I propose to develop a new method for the synthesis of metal matrix composites
(MMC) using aerosol reactants in a radio frequency (RF) plasma torch. An inductivelycoupled
RF plasma torch (ICPT) may potentially be designed to maintain laminar flow
and a radial temperature distribution. These two properties provide a method by which a
succession of metal layers can be applied to the surface of SiC fibers. In particular, the
envisaged method provides a means to fully bond any desired metal to the surface of the
SiC fibers, opening the possibility for MMCs in which the matrix metal is a highstrength
steel.
A crucial first step in creating the MMC is to test the feasibility of constructing
an ICPT with completely laminar flow in the plasma region. In this work, a
magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model is used along with a computational fluid dynamic
(CFD) software package called FLUENT© to simulate an ICPT. To solve the
electromagnetic equations and incorporate forces and resistive heating, several userdefined
functions (UDF) were written to add to the functionality of FLUENT©. Initially,
an azimuthally-symmetric, two-dimensional model was created to set a test baseline for
operating in FLUENT© and to verify the UDF. To incorporate coil angle and current
leads, a fully three dimensional model UDF was written. Preliminary results confirm the
functionality of the code. Additionally, the results reveal a non-mixing, laminar flow
outer region for an axis-symmetric ICPT.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2363 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Holik III, Eddie Frank (Trey) |
| Contributors | McIntyre, Peter M. |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Thesis, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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