Design and Experimental Jet Characteristics of an Optimized DC Plasma Torch

Due to their favorable jet characteristics, direct current (dc) thermal plasma torches have been used to meet the different requirements of variety applications. For obtaining more favorable jet characteristics and longer service life, variety design considerations of thermal plasma torches, e.g., cascade anode, multicathodes, and multianodes, have been used and studied by experiments and simulations. However, how the design considerations influence the jet characteristics and how about the coupling relationships of the working conditions should be studied systematically. Therefore, some key design tips have been discussed and applied to optimize a home-made thermal plasma torch first. Then, the experimental setup and methods for obtaining the jet characteristics of the optimized plasma torch have been introduced in detail. Finally, the experimental jet characteristics of the optimized plasma torch and the coupling relationships of the working conditions have been obtained and discussed. The study results show that: 1) the thermal plasma torch could obtain good jet characteristics and long service life by adopting the design tips and 2) the coupling relationships of the working conditions have been obtained and discussed, which could be helpful for predicting the jet characteristics of a thermal plasma torch.