2 2D Model of Semi-molten Drop Impact for Thermal Spray Application

Abstract

In thermal spraying, semi-molten (or partially-melted) particles are likely to form when the sprayed particles are insufficiently heated, or when a composite material is deposited. The present 2D model serves to begin to assess the spreading behavior of a semi-molten particle when impacting a solid substrate. An Immersed-Boundary (IB) scheme was implemented in an axisymmetric fluid model to simulate fluid flow in the presence of a solid core. The IB method calculates a forcing term, which is added to the momentum equation, to enforce the no-slip boundary condition at the core surface. Results are presented for the impact of a semi-molten tin droplet of radius R for a wide range of solid core radii r, varying the drop size ratio r/R, and the impact velocity Uo.