Application Of A Multi-phase Numerical Simulation Procedure To The Design Of Critical Components In Atomization Units

Authors: Enrique Manuel Huerta (CEIT-BRTA, Spain) Alejo Avello (CEIT-BRTA, Spain) Jose Manuel Martin (CEIT-BRTA, Spain) Ernesto Urionabarrenetxea (CEIT-BRTA, Spain) Abstract: The design of components in close-coupled gas atomization units is critical for ensuring high process stability and productivity. For decades, experimentation was the only way to identify optimized components, but such tests were very expensive and time-consuming. The development of various Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation techniques in recent years has accelerated progress in this area. However, single-phase gas flow simulations have commonly been used to compare the advantages and disadvantages of each new design. In this work, a multi-phase simulation procedure that models the interaction between the atomizing gas and the melt is applied, allowing the prediction of the particle size distributions of the resulting atomized powders when different metal nozzles and gas atomizers designs are employed. Moreover, some experimental results are also presented, analyzing the influence of two melt nozzle designs on productivity. DOI: https://doi.org/10.59499/EP267158164