Numerical simulation of aerosol droplets desolvation in a radio frequency inductively coupled plasma

A stochastic spray model has been implemented into a time-dependent, 2D radio frequency (r.f.) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) model. Plasma–droplet interactions and droplet collisions are considered. This model is used to predict the height of complete desolvation for both mono-disperse and poly-disperse droplets within the ICP. Calculations have been performed for various droplet sizes under a variety of ICP operating conditions. Effects of central gas flow rate, forward r.f. power and the average cooling of liquid injection on droplets desolvation are investigated. It is found that: the temperature decrease due to the injection of sample can lead to a delay on droplets desolvation process; the height of complete droplets desolvation increases linearly with the increase of central gas flow rate, while it decreases by an approximately inverse relationship with the increase of forward r.f. power. The predicted heights of complete droplets desolvation in the ICP operated at typical operating conditions are compared with experimental results. The agreement is relatively good. Some results are compared with published numerical results. The comparisons show an obvious improvement on the numerical predictions.