A fast and accurate reduced-order model for high-intensity transferred arc discharges

Arc discharges are widely used in welding, plasma smelting, and other industrial processes, where variations in operating conditions strongly affect arc stability, temperature distribution, and energy transfer. Accurate modeling of these phenomena typically requires computationally expensive high-fidelity simulations. This study presents a hierarchy of three arc discharge models with progressively reduced physical fidelity. The high-fidelity model provides a fully physics-resolved reference, the reduced-order model reproduces the dominant thermal and flow characteristics of the arc with reasonable accuracy, and the Elenbaas–Heller model captures key trends in a simplified, rapid formulation. This hierarchy demonstrates that reduced-order model can effectively balance predictive fidelity and computational efficiency, providing practical tools for arc simulation and parametric studies.