2011 International Conference on Alternative Energy in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies
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2. MATERIALS AND METHOD
2.1. Analysis of raw material
In this paper, the raw material aluminum metal wires
are collected from a local market. The composition of raw
sample is analyzed by wet analysis method and the
composition of raw sample is analyzed by X-ray
diffraction (XRD).The compositions data are shown in
Fig. 1 and Table 1. On viewing the XRD pattern of
aluminum, the detailed peaks were clearly identify for the
amount of aluminum in the aluminum metal wire.
Fig.1. X-ray diffraction pattern of raw aluminum
Table 1.
Composition of aluminum metal
Composition
Percentage
Aluminum
95.97
Copper
0.26
Iron
2.77
Zinc
0.04
Silicon dioxide
-
Insoluble matter
-
2.2. Specification of melting unit
The dimensions of melting unit used in this study are
described in Table 2.
Table 2.
Specification of melting unit
Specification
Dimension
Height of furnace, mm
135
Outside diameter of furnace, mm
255
Inside diameter of furnace, mm
80
Height of crucible, mm
38
Inside diameter of crucible, mm
27
Outside diameter of crucible, mm 30
Total heat, Watt
2000
2.3. Specification of atomizer design
The dimensions of atomizer used in this study are
described in Table 3. In this paper, confined type nozzle
was chosen to produce aluminum metal powder.
Table 3.
Specification of atomizer design
Specification
Dimension
Tip angle of delivery tube
23
º
Apex angle
23
º
Atomization gas
Nitrogen
Inside diameter of nozzle, mm
3
2.4. Fabrication of hybrid atomization
The required units for hybrid atomization structure are
constructed in the local workshop and fabricated at
laboratory of Mandalay Technological University. The
design of this structure has three parts of units as shown in
Fig. 2. The first process of this structure is preparation of
the material and then fabricated based on drawing design.
The melting unit is the upper part of this system and
atomizer, disk and gas supply system are the middle parts
also. The lower parts of this system are a high speed
motor, an air cleaner and powder collector. The
dimensions of the laboratory scale hybrid atomizer are
45.7cm (width) × 65cm (length) × 118.1cm (height).
Fig.2. Schematic diagram of hybrid atomization
In the upper part of the system, the melting unit is made
of fire brick, fire clay, and asbestos. The crucible is placed
into the furnace. Moreover, there is a temperature
controller (0-1300ºC) inside the crucible to indicate the
temperature of liquid metal.
At the bottom of the crucible, feed tube is attached.
The end of the tube is extended into an atomizing nozzle.
The diameter of nozzle is 3mm. In this system, confined
type nozzle is used. In the middle part of the system, disk
actually is a basic element in the centrifugal atomization
process. The disk is made of stainless steel. Disk is
attached with flexible wire from the high speed motor.
The motor rotating speed is up to 23000 rpm. The spray
distance has 100mm and the atomizing gas (nitrogen)
enters the furnace and atomizer. Nitrogen gas is used as an
atomizing medium. This gas can be adjusted by using a
pressure regulator. The function of this gas is to prevent
Flexible
wire
Atomizer
assembly
Nitrogen cylinder
Disk
Motor
Melting Unit
Powder
collector
200
Two-theta (deg)
600
30
10
(220)
(200)
(111)
70
60
20
50
500
40
400
300
100
0
