Power balance equation in electron beam evaporation process

The aim of the paper is to solve the equation giving the total power of the gun, used in the electron beam evaporation process, in terms of the power used to generated the vapor stream and the three main power losses due to three parasite phenomena: turbulent thermal convection in the molten pool, electron back scattering and heat radiation from the vapor emitting surface. Scaling laws are first reviewed and results are given with the example of the evaporation of aluminium with a 5 kW axisymmetric gun working in steady state mode. The influence of an applied magnetic field on the evaporation rate is also examined. 5 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab