Abstract
Much of the research being done in arc wire spraying deals with new nozzle geometries and secondary atomizing gas flows. This study, instead, focuses on pulsed current power. Spray trials are conducted using a conventional electric arc gun and an inverter that produces large current pulses with controlled amplitude and frequency. Droplet formation and detachment are monitored with a high-speed camera that records shadow images synchronized with current and voltage measurements. The images are processed into analog signals that are converted to the frequency domain and the Fourier coefficients are plotted, providing a relative measure of the influence of pulse frequency on droplet ablation. The results suggest that arc spraying can be improved using pulsed current power and that gas pressure and pulse time have greater influence than pulse frequency.
