Formation of a supersaturated carbon solution in a metal under the process of carbon nano fibers obtaining by PECVD

Heat and mass transfer processes in a highly porous carbon layer appeared on a catalytic surface of a plasma chemical reactor during carbon nano fibers obtaining by PECVD (plasma enhanced CVD) are considered. Nano fibers formation in such a process is carried out as a result of the catalytic decomposition of the carbon contained plasma pyrolysis yields followed by carbon atoms diffusion into the catalyst bulk with a subsequent formation of carbon in a metal solid solution. The results of the numerical investigation of the transfer processes in the porous layer have shown that the layer thickness growth significantly reduces the catalytic surface temperature. This effect causes the carbon solid solution supersaturation, which is an obligatory condition of the carbon clusters nucleation. The transfer problems initial data have been obtained in a result of experimental investigations of thin porous carbon layers gathered from the catalytic surface of the plasma chemical reactor. It have been determined that the layer porosity has an average value of about 70%, and it's effective heat conductivity in the temperature range of 600-1000 C is about 10-1 W/(m*K) and slightly depends on the temperature. A numerical modeling has been made for a steady state approximation. The correctness of this approximation is based on the comparison of the steady stale stabilization characteristic time with the porous layer growth characteristic time. The latter appeared to be much longer than the former one. (authors).