Specific Features of the Breakup of Hot Liquid Metal Droplets Falling into Cold Water

The paper presents experimental data of pressure pulses generated by the interaction of liquid Bi, Sn, and Pb with water at room temperature (18°C). The resultant pressure relationships are compared with findings of video recording and with the morphology of crystallized fragmentation products, which allowed to propose an appropriate scenario for the explosive fragmentation process development. Experiments were performed in the ranges of initial temperature and investigated melt mass of 400 to 900°C and 3 to 15 g, respectively. It was confirmed that the explosive fragmentation of hot liquid metal droplets falling into room temperature water produce materials with amorphous structure. It is shown using liquid bismuth as an example that the amorphousness of a material can increase as its volume grows.