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Experimental Study of the Discharge Characteristics of a Magnetically Stabilized Double-Chamber Arc Plasma Torch

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Abstract

The double-chamber arc plasma torch (DCAPT) is a promising arc source due to its high energy efficiency and low erosion rate. It has been widely used in various fields including coal powder ignition, boiler heavy oil-free ignition, and production of sheet-shaped carbon materials, among others, but research on its micro-discharge characteristics is still insufficient. In this work, a magnetically-stabilized DCAPT with a quartz window on the inner electrode is designed and studied, in order to investigate the effects of magnetic field position and intensity, discharge current, gas flow rate, electrode diameter, and electrode polarity on its discharge characteristics. Results show that both the volt-ampere characteristics and thermal efficiency of DCAPT exhibit a strictly decreasing trend, and both of them can be accurately predicted using similar theoretical approaches. The discharge characteristics of DCAPT differ significantly for different polarities. When in reverse polarity, the outer cathode arc root attaches to the outlet, resulting in an increased arc length and greater randomness in the arc-root fluctuations. As a result, the arc length, voltage, thermal efficiency, and voltage fluctuations are all greater than with normal polarity. Within the experimental range of the parameters, the thermal efficiency of DCAPT is between 40 and 74%. Due to the cathode's “easily mobility” characteristic, the rotation speed of the cathode arc root is always greater than that of the anode, resulting in higher thermal losses for the cathode than for the anode. This is the primary source of thermal loss and the main factor contributing to the rapid erosion of the cathode in the DCAPT. This study reveals the correlation between the volt-ampere characteristics, thermal characteristics, and dynamic evolution of the DCAPT. The research findings have significance for guiding the structural design, parameter selection, and choice of application of this type of plasma torch.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge support from the Experimental Teaching Center for Engineering Science (ETCES) at the University of Science and Technology of China for providing the experimental platform.

Funding

This work is supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 12075242, 11675177 and 11705202).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Thermal Science and Energy Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230027, Anhui, China

    Kuan Li, Tiancheng You, Yunfei Zhang, Zhaoyu Yu, Weidong Xia & Cheng Wang

  2. Hefei Carbon Art Technology Co., Ltd., Hefei, 230031, Anhui, China

    Cheng Wang

  3. Xinjiang Junthin Chemical Corporation Ltd., Akesu, 842304, Xinjiang, China

    Cheng Wang

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  1. Kuan Li
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  2. Tiancheng You
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  3. Yunfei Zhang
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  4. Zhaoyu Yu
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  5. Weidong Xia
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  6. Cheng Wang
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Contributions

KL: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Writing-Original Draft; TY: Data Curation, Validation; YZ: Methodology; ZY: Investigation; WX: Writing-Review and Editing and Funding acquisition; CW: Conceptualization, Investigation, Writing-Review and Editing and Funding acquisition.

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Correspondence to Cheng Wang.

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Li, K., You, T., Zhang, Y. et al. Experimental Study of the Discharge Characteristics of a Magnetically Stabilized Double-Chamber Arc Plasma Torch. Plasma Chem Plasma Process 44, 131–157 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-023-10424-w

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