An Ultrasonic-frequency Pulsed Arc Approach to Improve the Life of Plasma Cutting Electrode

摘要

The present work proposes an ultrasonic-frequency pulsed arc approach to improve effectively the service life of oxidative plasma cutting electrode, and introduces the implementation and principle of the pulsed arc system. A number of electrode arcing experiments were then carried out to demonstrate effectiveness of this novel way. Experimental results show that this ultrasonic frequency pulsed process can contract the cathode zone of the arc while speeding up the movement of the cathode spots, and thus reduced the scope and depth of erosion pit on the hafnium electrode. The life of the electrode was finally increased by 47.8% at the pulse frequency of 40 kHz.