Comprehensive Study of the Effect of Plasma Stream on Heat-Resistant Materials

An experimental set-up with a unified system of synchronized control signals was constructed to study the interaction of high-enthalpy plasma jet with the surface of heat-resistant materials. The analysis of air–plasma stream interaction with technical (isotropic) graphite is performed. The air–plasma jet has a temperature of 7000–8000 K in the interaction zone, this interaction is accompanied by destruction of the graphite material and lasts for 100–200 s. Using methods like two-positioning visualization, micropyrometry and spectroscopy the following data are obtained: temperature fields on the graphite sample’s surface and their temporal and spatial changes, dynamics of the sample’s mass loss rate, changes in the parameters (temperature and concentration of electrons, heavy particles temperature) of the incoming plasma stream.