Progress in Plasma Processing of Materials, 2001

ISBN Print: 1-56700-165-3

CRITERION FOR TRANSITION FROM LAMINAR TO TURBULENT FLOWS OF ARGON IN PLASMATRONS

DOI: 10.1615/ITPPC-2000.240
pages 187-192

Abstract

The turbulent flow of plasma-forming gas in long cylindrical channels with the arc of a constant electrical current, burning along a channel axis, is the most typical regime of plasmatrons (plasma torches), circuit breakers, plasma furnaces etc. On the stabilizing regimes for laminar and turbulent flows temperature, plasma velocity, and electric field strength do not vary on the length. They are only the function of the radius of the plasmatreTI channel. The characteristics of turbulent flows differ strongly from the laminar one. It is very important to know the criteria of transition from the laminar to the turbulent regime of each type of plasma flow. These criteria are strongly depended on the plasma fanning gas properties, gas flow rates, and regimes of plasmatrons. They could be exactly established only from experiments that are combined with numerical calculations.