Optimum Discharge Conditions for Smaller Particles from Ag Wire Explosion in Liquid Media

In this paper, we report the some experimental results of the relationship between wire diameter and particle size. We exploded the Ag wires of 80 mm in length, 0.2 ~ 1.0 mm in diameter in the ethanol with the same ratio of discharge energy/mol. The capacitance of the energy storage capacitor was 104 μF, and the charging voltages were changed from 3.17 kV to 15.87 kV according to the wire diameters. Energy deposition estimated by discharge waveforms was higher in the thicker wire diameter. Specific surface area was largest at the 0.6 mm of wire diameter. The particle size observed by SEM was smaller in the thicker wire diameter than in thinner wire diameter. These results could be attributed to the higher energy deposition in the thicker wire diameter than that of thinner wire diameter. These experimental results indicated that the optimum discharge conditions for the smaller particle size would be depended on the wire diameter. KCI Citation Count: 1