Computational simulation for the constricted flow of argon plasma arc

A two-dimensional mathematical model has been developed to research the behavior of the transferred-type argon plasma arc constricted by a torch. The model includes a part of torch and tungsten electrode to achieve more reasonable results. Solving the model, the arc temperature and flow fields have been derived. And the distributions of the current density and electromagnetic force have been gotten, as well as the voltage drop of the plasma arc and the distributions of heat flux, pressure at the anode. The arc pressure and current density distributions at the anode are measured experimentally to show the simulated results believable. The influences of welding parameters on the distribution of the arc pressure at the anode have been studied. The result shows that the arc pressure is much dependent on the current and plasma gas flow rate, while is not sensitive to the arc length in the study range.