Abstract
The effect of operating conditions on the arc voltage fluctuations and dynamic behavior of plasma were investigated for a cascade plasma torch with an external magnetic field. The key factors that affect the fluctuations of the arc voltage were studied, which is useful for generating stable plasma jets. A ring-shaped permanent magnet was used to produce an external magnetic field having a flux density of approximately 0.27 T at the center of the magnet. The operating current, gas flow rate, and anode–cathode distance were varied in the range of 40-160 A, 10-40 L/min, and 0-10 mm, respectively. The width of the ring-shaped anode was set to 1 mm or 3 mm. The end-on images of the plasma were captured by high-speed photography, and the associated arc voltage was measured simultaneously. When an anode of 1 mm width was used, a periodic sine-like voltage waveform with low amplitude was observed at a low gas flow rate. In that condition, an arc root rotated along the anode wall continuously with no observable breakdown process. The rotational frequencies of the arc exceeded 1 kHz and were strongly dependent on the square root of the operating current.
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Acknowledgments
This work partly was supported by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society. The authors would like to thank Prof. Ando and Dr. Suzuki for the fruitful discussions regarding the experimental plasma torch design.
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Saito, H., Matsumoto, H. & Fu**o, T. Dynamic Behavior of Plasma in a Cascade Plasma Torch with External Magnetic Field. J Therm Spray Tech 29, 333–343 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-020-00983-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-020-00983-1