Abstract
In order to clarify a fragmentation mechanism of molten drops, we carried out a series of experiments of dropping a molten Al drop (around 3 g) and a molten Cu drop (around 5 g) into a sodium pool through argon gas. The molten Al drop was dropped under the condition that the instantaneous contact interface temperature was sufficiently lower than the boiling point of Na. The molten Cu drop was dropped under the condition that the instantaneous contact interface temperature was sufficiently lower than the melting point of Cu and the boiling point of Na. It is concluded under the condition of instantaneous contact interface temperatures sufficiently lower than the boiling point of Na and the melting point of the drop that fragmentation is internally caused by the thermal interaction between the molten drop with an initial temperature higher than the boiling point of Na and the sodium entrapped within its drop.
