Numerical analysis of plasma arc physical characteristics under additional constraint of keyhole

The physical characteristics of a plasma arc affect the stability of the keyhole and weld pool directly during keyhole plasma arc welding(KPAW).There will be significant change for these characteristics because of the interaction between the keyhole weld pool and plasma arc after penetration.Therefore,in order to obtain the temperature field,flow field,and arc pressure of a plasma arc under the reaction of the keyhole,the physical model of a plasma arc with a pre-set keyhole was established.In addition,the tungsten and base metal were established into the calculated domain,which can reflect the effect of plasma arc to weld pool further.Based on magneto hydrodynamics and Maxwell equations,a twoSdimensional steady state mathematical model was established.Considering the heat production of anode and cathode,the distribution of temperature field,flow field,welding current density,and plasma arc pressure were solved out by the finite difference method.From the calculated results,it is found that the plasma arc was compressed a second time by the keyhole.This additional constraint results in an obvious rise of the plasma arc pressure and flow velocity at the minimum diameter place of the keyhole,while the temperature field is impacted slightly.Finally,the observational and metallographic experiments are conducted,and the shapes of plasma arc and fusion line agree with the simulated results generally.

STUDY ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDER WATER PLASMA ARC

The static and dynamic characteristics of underwater plasma arc, arc shape and heating features to the workpieces, are studied, lt shows that underwater plasma arc has higher energy rate, higher rates of heating and cooling. Furthermore, it reduces the pollutions of noise ,arc light , dust and ozone; strengthens the cooling of nozzle, thus it is advantageous to develop various new technologies of underwater material processing. The static characteristic is rising. The dynamic characteristic is of quasi-cyclic fluctuations whose mechanisms and solving methods are pointed out.

Preparation and Arc Erosion Characteristics of Ultrafine Crystalline CuCr50 Alloy by MA-SPS

The ultrafine crystalline CuCr50（Cr 50 wt%） alloys were fabricated by a combination of mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering process. The effects of milling time on crystallite size and solid solubility of the CuCr50 composite powders were investigated. The results showed that crystallite size of powders decreases gradually and solid solubility of Cr in Cu was extended with increasing milling time. The minimal crystallite size about 10 nm and the maximum solid solubility about 8.4 at%（i e, 7 wt%） were obtained at 60 h. The microstructure of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy was analyzed by SEM and TEM, which contains two kinds of size scale Cr particles of 2 μm and 50-150 nm, distributing homogeneously in matrix, respectively. The arc erosion characteristics of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy were investigated by the vacuum contact simulation test device in low D.C. voltage and low current（24 V/10 A）. A commercial microcrystalline CuCr50 alloy was also investigated for comparison. Experiments indicate that the cathode mass loss of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 contact material is higher than that of microcrystalline CuCr50 material, but its eroded surface morphology by the arc is uniform without obvious erosion pits. While the surface of microcrystalline CuCr50 contact is seriously eroded in local area by the arc, an obvious erosion pit occurred in the core part. Therefore, the ability of arc erosion resistance of ultrafine crystalline CuCr50 alloy is improved compared to that of microcrystalline CuCr50 material.