Rotary cup slurry atomization

The theory of a two-phase flow in a rotating cup atomizer is described. The analysis considers the separation of the solid and liquid media thus realistically modeling the flow of two layers along the inner cup wall: a slurry of increasing solids concentration and a supernatent liquid layer. The analysis is based on the earlier work of Hinze and Milborn (1950) which addressed the flow within a rotary cup for a homogeneous liquid. The superimposition of a settling velocity under conditions of high centrifugal acceleration permits the extended analysis of the separation of the two phases. Appropriate boundary conditions have been applied to the film's free surface and the cup wall and to match the flow characteristics at the liquid-slurry interface. The changing slurry viscosity, increasing nonlinearly with growing solid loading, was also considered. A parameter study illustrates the potential for a cup design to provide optimal slurry and liquid film thicknesses for effective atomization.