Study on the Operation Practice of Plasma Rotating Electrode Process (PREP)

Melting of the Electrode and the Formation of Droplet

Abstract

The study on the operation practice of plasma rotating electrode process (PREP) was carried out. The experiments were performed under the condition with and without deflection of the center of the plasma from that of the electrode. It was concluded that the application of an appropriate deviation of the plasma center from rotating electrode center was suitable for obtaining uniformly sized particles, since the electrode consumed keeping nearly flat surface which caused the occurence of smooth flow of molten metal to the edge of the surface. In such a situation, at the edge of the molten surface, a stable cyclic undulation of liquid layer which supplies nearly uniform droplet was produced, although the changes in heat input were occured during PREP.