Modeling fragmentation of plasma-sprayed particles impacting on a solid surface at room temperature

Abstract

Molybdenum particles were melted and accelerated by a plasma jet to impact on glass surfaces held at room temperature. A fast charge-coupled device (CCD) camera was triggered to capture images of the particles during spreading. Splats on the glass held at ambient temperature fragmented, leaving only a solidified central core. A 3D model of droplet impact and solidification was used to simulate the impact and spreading of these plasma-sprayed particles. The thermal contact resistance, which was estimated from an existing heat conduction model, was used as an input parameter in the 3D model. It was found that the thermal contact resistance between the splat central core and the glass was two orders of magnitude lower than that between the rest of the splat fluid and the surface. This suggests that the physical contact between the fluid in the splat central core and the glass surface can be improved by the large pressure generated during impact. To cite this article: A. McDonald et al., C. R. Mecanique 335 (2007).