Cavitation is the determining mechanism for the atomization of high-viscosity liquid
Zhenzhen Gui,
Yaohua Zeng,
Tang Xie,
Bochuan Chen,
Jialong Wang,
Yuxin Wen,
Tian Tan,
Tao Zou,
Fan Zhang,
Jianhui Zhang
Affiliations
Zhenzhen Gui
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yaohua Zeng
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China
Tang Xie
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China
Bochuan Chen
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China
Jialong Wang
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China
Yuxin Wen
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China
Tian Tan
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China
Tao Zou
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China; Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Key Laboratory of Multi-scale Information Fusion and Collaborative Optimization Control of Complex Manufacturing Process, Guangzhou 510006, China; Corresponding author
Fan Zhang
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China; Corresponding author
Jianhui Zhang
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Higher Education Mega Center, 230 Wai Huan Xi Road, Guangzhou 510006, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Piezoelectric atomization is becoming mainstream in the field of inhalation therapy due to its significant advantages. With the rapid development of high-viscosity gene therapy drugs, the demand for piezoelectric atomization devices is increasing. However, conventional piezoelectric atomizers with a single-dimensional energy supply are unable to provide the energy required to atomize high-viscosity liquids. To address this problem, our team has designed a flow tube internal cavitation atomizer (FTICA). This study focuses on dissecting the atomization mechanism of FTICA. In contrast to the widely supported capillary wave hypothesis, our study provides evidence in favor of the cavitation hypothesis, proving that cavitation is the key to atomizing high-viscosity liquids with FTICA. In order to prove that the cavitation is the key to atomizing in the structure of FTICA, the performance of atomization is experimented after changing the cavitation conditions by heating and stirring of the liquids.