Plasma Torch-System Triplex:

Increased Production and a More Stable Process

GRARD BARBEZAT SULZER METCO KLAUS LANDES UNIVERSITT DER BUNDESWEHR, MUNICH In many respects, the existing single-cathode plasma torches have reached the limits of technical feasibility. Sulzer Metco and the team of Klaus Landes (Universitt der Bundeswehr, Munich), which is active in the field of plasma physics, have developed a torch with three cathodes that has produced very promising results in tests conducted in the industrial environment.
(Fig. 1I), Al2O3 and Al2O3-TiO2. In view of their high hardness and wear resistance, they are employed as wear-protection coatings in the printing and the textile industry, and likewise in hydraulic engineering and for the manufacture of plastic foil. The hardness and wear resistance of the plasmasprayed ceramic coatings, however, are limited by the level of porosity which, depending on the material, the employed type of powder, the spraying system and the operating parameters, is usually between 2 and 5%. In other words, any reduction in the level of porosity leads to an improvement in quality. Profitability Feed rates of 80 g/min can be set with conventional plasma-spraying systems with ratings of between 40 and 80 kW and oxideceramic powders. Depending on the spraying parameters, the employed powder and the dimensions of the component, the deposition efficiency with Al2O3 is between 40 and 70%. With Cr2O3, however, it is only 35 to 45%. Improvements in the deposition efficiency lead to a saving of powder and shorter coating times.

In comparison with metals, ceramic material coatings have high melting temperatures with poor thermal conductivity and up to now could only be made economically using plasma spraying. Coating characteristics The most frequently used ceramic spraying materials are Cr2O3

1I The coatings produced by the new Triplex system with its three cathodes are appreciably denser and harder than those achieved with conventional single-cathode torches. Left: a typical ceramic coating (Cr2O3), right: a typical bonding coating (NiCr); the latter is provided to bond surfaces with top coatings.

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Cathode

Anode

Process stability In the printing industry, for example, Cr2O3 is used for the coating of anilox rollers, in the surface of which a fine, linear-arranged dot raster is engraved by means of lasers. Apart from the high hardness and wear resistance, a very fine, uniform structure free of any impurities is the most important requirement here. Metallic inclusions are the most frequent impurities and caused by the burn-off of the tungsten cathode during the spraying process. A single metallic inclusion is enough to the make the roller unsuitable for the laser engraving. The probability of the formation of such inclusions increases with the duty cycle of the cathode, because the tungsten cathode is thermally stressed and can become damaged. With a commercially available plasma torch,

Current supply +

such as the Sulzer Metco F4, the average service life of such a cathode under production conditions and parameters is between 40 and 50 hours.

3I The Triplex system features three cathodes, which are supplied separately with power; thanks to the counterinsulated neutrodes (arrows), the anode-side position of the arc root remains axial, and tangential stable thanks to the reciprocal repulsion of the arcs.

HIGH AIMS
The following requirements therefore form the basis for the development of a new plasma-torch system: Longer service life of the cathodes to improve the process stability and thus reduce the possibility of metallic inclusions and, in the ideal case, to prevent them completely. Further goals were the reduction of the porosity content to enhance the quality of the coating, increased profitability of the spraying process through better efficiency and, simultaneously, improved flow of the powder. To fulfil these requirements, the conventional plasma torch had to be completely redesigned.

TRIPLEX: THREE CATHODES INSTEAD OF ONE

With a conventional torch such as the F4, an arc is established through an electric gas discharge between a single tungsten cathode and a one-piece, nozzle-shaped copper anode, and maintained through the supply of an electrical power. During the time the arc is affixed to the tip of the tungsten cathode with its cathodic root, the anodic root on the extended inner wall of the anode can move in an axial and tangential direction (Fig. 2I). The migration of the anodic root means a change in the length of the arc which with a constantly maintained current leads to fluctuations in the arc voltage and performance. On the other hand, the heating and acceleration variations on the powder injected

Cathode

Anode

Current supply +

2I With conventional single-cathode torches, the arc root on the anode side (arrow) can migrate in both the axial and tangential direction. This causes a change in the voltage and performance, and leads, in turn, to undesired fluctuations in the efficiency and noise emissions.

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4I Section through the nozzle tip of the Triplex torch: the material to be sprayed is injected through one of the three openings (one for each arc) into the hottest zone of the plasma jet.

at the outlet of the nozzle also impairs the quality of the process. With the newly developed Triplex plasma torch, a more effective and uniform thermal and fluid mechanical influence is exercised on the powder particles, namely through the following characteristics: The Triplex torch has three counter-insulated cathodes that are supplied by independent power sources and from which three identical partial arcs emanate.

A migration of each of these partial arcs is prevented in both the axial and tangential direction through appropriate design measures (Fig. 3I). The partial arcs, which are stabilized in this manner, combine to form a stationary, full plasma jet. Its three-fold symmetry can be used advantageously by means of a three-fold injector (Fig. 4I), the flow of powder through its nozzles is aligned exactly in the hottest parts of the plasma jet.

Triplex torch, the electric power is therefore distributed to three parallel-burning arcs, so that the wall stress on the anodic roots is also markedly reduced. The resultant advantage is the increased service life of the anode. The nozzle of the Triplex plasma torch consists of a number of counter-insulated, socalled neutrodes located between the cathodic zone and anode. The length and voltage of the arc as well as the enthalpy of the plasma can be varied in a goal-oriented manner through the respective number of neutrodes.

REDUCTION OF THE THERMAL WALL STRESS

With a single arc and the usual ratings, the fixation of the anodic root would cause excessive thermal stressing of the wall and thus destroy the anode. With the

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE
The first Triplex system, which has a maximum electric rating of 25 kW, was put into operation in 1997. Experience is being gathered with a second system, which has a maximum rating of 50 kW and has been operating in an industrial environment since mid-1998. The Triplex torch is operated with a gas mixture of argon and helium or with pure argon. With Ar, the flow rate is between 15 and 90 l/min, and with He between 5 and 40 l/min. Total current density values, which distribute over the three cathodes, can be set between 300 and maximum 600 A at voltages of approximately 80 to 110 V. Analyses of Cr2O3, Al2O3 and Al2O3TiO2 coatings show that with comparable spray data appreciably denser and harder coatings can be obtained with the Triplex system than with the F4 torch. Furthermore, in addition to a two- or three-

Triplex Process stability (V)

Conventional torch

40 h

Operating time

200 h

5I The performance of the Triplex cathodes remains stable for more than 200 hours. In comparison, the performance of a single-cathode system declines continuously, and with critical parameters it cannot be used for much longer than 40 to 70 hours.

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6I The constant performance of the Triplex torch is also shown by the shape of the plasma jet (above); it shows a far more constant and stable form than the F4 plasma jet.

fold powder flow rate, appreciably higher deposition efficiencies can also be achieved. These two factors enable the total productivity to be increased by up to 300%. Admittedly, a three-fold powder quantity also means a three-fold thermal stress on the workpiece to be coated. For this reason, the Triplex system is suitable, above all, for the coating of medium- to large-size parts. Cathode service lives of more than 200 hours have been achieved with the Triplex system, and also by very high performances (Fig. 5I). In the first place, this means that the quality of coatings on critical products, such as anilox rollers, is clearly enhanced, because the cathode wear is reduced appreciably. Secondly, the profitability of the spraying process improves, because the downtime frequency for changing the cathodes decreases. As a result of the considerably longer service life and the quality assurance, costs are reduced considerably as well. A further advantage of the Triplex system is the lower noise nuisance level, which is attributable to the stable arc, in comparison with standard torches (Fig. 6I and 7I) and the almost laminar plasma flow. With 100 db(A), the noise emission is

clearly lower than the 120 db(A) of the F4 torch. In comparison with conventional single-cathode torches, the Triplex system improves the profitability of the plasma spraying of ceramic materials quite clearly, and without having to increase the power rating. The processing times are also drastically reduced. Four Triplex systems have been put into operation in 1999 (three in Europe and one in the USA).

FOR MORE DETAILS

Sulzer Metco AG (Switzerland) Grard Barbezat Rigackerstrasse 16 CH-5610 Wohlen Switzerland Telephone +41 (0)56-618 81 81 Fax +41 (0)56-618 81 99 E-mail gerard.barbezat@sulzer.ch

100 80 60 40 20 0 0 1 2 3 4 Time (ms)

7I Whereas the performance of conventional torch systems fluctuates markedly (above), the variations in the performance of the three Triplex arcs are no more than minimum (below). This also has a very positive effect on the noise emissions.

Arc voltage (V)

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