| Abstract: | The Plasmacan cyclone transferred arc plasma furnace seems ideally suited for the treatment of fine refractory powders to produce a consolidated liquid product. In this furnace, particles are pneumatically injected tangentially near the wall of a cylindrical sleeve while an arc is struck along the central axis of the sleeve. A simple model has been developed to examine the behaviour of the injected particles in the entrance region of the furnace up to the point where the particles reach their melting point and form the molten film. Three-dimensional equations of particle motion are solved to compute particle trajectories, given gas temperature and velocity fields in the furnace. The location of the first appearance of the molten film is computed under a variety of operating conditions for a laboratory scale furnace. |
