Abstract
To clarify the entrapment of water and the breakup mechanism in molten Al drops, a series of experiments was carried out by pouring molten Al of 10 to 20g (up to 1, 000°C) into a highly subcooled-water pool (room temperature) through the air. A single large-scale water jet, which is capable of penetrating a molten Al drop, was found to appear above the molten Al drop immediately after an air column which the molten drop is dragging from the water surface, is detached. It was observed with a high frequency that a molten Al drop begins swelling first, and is then broken up during falling through the water pool or after hitting the basement. It was also found that the breakup always occurs in the course of solid crust formation, and the molten drop solidified without breakup forms a large cavity inside.
Based on the experimental observations, it is concluded that the swelling and the breakup of amolten Al drop should be caused by the water entrapped inside and the hydrogen remaining super-saturated. It is reasonable to consider that an intensive breakup should be caused when some quantity of water is injected into a molten Al drop with a capability that a high-pressure vapor is generated due to a rapid release of latent heat just after brittle cracks occur during swelling.
