Modeling of a free-burning,high-intensity arc at elevated pressures

A previously established model has been applied to a free-burning high-intensity argon arc at elevated pressures for simulating the situations experienced, for example, in plasma processing or in underwater welding. With the calculated thermodyanmic and transport properties and appropriate boundary conditions, solutions of the entire arc are obtained with exception of the electrode sheath regions. The results show that the arc contracts as the pressure increases. As a consequence of this contraction, the current density, the enthalpy flux, and the voltage drop increase also while the velocity of the induced cathode jet decreases.