Interaction of a free burning arc with regenerative protective layers

Abstract

The possible use of protective layers made of ceramic powders for walls in thermal plasma applications is studied. A stable free burning arc of currents up to 5 kA between copper- tungsten electrodes is used to analyse the arc interaction with samples coated by mixtures of CaCO3, MgCO3, and Mg(OH)2 with plaster. By means of optical emission spectroscopy the maximum arc temperature and the radiation impact on the surfaces are estimated to be around 15000 K and 20 MWm-2, respectively. Thermographic measurements confirm the efficient protection of substrates by all layer materials. Layers containing CaCO3 lead to the lowest heating of ceramic samples which may be caused by a strong evaporation of the layer material.