An exploding wire aerosol generator

Synthesis of intermetallic NiAl compound nanoparticles by pulsed wire discharge of twisted Ni and Al wires

“…Exploding wire (EW) [6] and pulsed wire discharge (PWD) [7] are methods based on instantaneous evaporation of thin metal wires by applied large electric current as the principle to form nanoparticles. High efficiency of the direct energy conversion from electricity to heat is one of the principal advantages against the other vapor processes for nanoparticles.…”

Highly Dispersed Aerosols (Vysokodispersne Aerozoli)

“…The average particle dimension depends upon the material from which the wire is made and diminishes as the power of the discharge is increased. The fact that during instantaneous dilution of the aerosol cloud it is possible to produce aerosol consisting of individual nonaggregated spheres [54) indicates that condensation growth, and not coagulation, plays the basic role in the formation of the aerosol. Since the calculated concentration in the cloud formed by the flash is still great (about 10 1 1 /cm 3 ), coagulation still takes place in the aerosol that is not yet cooled, and therefore it is not accompanied by the coalescence of particles.…”

Measurement of Nanometer Aerosols

“…The induction furnace will produce a continuous output of polydisperse aerosols at a constant concentration, whereas the exploding wire generator (Korioris and Fish, 1962) produces a sudden burst of particles at a very high concentration, which then decreases rapidly. Electrically heated wires always burn out in a short time because of thermal instability that causes a portion of the wire to overheat and melt.…”