Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Predicting Particle Properties in Plasma Spraying

Plasma spraying is a key industrial coating process that exhibits intricate nonlinear interactions among process parameters. This complexity makes accurate predictions of particle properties, which greatly affect process behavior, very challenging. Specifically, particle velocities and temperatures profoundly impact coating quality and process efficiency. Conventional methods often require empirical correlations and extensive parameter tuning due to their limited ability to capture the underlying physics within this intricate system. This study introduces physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) as a solution. By seamlessly integrating known physical laws and constraints directly into the model architecture, PINNs offer the potential to learn the underlying physics of the system. For comparison, artificial neural networks (ANNs) are also developed. Computational fluid dynamics simulations of a plasma generator and plasma jet model provide data to train both ANN and PINN models. The study reveals an improvement in particle velocity prediction through the proposed PINN model, demonstrating its capability to handle complex relationships. However, challenges arise in predicting particle temperature, warranting further investigation. The developed models can aid in optimizing the plasma spraying process by predicting essential particle properties and guiding necessary process adjustments to enhance coating quality.