Research Progress of Atomizers and Drugs Used in Atomization Therapy

At present,the commonly used treatment methods for chronic respiratory diseases are drug,oxygen,interventional and atomization therapy.Atomization therapy is the most widely used because of its characteristics of fast effect,high local drug concentration,less drug dosage,convenient application and few systemic adverse reactions.In this paper,the mechanism,characteristics,commonly used drugs and clinical application of atomization therapy are discussed.

Microscopic and macroscopic atomization characteristics of a pressure-swirl atomizer, injecting a viscous fuel oil

Combustion of heavy fuels is one of the main sources of greenhouse gases, particulate emissions, ashes, NOxand SOx. Gasification is an advanced and environmentally friendly process that generates combustible and clean gas products such as hydrogen. Some entrained flow gasifiers operate with Heavy Fuel Oil(HFO) feedstock. In this application, HFO atomization is very important in determining the performance and efficiency of the gasifiers.The atomization characteristics of HFO(Mazut) discharging from a pressure-swirl atomizer(PSA) are studied for different pressures difference(Δp) and temperatures in the atmospheric ambient. The investigated parameters include atomizer mass flow rate( _m), discharge coefficient(CD), spray cone angle(θ), breakup length(Lb), the unstable wavelength of undulations on the liquid sheet(λs), global and local SMD(sauter mean diameter) and size distribution of droplets. The characteristics of Mazut sheet breakup are deduced from the shadowgraph technique. The experiments on Mazut film breakup were compared with the predictions obtained from the liquid film breakup model. Validity of the theory for predicting maximum unstable wavelength was investigated for HFO(as a highly viscous liquid). A modification on the formulation of maximum unstable wavelength was presented for HFO. SMD decreases by getting far from the atomizer. The measurement for SMD and θ were compared with the available correlations. The comparisons of the available correlations with the measurements of SMD andθ show a good agreement for Ballester and Varde correlations, respectively. The results show that the experimental sizing data could be presented by Rosin-Rammler distributions very well at different pressure difference and temperatures.

Design and evaluation of a Laval-type supersonic atomizer for low-pressure gas atomization of molten metals

A Laval-type supersonic gas atomizer was designed for low-pressure gas atomization of molten metals. The principal design ob-jectives were to produce small-particle uniform powders at lower operating pressures by improving the gas inlet and outlet structures and op-timizing structural parameters. A computational fluid flow model was developed to study the flow field characteristics of the designed atom-izer. Simulation results show that the maximum gas velocity in the atomization zone can reach 440 m＆#183;s-1;this value is independent of the atomization gas pressure P0 when P0〉0.7 MPa. When P0=1.1 MPa, the aspiration pressure at the tip of the delivery tube reaches a mini-mum, indicating that the atomizer can attain the best atomization efficiency at a relatively low atomization pressure. In addition, atomization experiments with pure tin at P0=1.0 MPa and with 7055Al alloy at P0=0.8 and 0.4 MPa were conducted to evaluate the atomization capa-bility of the designed atomizer. Nearly spherical powders were obtained with the mass median diameters of 28.6, 43.4, and 63.5μm, respec-tively. Compared with commonly used atomizers, the designed Laval-type atomizer has a better low-pressure gas atomization capability.

Numerical simulation of droplet-formation in rotary atomizer

Numerical simulations of the liquid flow scattering from rotary atomizers are performed using an incompressible smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method. The influence of grooves at the edges of the atomizers on the formation of ligaments and droplets is investigated changing the numbers and shapes of the grooves. As a result, it is found that small droplets are likely to be generated when the number of grooves is large and the depth of grooves is deep. It is also found that the grooves work more effectively in bell-cup atomizers than in disk type atomizers.

FLUID KINETICS PRINCIPLE AND DESIGN CRITERIA OF ATOMIZER

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The effect of nozzle layout on droplet ejection of a piezo-electrically actuated micro-atomizer

We study here effects of nozzle layout on the droplet ejection of a micro atomizer, which was fabricated with the arrayed nozzles by the MEMS technology and actuated by a piezoelectric disc. A theoretical model was first built for this piezoelectric-liquid-structure coupling system to characterize the acoustic wave propagation in the liquid chamber, which determined the droplet formation out of nozzles. The modal analysis was carried out numerically to predict resonant frequencies and simulate the corresponding pressure wave field. By comparing the amplitude contours of pressure wave on the liquid-solid interface at nozzle inlets with the designed nozzle layout, behaviors of the device under different vibration modes can be predicted. Experimentally, an impedance analyzer was used to measure the resonant frequencies of the system. Three types of atomizers with different nozzle layouts were fabricated for measuring the effect of nozzle distribution on the ejection performance. The visualization experiment of droplet generation was carried out and volume flow rates of these devices were measured. The good agreement between the experiment and the prediction proved that only the increase of nozzles may not enhance the droplet generation and a design of nozzle distribution from a view-point of frequency is necessary for a resonant related atomizer.

Computational Modelling of the Hydride Generation Reaction in a Tubular Reactor and Atomization in a Quartz Cell Atomizer

In this study, we present a model whereby the centre of the atomization channel is shown to be the optimal location for the spectrometric data acquisition in a quartz cell atomizer. The study aims to explore the hydride generation technique which is normally coupled with efficient thermal source to apply determination of heavy metals in water samples via spectrometric analysis. The arsenic hydride generation process and the atomization of the generated hydride in a quartz cell atomizer were studied analytically as model case studies. The hydride generation (HG) process was analyzed by adopting two hypotheses, the nascent hydrogen and formation of intermediate hydroboron species, where the results based on the second hypothesis are found to be more realistic for design purposes. Moreover, the release of the generated hydride from the liquid phase and their transport to the gas phase is simulated in a helical tubular section, in which the actual tubular section length required for separation is deduced. The analytical results have been verified experimentally by measuring the signal intensity for the free arsenic atoms against several reaction tube lengths, in which increasing the tubular section length from 12 cm to 100 cm results in signal amelioration by no more than 6.6%. Furthermore, the atomization of the hydride and the distribution of the generated free atoms are deduced in two configurations of tubular quartz atomizers. The results obtained from both studied cases illustrate that a high concentration of the free analyte atoms is generated in the first part of the atomization channel, saturates to a maximum in a position at the atomizer centre, and dissipates at the inside wall of the tubular atomizer before reaching the atomizer outlet edge, which is found to be in total agreement with the current understanding of atomization mechanism in tubular atomizer and emphasizes the fact that the centre of the quartz cell atomizer is the best location for the spectrometric data acquisition.

Spray deposition for making large size billet with swing atomizer

The movement mode of the atomizer is a very important parameter during spray deposition process,which has direct influence on the size and surface texture of the billets. To resolve the problem of manufacturing large size billets,a method of spray deposition by the atomizer with off-center swing was put forward. The atomizer was driven by the alternating current servomotor to swing within 7° at varying speed. The influence of the atomizer parameters,such as translation of the atomizer,swing angle of the atomizer,substrate falling speed and spraying pressure,on the spray deposition was studied. The optimized parameters of the spray deposition process were obtained. The results show that the large size billets with uniform surface quality can be made through adjusting swing frequency and angle of the atomizer,offset distance of the atomizer and inclined angle of the substrate; the valid spray area will decrease and the dimension of top surface will reduce when pressure is less than 0.4 MPa within certain spray distance; meantime,the moving time and cooling time of the droplets are extended,which will lead to loose structure and bad densification. When the pressure,the swing angle and the eccentric offset of the atomization equal 0.5 MPa,7° and 60 mm,respectively,large size billets with fine texture and diameter of 500 mm can be produced.

Measuring Conditions for the Determination of Lead in Iron-Matrix Samples Using Graphite Atomizers with/without a Platform in Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

In graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS), the atomization process of lead occurring in graphite atomizers with/without a platform plate was investigated when palladium was added to an iron-matrix sample solution containing trace amounts of lead. Absorption profiles of a lead line were meas- ured at various compositions of iron and palladium. Variations in the gas temperature were also estimated with the progress of atomization, by using a two-line method under the assumption of a Boltzmann distribu- tion. Each addition of iron and palladium increased the lead absorbance in both the atomizers, indicating that iron or palladium became an effective matrix modifier for the determination of lead. Especially, palladium played a significant role for controlling chemical species of lead at the charring stage in the platform-type atomizer, to change several chemical species to a single species and eventually to yield a dominant peak of the lead absorbance at the atomizing stage. Furthermore, the addition of palladium delayed the peak after the gas atmosphere in the atomizer was heated to a higher temperature. These phenomena would be because the temperature of the platform at the charring stage was elevated more slowly compared to that of the furnace wall, and also because a thermally-stable compound, such as a palladium-lead solid solution, was produced by their metallurgical reaction during heating of the charring stage. A platform-type atomizer with palladium as the matrix modifier is recommended for the determination of lead in GF-AAS. The optimum condition for this was obtained in a coexistence of 1.0 × 10–2 g/dm3 palladium, when the charring at 973 K and then the atomizing at 3073 K were conducted.

Flow field simulation of double layer atomizer

The influences of parameters,such as delivery tube structure,gas pressure and the distance between the primary atomizer and the secondary atomizer,on gas flow field were investigated by simulation.The effects of primary pressure on gas velocity at the centerline were compared.Water atomizing experiment was carried out to validate gas scatter angle.The results show that the structure of primary atomizer plays an important role in the flow field near the exit of delivery tube.Metal protector with conical surface at the body extends certain length into the gas flow field to generate greater negative pressure near the tip of delivery tube. The application of primary gas can suppress the circulation generated by only using the secondary atomizer.

Study on the Atomization Mechanism of Hydrides in Graphite Furnace Atomizers

The influence of the surface state of the graphite furnace atomizer on the atomization of hydrides has been studied by means of surface film coating and quantum chemistry CN-DO/2 calculations. The results of the study prove that the atomization of AsH3, SbH3 and BiH3 in the graphite furnace atomizer is not a simple gas phase pyrolytic process, but a surface catalysis pyrolytic process.

Numerical simulation of flow in Hartmann resonance tube and flow in ultrasonic gas atomizer

The gas flow in the Hartmann resonance tube is numerically investigated by the finite volume method based on the Roe solver. The oscillation of the flow is studied with the presence of a needle actuator set along the nozzle axis. Numerical results agree well with the theoretical and experimental results available. Numerical results indicate that the resonance mode of the resonance tube will switch by means of removing or adding the actuator. The gas flow in the ultrasonic gas atomization （USGA） nozzle is also studied by the same numerical methods. Oscillation caused by the Hartmann resonance tube structure, coupled with a secondary resonator, in the USGA nozzle is investigated. Effects of the variation of parameters on the oscillation are studied. The mechanism of the transition of subsonic flow to supersonic flow in the USGA nozzle is also discussed based on numerical results.

MODELING OF A SOLID CONE PRESSURE-SWIRL ATOMIZER

A Ballistic Modeling (BM) / Discrete Droplet Modeling (DDM) method is used to de- termine the characteristics of a solid cone pressure-swirl atomizer (Dyna Coin nozzle) . The charac- teristic of its liquid spray is of considerable importance to the operation and performance of com- bustion systems. A two-dimensional spray model has been developed to simulate a continuous spray under steady-state condition . This model can simulate the resultant drop-sizc of atomization and reveal the effects of the important physical variables such as fuel injection pressure, air pressure(or density), co-axial air flow and fuel properties on the result of atomization process. Dimensional analysis is used to simulate the drop-size immcdiately after jet breakup and further breakup of the droplets is determined by testifying the critical condition of aerodynamics breakup i.e.(Wed)c= 8 / CD.

Advances in Piezoelectric Atomizers

Piezoelectric atomizers exhibit the advantages of structural simplicity,portability,low energy consumption,low production costs,and good atomization.They have been extensively used in various fields,including inhalation therapy,inkjet printing,and spray cooling.Here,the research of piezoelectric atomizers is first summarized from the perspectives of theoretical investigation and applications.Subsequently,the existing investigation and applications on piezoelectric atomizers are classified in terms of their functionalities.The functions of inkjet printing,spray cooling,and inhalation therapy are described in detail.Finally,the future trends in this field are analyzed.It is indicated that the vibrating-mesh atomizer has a promising prospect in the market,signaling strong demand especially in upgaraded consumption and medical scenarios.

Numerical Simulation of Spray Characteristics of an Effervescent Atomizer

Using fluid dynamics software Fluent, the spray characteristics of an effervescent atomizer in a downstream flow field was simulated and analyzed, the results show that on the cross sections of the atomizer downstream flow field, the distribution of the atomized droplet size is small and mainly concentrated about Sauter mean diameter （ SMD）, and the distribution of the axial velocity is large, but mainly concentrated about the gas peak velocity in the closer nozzle axis area; the gas peak velocity of the atomized droplet increases, while the droplet SMD decreases with increase of the nozzle caliber and the air pressure; with the increase of the flow rate of cuttingfluid, the atomized droplet SMD increases, while the gas peak velocity rises first and then decreases, but the decrease trend is very small after the air pressure is more than 0. 4 MPa. The simulation results have significance in guiding for designing and applying the effervescent atomizer.

Experimental study on spray characteristics of aviation kerosene RP-3 in a radial rotary atomizer

In this work,the spray behaviors of a rotary atomizer with round-shaped injection orifices are experimentally investigated to study the breakup mechanism and spray characteristics using RP-3 as the liquid fuel.The breakup process of the liquid is visualized by the backlight shadow imaging method,which also provides the measurements of liquid breakup length and penetration height.The injection mode of the liquid film is observed using the front-light illumination method.The droplet size and distribution are measured using the laser particle size analyzer at various radial locations.Three typical breakup modes are identified:the ligament breakup mode,bag breakup mode,and shear breakup mode.Aerodynamic Weber number(Wed)and momentum flux ratio(q)are used to elaborate the liquid breakup regimes.Results of droplet sizing indicate that the Sauter mean diameter decreases with a higher rotational speed and slightly varies with the volume flow rate.A correlation between liquid breakup modes and non-dimensional droplet size is established based on Wed and q.This study presents some significance for understanding the impacts of the rotational speed and volume flow rates on the spray performance of actual aviation fuels in rotary atomizers.

Numerical simulation of effect of various parameters on atomization in an annular slit atomizer

As the width-thickness ratio of the discrete nozzle atomizer’s discrete hole greatly influences the loss of atomizing gas flow rate,the discrete nozzle atomizer was transformed into an annular slit atomizer with the same total nozzle outlet area.A numerical simulation study on the effect of various parameters on the atomization in the annular slit atomizer was carried out by coupling both the large eddy simulation(LES)and volume of fluid(VOF)model,which is based on the applicability of LES in capturing the breakup behavior of transient liquid droplets and the advantage of VOF method in directly capturing the phase interface.The simulation results showed that the increase in the atomization pressure makes the gas gain higher momentum,while the increase in the nozzle intersection angle decreases the distance between the nozzle exit and the computational domain axis.The increase in these two variables results in enhancing the gas-liquid interaction in the primary atomization zone and the formation of more aluminum droplets simultaneously.It is considered that the atomization effect becomes better when atomization pressure is 2.5 MPa,and the nozzle intersection angle is 60°.Industrial tests showed that the aluminum powder prepared by the optimized annular slit atomizer has a finer mean particle size and a higher yield of fine powder.The numerical simulation results agree well with the industrial test data of the powder particle size.

Experimental Studies on Fuel Spray Characteristics of Pressure-Swirl Atomizer and Air-Blast Atomizer

In this work,the effects of fuel temperatures and pressure drops on the flow field and spray characteristics of a pressure-swirl atomizer were discussed using the Particle Imaging Velocimetry(PIV),Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence(PLIF)and Laser Particle Size Analyzer(LPSA)methods.Then the air-blast atomizer was selected to study the interaction of initial atomization and flow field.The effect of fuel-air ratio on the air-blast atomizer were also considered,where the fuel-air ratio was varied by adjusting mass flow rate of the air and fuel respectively.The results show that the spray angle of the pressure-swirl atomizer increases first and changes a little after the pressure drop higher than 0.5 MPa.However,more fuel concentrate on the central region,which is mainly caused by the increase of the proportion of small droplets with lower centrifugal force.The fuel temperature can improve the spray angle only in lower pressure drop,and it has a little effect under higher pressure drops.In addition,the fuel pressure drop has an obvious influence on the fuel distribution and flow field near the nozzle exit compared with the downstream.For the air-blast atomizer,the spray angle increases compared with the pressure-swirl atomizer for the introduction of swirl air.Furthermore,the spray angle decreases with the air mass rate increasing,and it increases with the fuel mass rate increasing.The distribution of velocity and droplet near the nozzle exit is influenced by the air mass rate,and the fuel mass rate mainly affects the distribution in the downstream.The fuel accumulates in the annular area below the nozzle,and the distribution of it changes little with the development along the axial direction.

Strong synergy between physical and chemical properties:Insight into optimization of atomically dispersed oxygen reduction catalysts

Atomically dispersed catalysts exhibit significant influence on facilitating the sluggish oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)kinetics with high atom economy,owing to remarkable attributes including nearly 100%atomic utilization and exceptional catalytic functionality.Furthermore,accurately controlling atomic physical properties including spin,charge,orbital,and lattice degrees of atomically dispersed catalysts can realize the optimized chemical properties including maximum atom utilization efficiency,homogenous active centers,and satisfactory catalytic performance,but remains elusive.Here,through physical and chemical insight,we review and systematically summarize the strategies to optimize atomically dispersed ORR catalysts including adjusting the atomic coordination environment,adjacent electronic orbital and site density,and the choice of dual-atom sites.Then the emphasis is on the fundamental understanding of the correlation between the physical property and the catalytic behavior for atomically dispersed catalysts.Finally,an overview of the existing challenges and prospects to illustrate the current obstacles and potential opportunities for the advancement of atomically dispersed catalysts in the realm of electrocatalytic reactions is offered.

Oxygen‑Coordinated Single Mn Sites for Efficient Electrocatalytic Nitrate Reduction to Ammonia

Electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction has attracted increasing attention due to its goal of low carbon emission and environmental protection.Here,we report an efficient NitRR catalyst composed of single Mn sites with atomically dispersed oxygen(O)coordination on bacterial cellulose-converted graphitic carbon(Mn-O-C).Evidence of the atomically dispersed Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)moieties embedding in the exposed basal plane of carbon surface is confirmed by X-ray absorption spectroscopy.As a result,the as-synthesized Mn-O-C catalyst exhibits superior NitRR activity with an NH_(3)yield rate(RNH_(3))of 1476.9±62.6μg h^(−1)cm^(−2)at−0.7 V(vs.reversible hydrogen electrode,RHE)and a faradaic efficiency(FE)of 89.0±3.8%at−0.5 V(vs.RHE)under ambient conditions.Further,when evaluated with a practical flow cell,Mn-O-C shows a high RNH_(3)of 3706.7±552.0μg h^(−1)cm^(−2)at a current density of 100 mA cm−2,2.5 times of that in the H cell.The in situ FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic studies combined with theoretical calculations indicate that the Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)sites not only effectively inhibit the competitive hydrogen evolution reaction,but also greatly promote the adsorption and activation of nitrate(NO_(3)^(−)),thus boosting both the FE and selectivity of NH_(3)over Mn-(O-C_(2))_(4)sites.