Development of a Mathematical Model of an Arc Plasma Discharge in Vacuum, Describing the Joint Solution of the Navier-Stokes Equations, Heat Transfer, with Equations of Plasma Theory

Abstract

Abstract This article is devoted to the description of arc processes in a vacuum, relevant today for the melting of wire materials in the implementation of hybrid technologies of layer-by-layer synthesis. The directions of using an electric arc as a source of heat in creating arc additive technologies are indicated. One of the most promising methods for creating an arc discharge in vacuum using a non-consumable thermoelectronic hollow cathode is presented. A two-dimensional model has been developed for studying a hollow-cathode arc discharge in vacuum, where argon was used as the plasma-forming gas. All calculations were carried out in an axisymmetric formulation. To obtain a numerical solution, the COMSOL Multiphysics application software package was used. The obtained simulation results showed a satisfactory agreement with the literature and experimental data.