that affect the feature of droplets and other related topics.

For example, at the time of a gas-atomisation process, to atomise the molten steel into metal droplets (in very tiny form), when they fall in the atomisation tower, they cool down. This process of atomisation provides perfect metal powders with a high cleanliness level.

Atomisation

The process of converting liquid metal in the form of droplets which in turn convert into powder form after it cools down. Atomisation is the ideal method to convert solids into powdered form for the finest grain quality. It is the variation of a bulk liquid into a spray of liquid droplets in a surrounding gas or vacuum.

In the basic methods of atomisation, the rise of disturbances lead to a disintegration of the sheet or jet into ligaments, conversion of bulk liquid into a sheet or jet and then the features of the resulting spray are determined by the drops, like;

• Shape
• Drop size distribution
• Structure
• Droplet velocity
• Penetration

Factors that affect the features of droplets

There are various factors that can affect the characteristics of droplets. They are as follows-

1. Properties of the gaseous medium into which the liquid stream is discharged
2. Atomiser geometry and size 
3. Physical properties of the liquid

Atomisation happens as a result of the competition between the disruptive actions of various forces (internal and external), the viscosity of the liquid and stabilising influences of surface tension.

Importance of atomisation

Atomisation is very important. Some points that mention its importance are given below-

Spray drying- It is a method of converting liquid into fine powder by drying hot gas. This method is most popular in thermally sensitive materials such as pharmaceuticals or food.

Agricultural spraying- it is used by diluting the fine powder in water to spray for insecticides or fertilisers.

Spray combustion- It involves the atomisation and burning of liquid fuels.

Types and uses of atomisation

There are unique atomisation methods, and different types of specific nozzles are used for some applications.

• Centrifugal atomisation- In centrifugal atomisation, the fluid is placed at the centre of the electrode or a spinning desk, where centrifugal forces carry fluid to the corners and accelerate it to have no stabilities that evolve into droplets.  

• Ultrasonic atomisation- It uses high-frequency vibrations to split fluids into fine droplets. It is mainly used to dry liquids, like powdered milk and medical nebulisers.

• Two-fluid atomisation- It is mostly used to make metal powders of fine quality, and it uses water, oil, air or inert gas to cause molten or liquid metals to break into particles of small size. 

• Pressure atomisation- It is a type of atomisation that is utilised to spray chemicals like herbicides and insecticides on crops or to clean vegetables and fruits before packaging.

• Electrostatic atomisation- It works on an electric field between a charged atomiser and a grounded workpiece to break the liquid into droplets and spur those droplets.

Work of the atomiser

Now the question arises, how does an atomiser work? The answer to this is mentioned below:

Atomisers require a specific set of tools, a prefabricated coil or wire and a wick. Most of the time, cotton is used as a wick.

• Make your coil and protect it on the atomiser’s build deck (you may require to repeat this process in case of atomisers that need more coils).
• Check resistance of the coil on a vape mod or an Ohmmeter. Make sure that you are aware of your battery safety and device limits.
• Dry your coil or coils slowly to eliminate the hot spots and make sure it glows evenly (you can skip this step if using spaced coils as these usually do not have hot spots).
• To cool it down, leave it aside at room temperature for some time.
• Prepare your wick and keep it inside your coil.
• Keep the wick tails in the wicking channels.
• Drip some e-juice on the coil to prime your wick.
• Let it soak for some time.

The power required to fire the atomiser is based on the specifications of the coil or coils, so start with low until one reaches his desired vape. Keep dripping it every time you see it getting dry if you use an RDA (rebuildable dripping atomiser). If you have a rebuildable tank atomiser (RTA), fill up the tank and do not empty the tank. You can do both, i.e. filling the tank and dripping if you are using a rebuildable dripping tank atomiser (RDTA).

Conclusion

In this article, we have defined the process of atomisation, its importance, work of the atomizer, etc. Atomization is a process that can be used in various industries to convert solid or liquid material into fine powder by various methods. We must have solved all the queries related to the topic of atomisation and atomiser in the above article.