Numerical simulation of deep cryogenic treatment electrode tip temperature for spot welding aluminum alloy

Deep cryogenic treatment technology of electrodes is put forward to improve electrode life of resistance spot welding of aluminum alloy LF2. Deep cryogenic treatment makes electrode life for spot welding aluminum alloy improve. The specific resistivity of the deep cryogenic treatment electrodes is tested and experimental results show that specific resistivity is decreased sharply. The temperature field and the influence of deep cryogenic treatment on the electrode tip temperature during spot welding aluminium alloy is studied by numerical simulation method with the software ANSYS. The axisymmetric finite element model of mechanical, thermal and electrical coupled analysis of spot welding process is developed. The numerical simulation results show that the influence of deep cryogenic treatment on electrode tip temperature is very large.

Motion and removal behavior of inclusions in electrode tip during magnetically controlled electroslag remelting:X-ray microtomography characterization and modeling verification

Detailed three-dimensional(3 D)microtomography characterizations of inclusions in electrode matrix,mushy zone(MZ)and liquid melt film(LMF)were performed to elucidate the motion and removal behavior of inclusions in electrode tip during magnetically controlled electroslag remelting(MC-ESR)process.A transient 2 D numerical model was also built to verify the experimental results and proposed mechanisms.The number and size of inclusions exhibited an obvious increasing trend from edge to mid region in LMF,while remained almost the same in electrode matrix and MZ.The inclusions in LMF migrated from edge to mid region of LMF,accompanied with removal process.In addition,the kinetic conditions for inclusion migrating to LMF/slag interface(LSI)were enhanced during MC-ESR process,thereby improving the inclusion removal efficiency in LMF.This work highlights the 3 D characterization and motion/removal mechanisms of inclusions in electrode tip,as well as sheds new light on preparing high purity materials.

Multi-point discharge model: study on corona discharge of double-ended needle in large space

Corona discharge, as a common means to obtain non-equilibrium plasma, can generally obtain high-concentration plasma by increasing discharge points to meet production needs. However,the existing numerical simulation models used to study multi-point corona discharge are all calculations of small-scale space models, which cannot obtain the distribution characteristics of plasma in large space. Based on our previous research, this paper proposes a hybrid model for studying the distribution of multi-point discharge plasma in large-scale spaces, which divides the computational domain and computes separately with the hydrodynamic model and the ion mobility model. The simulation results are verified by a needle–ball electrode device. Firstly, the electric field distribution and plasma distribution of the needle electrodes with single tip and double tips are compared and discussed. Secondly, the plasma distribution of the needle electrode with the double tip at different voltages is investigated. Both computational and experimental results indicate that the charged particle concentration and current of the needle electrode with double tips are both twice as high as those of the needle electrode with a single tip. This model can extend the computational area of the multi-point corona discharge finite element model to the sub-meter(25 cm) or meter level, which provides an effective means to study the plasma distribution generated by multiple discharge points in large-scale space.

Characteristics of NO reduction with non-thermal plasma

As a new type of NO removal system, NO reduction in N_2-NO plasma was applied to solve the difficulties in the traditional methods, such as higher energy-consumption, larger equipment size and high cost, and so on. Using the experimental NO reduction system with single-pair electrode tip discharge structure, the NO reduction characteristics of N_2-NO system were revealed to guide the engineering practice; the results of NO reduction with single-pair electrode tip discharge plasma also have the same instructive meaning to the NO reduction with multi-pair electrode tip discharge plasma. The amount of both active N atom and NO removal rate increased with the distance l_g increasing between the two electrode tips and then dropped when the distance exceeded a certain value. The NO removal rate increased while the voltage between two electrode tips or the resident time of gas flow increased. The distance is a key geometrical variable factor that can determine the intensity of electric field between two electrode tips and the resident time of gas. In this paper, the effects of the dielectric features on NO reduction using dielectric-barrier discharge plasma system were also studied. The results of NO removal rate with different dielectrics such as Al_2O_3, CaO, MgO and glass showed that the electric field intensity is different with different dielectric, because it brings different energy to particles in discharge room and thus it causes different NO removal rate.