Control of Jet Convergence in Wire Arc Spray Systems

This paper aims to achieve improved control over the spray pattern in a wire arc torch by means of constructive measures to influence the flow dynamics. It focuses on evaluating different fluid dynamic designs of the spray torches with respect to the droplet trajectories and velocity distributions and the deposit distribution. First, the paper describes the approaches for novel nozzle designs including the addition of shrouds and the torch evaluation diagnostics, and then presents the results for four different nozzle arrangements. It is observed that the nozzle design and the placement of the wire tips within the nozzle have the greatest effect on the divergence of the spray pattern. Paper includes a German-language abstract.