ARTICLE:

• TEMPERATURE AND HEAT FLUX DISTRIBUTION IN METAL PLATE IN THE PLASMA ARC CUTTING PROCESS  download article

P. Koltun
CSIRO, Manufacturing Science and Technology, Locked Bag No 9, Preston Vic 3072, AUSTRALIA

S. Ramakrishnan
CSIRO, Manufacturing Science and Technology, Locked Bag No 9, Preston Vic 3073, AUSTRALIA

ABSTRACT

Numerical computations in three dimensions have been made to estimate the distribution of temperature and heat flux in the metallic workpiece used in the plasma arc cutting (PAC) process. The kerf shapes and leading edges of cut front obtained from cutting experiments performed using a 6-mm mild steel plate at 100A with different plasma gases (nitrogen, air and oxygen) have been used as input to the calculations. To overcome computational difficulties resulting from the moving high-temperature plasma heat source, a combination of Eulerian and Lagrangian approaches has been used for numerical calculations. The obtained results are discussed in terms of the power balance of the process at different cutting speeds, and with different plasma gases.

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