Pneumatic droplet generators

Keywords Droplet-on-demand (DOD) droplet generators Electrohydrodynamics (EHD) droplet generators Microfluidic droplet generators Piezoelectric droplet generators Pneumatic droplet generators Thermal or bubble jet droplet generators... 

Another type of droplet generator is based on applying a gas or liquid pressure pulse on a liquid to be ejected. These are referred to as pneumatic droplet generators [40, 41]. 

Fig. 25.8 Schematic of a pneumatic droplet generator (Reprinted from [40]. With permission. Copyright 2003 of Elsevier)...

The formation of the Taylor cone and the subsequent charged droplet generation can be enhanced by the use of a coaxial nitrogen gas stream. This instrumental setup is usually employed in the commercially available electrospray sources Then the formation of charged droplets is due to either electrical and pneumatic forces. 

Abstract This chapter provides information on different types of drop-on-demand drop generators. It starts with thermal or bubble jets, in which a nucleation bubble is used to eject a droplet out of an orifice. This is followed by piezoelectric, pneumatic, microfluidic, electrohydrodynamics (EHD) and aerodynamic droplet generators. For each droplet generator, the principle of operation and major features and characteristics are described. 

Microfluidic generation of droplets is a method of droplet formation in microfluidic channels. It works by combining two or more streams of immiscible fluids and generating a shear force on the discontinuous phase causing it to break up into discrete droplets. In contrast to piezoelectric, pneumatic and acoustic forms of droplet generation, in this method, there is no need for an actuator to impose instabilities on the liquid jet. In the absence of an actuator, the size and polydisper-sity of the droplets are determined by the dimensions of microchannels, the flow rates of liquids, wetting properties of microchannels, etc. 

S. Cheng and S. Chandra A pneumatic droplet-eni-demand generator, Experimerits in Hnids,... 

A. Amirzadeh Goghari and S. Chandra Producing droplets smaller than the nozzle diameter by using a pneumatic drop-on-demand droplet generator. Experiments in Fluids, 44,105-114... 

Zeng Y, Shin M, Wang T (2013) Programmable active droplet generation enabled by integrated pneumatic micropumps. Lab Chip 13 267-273... 

In ICP-AES and ICP-MS, sample mineralisation is the Achilles heel. Sample introduction systems for ICP-AES are numerous gas-phase introduction, pneumatic nebulisation (PN), direct-injection nebulisation (DIN), thermal spray, ultrasonic nebulisation (USN), electrothermal vaporisation (ETV) (furnace, cup, filament), hydride generation, electroerosion, laser ablation and direct sample insertion. Atomisation is an essential process in many fields where a dispersion of liquid particles in a gas is required. Pneumatic nebulisation is most commonly used in conjunction with a spray chamber that serves as a droplet separator, allowing droplets with average diameters of typically <10 xm to pass and enter the ICP. Spray chambers, which reduce solvent load and deal with coarse aerosols, should be as small as possible (micro-nebulisation [177]). Direct injection in the plasma torch is feasible [178]. Ultrasonic atomisers are designed to specifically operate from a vibrational energy source [179]. 

Atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) was introduced in 1973 by Horning et al. [38, 42, 43] and coupled to GC. This is also the introduction of atmospheric pressure ionization (API) in general. The next year corona discharge was introduced for ion generation as well as successful coupling to LC [44, 45]. In APCI of a liquid, a pneumatic nebulizer induces the flow of liquid to form a spray at atmospheric pressure. The spray droplets pass a corona discharge electrode situated close to the orifice, which... 

From the sample solution to be analyzed, small droplets are formed by the nebulization of the solution using an appropriate concentric or cross-flow pneumatic nebulizer/spray chamber system. Quite different solution introduction systems have been created for the appropriate generation of an aerosol from a liquid sample and for separation of large size droplets. Such an arrangement provides an efficiency of the analyte introduction in the plasma of 1-3 % only.6 The rest (97 % to 99%) goes down in the drain.7 Beside the conventional Meinhard nebulizer, together with cooled or non-cooled Scott spray chamber or conical spray chamber, several types of micronebulizers together with cyclonic spray chambers are employed for routine measurements in ICP-MS laboratories. The solvent evaporated from each droplet forms a particle which is vaporized into atoms and molecules... 

Pneumatic nebulizers are utilized for the generation of an aerosol with droplet size distribution in the low pm range3 and consequently for an effective solution introduction into the ICP ion source... 

Three main processes appear to control the modification and loss (or transport) of analyte aerosol in the spray chamber droplet-droplet collisions resulting in coagulation, evaporation, and impact of larger droplets into the walls of the spray chamber. Aerosol droplets can be lost (impact the walls and flow down the drain) as a result of several processes in the spray chamber [11,20]. Because turbulent gas flows are key to generating aerosols with pneumatic nebulizers, the gas in the spray chamber is also turbulent. Droplets with a variety of diameters... 

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