Numerical modeling of titanium carbide synthesis in thermal plasma reactors |
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Authors: | John S. McFeaters Robert L. Stephens Peter Schwerdtfeger Michael Liddell |
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Affiliation: | (1) Computational Materials Science and Engineering Research Center, School of Engineering, Auckland University, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland, New Zealand |
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Abstract: | Titanium carbide powders synthesized in thermal plasma reactors are virtually always contaminated by soot. Equilibrium modeling predicts a viable process window without soot formation; however, this has not been achieved in practice. A numerical model incorporating chemical kinetics, nucleation and growth, and soot formation mechanisms has been developed to investigate this process. The chemical kinetic scheme teas based on ethylene pyrolysis and methane combustion with additional reactions to account for titanium-based molecules and the free carbon species found at plasma temperatures. Nucleation and .soot formation were based on simple kinetic models. The governing equations were integrated through time using typical temperature-time histories found by computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling of a radio frequency plasma torch. The results indicate that the synthesis is governed by interactions between several parallel processes and that there is a delicate balance between reactant stoichiometry, system pressure, cooling rate, product formation, and soot formation. This balance may be a limiting feature of ceramic carbide production in thermal plasma reactors. |
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Keywords: | Plasma processing thermal plasma titanium carbide numerical modeling nucleation soot chemical kinetics |
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