Publications

Study of galinstan liquid metal breakup using backlit imaging and digital in-line holography

Chen, Yi; Wagner, Justin W.; Farias, Paul A.; Guildenbecher, Daniel R.

Many liquid metals form surface oxides, which can affect atomization processes during thermal spray coating and metal powder formation. In this work, we experimentally investigate the behaviors and morphologies of a liquid metal under a shockwave-induced cross-flow. Specifically, we use Galinstan, a non-toxic room temperature liquid metal that forms thin elastic oxide layers. By utilizing backlit imaging and digital in-line holography (DIH) of liquid columns inside a shock tube, we are able to compare the behavior of Galinstan with water. Morphological differences and drag properties are investigated as a function of Weber number in the bag, multimode, and sheet thinning regimes. We show that surface oxides appear to drive liquid metal Galinstan to break up earlier in non-dimensional time and cause the formation of more non-spherical breakup shapes and droplets. This investigation of surface oxide behaviors helps to further the understanding of liquid metal breakup.