May 7, 2026
In-Flight Heating Process of Cerium Oxide Powders in Radio Frequency Thermal Plasma Considering Thermal Resistance Effect
The in-flight heating process of cerium dioxide (CeO2) powders was investigated through experiments and numerical simulations. In the experiment, CeO2 powder (average size of 30 μm) was injected into radio-frequency (RF) argon plasma, and the temperatures were measured using a DPV-2000 monitor. A model combining the electromagnetism, thermal flow, and heat transfer characteristics of powder during in-flight heating in argon plasma was proposed. The melting processes of CeO2 powders of different diameters, with and without thermal resistance effect, were investigated. Results show that the heating process of CeO2 powder particles consists of three main stages, one of which is relevant to a dimensionless parameter known as the Biot number. When the Biot value≥0.1, thermal resistance increases significantly, especially for the larger powders. The predicted temperature of the particles at the outlet (1800–2880 K) is in good agreement with the experimental result.
Key words: RF thermal plasma, thermal resistance effect, heating process, Biot number
Originally published at Rare Metal Materials and Engineering (Volume 55, Issue 3: 581 – 594, 2026)
By Yi Su, Ruizhe Liu, Ahmad Hilal, Peng Zhao, Xingyue Jin, Hailong Zhu
