Collection and Classification of Ultra-fine and Nano-scale Powders

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AbstractCTS-0118204T. R. Blake and K. JakusUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstOne of the major needs in particle manufacturing is the separation of fine particles into a narrow size distribution. This is particularly important in manufacturing of nanoscale particles where separation becomes very difficult and inefficient. Regular gas-particle separation techniques will not work when the particles are very small because of the small ratio of particle inertia to drag. The idea proposed in this project is to increase this ratio and, therefore, significantly increase the efficiency of the fine particle separation by decreasing the pressure in the separation chamber to near vacuum. As pressure decreases, the drag on the particle decreases relative to the particle inertia resulting in larger deviation of particle trajectory with the air streamline. This will allow more efficient separation of the particles in an impact separator. The proposed project is to demonstrate the effectiveness of the idea by experiments and computational modeling of the process. The proposed idea is innovative with considerable benefits to fine particle manufacturing industry, if successful. The project contains a strong education and research integration component with extensive outreach and community service. The Principal Investigators have considerable knowledge and experience in this area, as well.