Abstract
Electrostatic atomization is a typical method to produce fine liquid droplets with diameter from ten to some hundreds micrometers and a relatively narrow size distribution. This method is simple but its mechanism is not fully understood yet.
In this paper, fine silica particles were produced through dehydration and removal of sodium ions from droplets of water glass No. 3 formed by electrostatic atomization. The atomization state could be classified into three modes according to the applied voltage, that is dripping, uniform cone-jet, and discharged modes. Uniformly sized droplets were produced only under the uniform cone-jet mode at a positive high voltage. The mean volume size of silica particles could be estimated as a function of flow rate and applied voltage as well as surface tension, viscosity and conductivity of water glass solution.
