1995 Volume 13 Issue 1 Pages 86-90
This paper describes the affection of O2 and N2 gases in operating gas on the electrode consumption for air plasma cutting, and discusses on the consumption mechanism of the developed new electrodes.
From the consumption test under various shielding gases, it is concluded: Ru-Y2O3 and Ir-Y2O3 electrodes showed a good erosion resistance in oxidizing atmosphere (O2, Air), however these electrodes showed extremely increased weight loss in non-oxidizing atmosphere (At, N2). The characteristic of Ru-Y2O3 and Ir-Y2O3 electrodes is discussed from the qualitative model that the formation and evaporation of Y2O3 layer covered the cathode surface occurs.
