Velocity distributions in a gas-gun microparticle accelerator

BARRIOS, SIRIA; LANCE, PEDRO; ABATE, ANABELLA A.; PRIETO, GERMAN; GARCÍA, NICOLÁS A.; PIQUERAS, CRISTIAN M.; VEGA, DANIEL A.; SATTI, ANGEL; GÓMEZ, LEOPOLDO R.

REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS

AMER INST PHYSICS

Año: 2022 vol. 93

0034-6748

Here, we build and characterize a single-stage gas-gun microparticle accelerator, where a pressurized gas expands and launches particles on a target. The microparticles in the range of 60-250 μm are accelerated by the expansion of pressurized nitrogen. By using a high-speed camera, we study how the velocity distribution of accelerated particles is modified by particle size, pressure in the gas reservoir, valve´s opening time, and diaphragm´s thickness and composition. We employ this microparticle accelerator to study the impact of glass particles with diameters of (69 ± 6) μm accelerated at moderate velocities ∼(10-25) m/s, using films of poly-dimethylsiloxane as targets.