Performance evaluation of arc-electrodes systems for high temperature materials processing by computational simulation

Abstract

Thermofluid analysis of an arc flow and the evaluation of the cathode lifetime have been conducted by a computational simulation for the performance improvement of arc-electrodes systems. The effects of arc current, electrode gap, inlet gas flow rate and cathode vertex angle on the temperature and velocity fields of an arc flow are clarified by parametric computations to optimize the operating conditions and torch geometry. The temperature field by an arc flow model shows the quantitative agreement with the available experimental data in the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) region. The cathode lifetime is evaluated successfully by coupling with the computated thermofluid field of an arc flow. The effects of different operating conditions on the cathode lifetime are also discussed for longer lifetime of the arc-electrodes systems.