Smoke Plume?

[deevee]

Hi everybody,

I had tried to create a smoke plume by using a candle because I know that it is made by a paraffin.

However, not much of smoke is generated.

So, can someone expert please tell me more specific what kind of the paraffin category is good for creating a smoke plume that is commonly used in the aerodynamics experiment in a wind tunnel?

Thank you

Deevee

[gridwalker]

I was always under the impression that the paraffin would be mixed with water and vaporised, as opposed to burned ... That is the case with the smoke produced by your standard nightclub smoke machine (which, as a former club promoter, I have some experience with), as these use heat-vaporised glycerine mixed with water, which is then forced through a nozzle due to thermal expansion.

[flynfrog]

glycol on a heating element works pretty well too.

[superdread]

Any recipe I have found uses their hygroscopic fluid in a mixture with water. The more water is added the thinner the fog will be. Also you should use distilled water (I think to stop ions reacting with your hygroscopic fluid).

The main classes of hygroscopic fluids (used for fog) are glycerol (triol) and glycol (diol).

Triol is a simple affair as there really is only one compound with this name (propane-triol) and it is harmless, as long as it isn't heated under exclusion of oxygen (producing acrolein, poisonous and flammable).

Diols are a whole bunch of compounds with differing degrees of deadliness (from nothing to quite-a-bit).
Avoid ethylene glycol, an anti-freeze, as it is harmful to eyes and your insides, this also applies to diethylene glycol (tri and more on the other hand are safe).

[Greg Locock]

http://www.aerolab.com/SMK_Gen.html