Abstract Numerical modeling of secondary breakup in gas atomization of molten metals has been successfully performed by others to optimize the powder particle size distribution for various additive manufacturing techniques and metal alloys. The application of breakup analytical models has been tested and validated through experimental campaigns by several researchers. They have demonstrated the suitability of the models in predicting particle size distribution as a function of process parameters. The limit of these models is a lack of information about the particle shape. Assessing the particle morphology could be of great relevance for optimizing the gas atomization parameters of already produced or new alloys. To overcome this limitation, the method described in this paper resorts to the Volume Of Fluid (VOF) modeling approach. This method does not apply to gas atomization breakup because supersonic velocities bring to unaffordable computation times and lack of metal mass conservation. The new approach is conceived to scale down the high velocity flow towards much lower intensities. It makes use of a reference frame moving with the primary droplet and of the similarity theory. At present, the model has been validated through the comparison with DPM results. It demonstrated to be a reliable alternative model allowing to gain deeper insights. Heat transfer among gas and droplets is not simulated yet, thus the droplet deformation does not stop at the solidification time. Further developments are forecast to allow to freeze the particle shape at the time it is completely solidified.

中文翻译：

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使用无量纲分析对熔融金属气体雾化中的二次破碎进行数值模拟

摘要 熔融金属气体雾化中二次破碎的数值模拟已被其他人成功地进行，以优化各种增材制造技术和金属合金的粉末粒度分布。几位研究人员通过实验活动对分解分析模型的应用进行了测试和验证。他们已经证明了模型在预测作为工艺参数函数的粒度分布方面的适用性。这些模型的局限性在于缺乏有关粒子形状的信息。评估颗粒形态对于优化已生产或新合金的气体雾化参数可能具有重要意义。为了克服这一限制，本文中描述的方法采用了流体体积 (VOF) 建模方法。这种方法不适用于气体雾化破裂，因为超音速会带来难以承受的计算时间和缺乏金属质量守恒。新方法旨在将高速流按比例缩小到低得多的强度。它利用与初级液滴一起移动的参考系和相似性理论。目前，该模型已通过与DPM结果的比较得到验证。它被证明是一个可靠的替代模型，允许获得更深入的见解。气体和液滴之间的传热尚未模拟，因此液滴变形不会在凝固时停止。预计进一步的发展将允许在完全固化时冻结颗粒形状。