Mathematical Simulation of Plasma Processes in a Radio Frequency Inductively Coupled Plasma Torch in ANSYS Fluent and COMSOL Multiphysics Software Packages

This article is devoted to the comparison of calculations of plasma processes in a radio frequency (RF) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) torch in the ANSYS Fluent software package, which is traditionally used for such calculations, and in the COMSOL Multiphysics software package. The basic equations of the model as well as the geometry of the plasma torch are given. Calculations were carried out in a 2-D axisymmetric formulation in the following operating conditions: plasma power was 30 and 40 kW; air flow rate was 1, 2, and 3 g/s; two ways of gas feeding were considered: tangential feeding and axial one. To correctly set the velocity distribution at the torch inlet with tangential feeding, preliminary calculations were carried out within the framework of a 3-D model for a cold gas flow. The results (i.e., temperature distributions and integral energy parameters) for the calculated cases are presented and analyzed.