A numerical study of suspension plasma spraying (SPS) is presented in the
current work. The liquid suspension jet is replaced with a train of droplets
containing the suspension particles injected into the plasma flow. Atomization,
evaporation, and melting of different components are considered for droplets
and particles as they travel towards the substrate. Effect of different
parameters on particle conditions during flight and upon impact on the
substrate are investigated. Initially, influence of the torch operating
conditions such as inlet flow rate and power are studied. Additionally, effect
of injector parameters like injection location, flow rate, and angle are
examined. The model used in current study takes high temperature gradients and
non-continuum effects into account. Moreover, the important effect of change in
physical properties of suspension droplets as a result of evaporation is
included in the model. These mainly include variations in heat transfer
properties and viscosity. Utilizing this improved model, several test cases
have been considered to better evaluate the effect of different parameters on
the quality of particles during flight and upon impact on the substrate.Comment: 43 pages, 26 figures, published in Journal of Thermal Spray
Technology https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11666-016-0502-