Effect of Turbulence Modulation on Three Dimensional Trajectories of Powder Particles in Plasma Spray Process

We numerically solve the system of nonlinear and coupled partial differential equations expressing the conservation of mass of species, the total mass, linear momentum, and energy, and the k-ε turbulence model under pertinent initial and boundary conditions.  The particle-plasma interaction is described by a drag force acting on particles and an equal and opposite force acting on the plasma.  The lumped capacitance method is employed to model the particle heating and melting.  Chemical reactions among species are considered.  The mathematical model is validated by comparing computed results for the plasma, the particle temperature and the particle velocity with the corresponding literature values. It is found that the consideration of turbulence modulation reduces the turbulent kinetic energy and its dissipation rate by more than 30% and 40%, respectively, in regions where particles are concentrated.