Upcoming Event: CSEM Student Forum

Governing Equations for Inductively Coupled Plasma Torch Simulations

Joshua Bigman, CSEM Student, Oden Institute, UT Austin

Abstract

An inductively coupled plasma (ICP) torch is a device used to generate a clean source of high enthalpy gas for laboratory experiments. To understand the working principles of an ICP torch and improve designs, accurate and robust predictive simulations are necessary. This is difficult as an ICP torch is inherently multi-physical: fluid flow, chemical kinetics, radiative transfer, electromagnetics, and the driving circuitry must all be accounted for. In this talk, a system of governing equations accounting for these phenomena is introduced and the challenges in solving them are discussed.

Biography

Joshua entered the CSEM program in Fall 2022 with a background in mechanical engineering and physics. His current research interests include computational fluid mechanics and multi-physics simulations. He is advised by Prof. Robert Moser.