阅读说明：本技术 等离子枪的优化中性极叠堆冷却 (Optimized neutral stack cooling for plasma gun ) 是由 R.J.莫尔兹 D.霍利 J.克尔梅纳莱斯 于 2018-03-14 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供了一种用于级联等离子枪的热优化中性极叠堆的设计和实施方式,其减少了到水的热损失,同时最小化了峰值叠堆温度。优化冷却将允许使用更长的叠堆,而不会带来高热损失。(A design and embodiment of a thermally optimized neutrode stack for a cascade plasma gun is provided that reduces heat loss to water while minimizing peak stack temperatures. Optimizing cooling will allow the use of longer stacks without incurring high heat losses.)

1. A neutral pole of a plasma gun, comprising:

a disc-shaped body having an outer peripheral surface and an inner bore; and

a plurality of cooling passages formed in the disc-shaped body as recesses open to the outer peripheral surface.

2. The neutral pole of claim 1, wherein the cooling channel is square.

3. The neutral pole of claim 1 wherein the cooling channel has a flat profile with a width more than eight times greater than a depth.

4. The neutral pole of claim 1, wherein the cooling channel is defined by a depth dimension below the outer peripheral surface and a floor dimension perpendicular to the depth dimension, wherein a floor to depth ratio of the cooling channel is in a ratio range between 1:1 and 8: 1.

5. The neutral pole of claim 1, wherein the cooling passage is configured to provide an average water velocity through the passage of less than 8.0m/sec and at least one of:

greater than 1.0m/sec,

greater than 2.0m/sec, and

greater than 3.0 m/sec.

6. A plasma gun, comprising:

a neutral pole stack comprising a plurality of neutral poles as recited in claim 1.

7. The plasma gun in accordance with claim 6, wherein adjacent neutrals in the stack of neutrals are electrically isolated from one another.

8. The plasma gun in accordance with claim 7, further comprising an insulating layer disposed between each adjacent neutral pole.

9. The plasma gun in accordance with claim 7, further comprising a sealing element layer arranged to form a water barrier between each adjacent neutral pole.

10. The plasma gun in accordance with claim 7, further comprising a gas gap formed between each adjacent neutral pole.

11. The plasma gun in accordance with claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of neutrals has the same number of cooling channels and the plurality of neutrals are arranged such that the cooling channels are axially aligned.

12. The plasma gun in accordance with claim 11, further comprising a circumferential cooling channel formed between each adjacent neutral pole.

13. The plasma gun in accordance with claim 6, wherein the plurality of neutrals are clamped together under force while being physically separated from each other.

14. A method of forming a neutral pole of a plasma gun, comprising:

a plurality of water cooling channels are formed which open to the outer peripheral surface of the disc-shaped body having the inner bore.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of water cooling channels are configured to provide an average water velocity through the channel of less than 8.0m/sec and at least one of:

greater than 1.0m/sec,

greater than 2.0m/sec, and

greater than 3.0 m/sec.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

forming a plurality of water cooling channels in or on at least one of an outer peripheral surface of at least one additional disc-shaped body having an internal bore; and

coaxially aligning the disc-shaped body and the at least one additional disc-shaped body along the inner bore.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising electrically isolating the disc-shaped body from an adjacent one of the at least one additional disc-shaped body.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the disc-shaped body is separated from the adjacent one of the at least one additional disc-shaped body by at least one of: an insulating layer; a gas gap; and a sealing member.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein each of the disc-shaped body and the at least one additional disc-shaped body has the same number of water cooling channels, and further comprising axially aligning the water cooling channels of the coaxially aligned disc-shaped body and at least one additional disc-shaped body.

20. The method of claim 16, further comprising clamping the coaxially aligned disk-shaped body and at least one additional disk-shaped body together as a neutral pole of a stack of the plasma gun.

21. A method of forming a cascade-type plasma gun having a plurality of neutrals according to claim 1, comprising:

aligning the plurality of neutrals in a neutral pole stack, wherein adjacent neutrals in the neutral pole stack are electrically isolated from each other; and

placing the neutral stack in the cascade-type plasma gun under a clamping force in an axial direction of the neutral stack.

Technical Field

Background

The advantage of the cascade-type plasma gun is that it allows for higher voltages and more stable plasma arcs, resulting in more stable gun power. A disadvantage of such a gun is the heat dissipation caused by the plasma arc traveling along the relatively long neutral pole stack, which results in higher heat losses and limits the actual length of the neutral pole stack. Longer stacks result in higher heat losses, offsetting the advantages of higher voltages and more stable arcs. What is needed is a structure that optimizes cooling to limit heat loss without causing thermal damage to the neutral stack.

Current neutrode stacks utilize bores concentrically placed as close to the plasma bore as possible to remove heat that could cause damage to the neutrode, insulator or sealing O-ring. Plasma temperatures within the plasma bore typically exceed 20,000K, so cooling the stack is a basic requirement to prevent component damage.

Existing cooling designs for conventional plasma gun nozzles, water cooling channels and/or holes are typically placed as close as possible to the plasma gun bore to keep the temperature of the bore material as low as possible to prevent damage. This design is introduced into the design of the neutral pole as an efficient cooling means.

Recent invention findings cover thermally optimized plasma gun nozzles, such as international application No. PCT/US2013/076603, which found that nozzle cooling can be altered by moving the water channel away from the plasma gun bore and allowing the copper material to move heat reducing the peak temperature while increasing the average temperature. The water cooling cross section can be reduced to increase the water velocity to provide effective cooling sufficient to maintain a reasonable temperature of the plasma gun nozzle while allowing for an increase in the average temperature along the bore of the plasma nozzle.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a structure and method for optimizing cooling of a neutral pole stack to reduce maximum or peak stack temperatures while reducing heat loss to cooling water.

A design and embodiment of a thermally optimized neutrode stack for a cascade plasma gun is provided that reduces heat loss to water while minimizing peak stack temperatures. Optimizing cooling will allow the use of longer neutral pole stacks without incurring high heat losses.

In this regard, the inventors have discovered that a technique of removing the water channel from the plasma gun bore that allows the copper material of the neutrals to move heat while increasing the mean temperature reduces the peak temperature can be used to cascade plasma gun neutrals stacks to improve cooling characteristics without adversely affecting the performance of the gun.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a neutral pole of a plasma gun, the neutral pole comprising: a disc-shaped body having an outer peripheral surface and an inner bore; and a plurality of cooling channels formed in or on at least one of the outer peripheral surface.

According to an embodiment, the cooling channels may be square. In alternative embodiments, the cooling channel may have a flat profile with a width more than eight times greater than the depth. Further, in an embodiment, the cooling channel is defined by a depth dimension below the outer peripheral surface and a bottom dimension perpendicular to the depth dimension. The ratio of the bottom of the cooling channel to the depth is in the range of ratios between 1:1 and 8: 1.

According to embodiments, the cooling channel may be configured to provide an average water velocity through the channel of less than 8.0m/sec and at least one of: greater than 1.0m/sec, greater than 2.0m/sec, and greater than 3.0 m/sec.

Drawings

The present invention is further described in the detailed description which follows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way of non-limiting examples of exemplary embodiments of the present invention, in which like reference numerals represent similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein:

FIG. 1 shows a conventional neutral pole of a known cascade plasma gun;

2A-2E illustrate various views of an exemplary optimized neutral pole, according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of a neutral pole stack including a plurality of optimized neutral poles depicted in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows the embodiment depicted in FIG. 3, wherein the outer perimeter of the stacked optimized neutrals is shown; and

FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of an optimized neutral pole according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Embodiments relate to cascade-type plasma guns, and more particularly, to optimized neutrals (neutrodes) for use in such cascade-type plasma guns.