Modeling the impact, flattening and solidification of a molten droplet on a solid substrate during plasma spraying

It is quite important to clearly understand the dynamic process of single splat formation for optimizing the plasma spraying process. In present study, a three-dimensional model including heat transfer and phase change was developed on Ansys Fluent 14 platform to simulate the impact, flattening and solidification of a molten droplet on a solid substrate during plasma spraying. The phase, contact pressure, temperature and velocity fields at different spreading times were presented to gain an insight into splat formation mechanism. The predicted splat morphology was in good agreement with the experimental photos. The effect of mushy zone constant, a parameter dominating the solidification behavior of fluid in Fluent, on the flattening of droplet was further investigated. Through comparing the calculated spread factor from present model with the experimental value, a mushy zone constant of 108 or 109 was found to be more appropriate for simulation on the solidification problem occurring in high-speed impact and flattening process, instead of the range of 104-107 recommended in Fluent.