A DROPLET GENERATOR CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DROPLETS IN THE SIZE RANGE OF 40 TO 400 MICROMETERS WILL BE DEVELOPED.

A DROPLET GENERATOR CAPABLE OF PRODUCING DROPLETS IN THE SIZE RANGE OF 40 TO 400 MICROMETERS WILL BE DEVELOPED. THIS DROPLET GENERATOR OPERATES ON THE PRINCIPLE OF LIQUID JET BREAK-UP BY MECHANICAL VIBRATION. WITH THIS TYPE OF GENERATOR, THE OPERATING PARAMETERS CAN UNIQUELY DEFINE THE DROPLET SIZE. THE GENERATOR IS MADE ADAPTABLE TO HIGH VISCOSITY LIQUIDS BY SELECTION OF VIBRATION AMPLITUDES AND NOZZLE SIZES AND COATINGS. TECHNIQUES FOR DILUTING THE LIQUID THEN DRYING THE DROPLETS WILL ALSO BE RESEARCHED TO EXTEND THE VISCOSITY RANGE. THE SIZE OF THE DROPLETS IS VERIFIED BY A TWO BEAM LIGHT EXTINCTION TECHNIQUES. AS A DROPLET PASSES THROUGH TWO THIN LIGHT BEAMS, THE WIDTH OF EACH EXTINCTION PULSE IS A FUNCTION OF DROPLET SIZE AND DROPLET VELOCITY ONLY, HENCE THE RATIO OF THE TWO IS A UNIQUE FUNCTION OF DROPLET SIZE.