A comparative study between two different process models of atmospheric plasma spraying

摘要

In this paper, a comparison was performed between two numerical methods of particle characteristics predictions applied to plasma spraying processes. The methods were based on different mathematical equations that lead to different computation times and accuracy. The results were compared with experimental data and specifically the more advanced model was found capable of predicting the variation in particle characteristics when operating conditions where varied (i.e. the arc current and the argon molar fraction in the plasma forming gaseous mixture). It was also shown that, it is possible to reach valuable prediction of particle velocity trends with a rather simple code and in reasonable computational time. This issue is maybe the most important in the objective of industrial process control. The more advanced model is however superior both concerning the prediction of trends as well as absolute values. If the more simple code is developed to consider real powder size distributions it can however be a most efficient tool for engineering purposes.