Effect of Salt Additives to Water on the Severity of Vapor Explosions and on the Collapse of Vapor Film

Abstract

We proposed ultra rapid solidification and atomization technique, CANOPUS (Cooling and Atomizing based on NOble Process Utilizing Steam explosion), using small-scale vapor explosions to make an amorphous metal. The CANOPUS method is suitable for rapid cooling and atomization process, which utilizing sustainable small-scale vapor explosions. In order to apply the CANOPUS method to a high melting point metal, it is necessary to make a small-scale vapor explosion occur at a high temperature of the molten metal. Small-scale experiment is conducted to develop the vapor explosion promotor in which spontaneous vapor explosion can occur at a high temperature of a molten metal. Spontaneous vapor explosion do not occur when water at 80 o C is used as a coolant. However, spontaneous vapor explosion occurs when water at 80 o C with salt additives is used as a coolant. Specifically, lithium chloride solution generates spontaneous vapor explosions at the highest temperature of the molten tin in the experiment. In order to clarify the triggering mechanism of the spontaneous vapor explosion when the promotor is used as a coolant, a high-temperature solid stainless steel sphere is immersed into a coolant. The interfacial temperature of the stainless steel sphere is measured, and the behavior of a vapor film around the stainless steel sphere is observed with a digital video camera. As a result, salt additives resulted in an increase of quench temperature in all salt solutions. The quenching curves of each coolant indicate that the salt additives improve the film boiling heat transfer. The improvement of the film boiling heat transfer causes an unstable formation of the vapor film and a rise of the quench temperature. It is clarified that the salt additives to water promotes a vapor film collapse. Comparing two experiments, the quench temperature of each solution is in close agreement with the upper limit of the molten tin temperature that causes spontaneous vapor explosion. This result suggests that the vapor film collapse triggers spontaneous vapor explosion.