OVERVIEW OF WAYS TO INCREASE THE THERMAL EFFICIENCY OF PLASMA TORCHES FOR PLASMA COATING PROCESSES

An overview of the issues of energy efficiency of electric arc plasma torches of a linear circuit for coating is presented. Plasma torches with a self-aligning arc length, shorter (with a ledge) and longer self-aligning (with interelectrode inserts) arc lengths are considered. The relevance of studying and schematics of plasma torches with multi-water injection of powder into the plasma torch channel and plasma jet, the tendency of combining multi-arc plasma torches from linear modules, allowing to increase the power of the plasma torch and reduce the erosion of cathodes, is shown. The problematic issue of developing a methodology for selecting a plasma torch circuit and design is presented.