Numerical study of temperature and gas flow fields in Ar–O2 tandem-type inductively coupled thermal plasma with Ti feedstock powder injection

Abstract

A numerical simulation was conducted to obtain temperature and gas flow fields in tandem-type inductively coupled thermal plasma (tandem ICTP). Tandem ICTP is formed using two coil currents (upper coil and lower coil) in a single plasma torch, that was already developed for nanoparticle synthesis. The temperature distribution of the tandem ICTP and evaporation of feedstock Ti powder were obtained for different gap lengths between the upper and lower coil and coil turn numbers. Results indicate that increasing the gap length between the upper and lower coil produces two separately controlled high-temperature areas in tandem ICTP. This result suggests that tandem ICTP provides a temperature field that is favourable for particle evaporation of injected particles while maintaining ICTP in the upper region of the plasma torch for stable operation.