Many CFD software packages are commonly used for the modeling of thermal plasma jets. Unfortunately, according to some recent results reported in the literature, one may notice that two different software products do not always provide similar results for a similar case. For example, PHOENICS and FLUENT were recently used in a single study and some abnormal differences were observed in the numerical predictions [1]. After some intensive search, the reasons were identified and are explained in the present paper: it appears that all Fluent built-in k-å type turbulence models have to be modified especially for high temperature flows. Since Fluent is now extensively used for the modeling of plasma jets, it was considered useful to report the required correction to the scientific thermal spray community and this is the purpose of the present paper.

A numerical model is presented for the computation of heat transfers during the APS thermal spray process. This model includes the contributions of both the impinging plasma jet and that of the particle flux on the substrate heating. The contribution of the impinging plasma jet is taken into account using a computational fluid dynamic model describing the impact of the plasma jet on the substrate. For this part of the work, a two-layer extension to the Chen-Kim k-s model was used allowing the description of both the turbulent plasma jet and that of the flow in the viscous sub-layer formed on the substrate surface. The contribution of the sprayed particles is taken into account considering their distribution in the spray jet. Since this is an important parameter that could affect the model accuracy, measurements of the deposit thickness profiles were first performed using the non-destructive acoustic microscopy method and the corresponding particle flux distribution was then deduced. Heat transfers inside the substrate were then computed using a three dimensional in-house code based on a finite volume approach. In the case studied, the results show that the contribution of the sprayed particles forming the coating is much more focalized than that of the plasma flow itself whereas the substrate nature has a strong influence on the thermal flux dissipation (not presented in the following). These elements are expected to provide useful information concerning the coating adhesion mechanisms and the formation of residual stresses during the coating elaboration.

The modeling of thermal plasma jets is commonly used in order to obtain a better knowledge and understanding of the atmospheric plasma spray process. Many different software products are used in the literature at present but none of them present the same ease in integrating the plasma properties and none of them propose the same options: for example concerning turbulence modeling or concerning the implemented numerical methods. All that may result in differences in the converged solution and in the required computational time. For this reason, two different software products have been tested in the present study, namely the PHOENICS CFD code developed by CHAM (Wimbledon, UK) and the FLUENT CFD code developed by FLUENT Inc (Lebanon, NH, US). The comparisons concern different points such as the possibilities in implementing the plasma gas properties, the way the energy equation is considered, the available turbulence models or the implemented numerical methods. The conclusion indicates that some differences exist in the numerical results obtained using the two CFD packages.

The thickness of the lining is reduced from 230 mm to 80 mm due to long-term wear, resulting in low thermal efficiency of the rotary kiln. The thermal resistance, which is positively correlated with the thickness of the lining, is one of the most important factors determining the thermal efficiency of the rotary kiln. The thermal efficiency of the rotary kiln can be improved by introducing insulation material with lower thermal conductivity into the lining. The average heat flux is used as the thermal efficiency evaluation index of the 4×60 m rotary kiln under no-load conditions in this work. A numerical experiment was conducted for the temperature and heat flux of the inner surface of the lining, as well as the temperature of the outer surface of the shell during the wear of the lining. There are two cases considered, one with and one without insulation materials in lining. According to the analysis, when the lining in the high temperature zone of the rotary kiln wears to 80 mm, the average heat flux of the inner surface of the lining increases by 105.03%. However, after the addition of insulation material, the average heat flux on the inner surface of the lining increases by 40.38% (wears to 80 mm). Compared to the thermal efficiency of the rotary kiln without heat insulation material, the average heat flux of the inner surface of the lining is reduced by 36.36% (230 mm), and it is reduced by 99.01% (wears to 80 mm). A significant advantage of this solution is that it can increase the thermal efficiency of the rotary kiln, improve the insulation performance of the lining, reduce heat loss to the environment through the shell, and the results obtained can be used for the latest equipment design and existing equipment improvements.

The study of heat transfers in a substrate exposed to an impinging plasma jet is proposed using two different software products. Thermal exchanges between the plasma jet and the substrate were first calculated using the PHOENICS CFD software in which a two-layer extension to the Chen-Kim k-s model was implemented in order to consider both the turbulent nature of the plasma jet and heat transfer phenomena through the viscous sub-layer formed at the surface of the substrate. The model is supposed to provide accurate predictions of thermal exchanges. However this preliminary step is not described since it is part of some previous studies. In a second step, two different commercial software products are used to perform three dimensional transient calculations of the heat conduction inside the substrate. The first approach consists in the use of the finite element based SYSWELD software whereas the second one consists in the use of the finite volume based PHOENICS software. Numerical results are presented and compared for the case of an impinging plasma jet displacing linearly on the substrate. Additionally, the influence of different parameters such as the substrate sample thickness, the stand-off distance, the displacement velocity or the nature of the substrate is also discussed. The results show a good accordance between numerical predictions obtained using the two methods concerning the maximum temperature observed. These results are useful since the substrate temperature is known to have an important influence on the coating adhesion and properties.