Effect of needle cone angle and air flow rate on electrostatic discharge characteristics of a corona-needle ionizer

In this study, the corona-needle ionizer was designed, constructed, and characterized. Experimental characterizations of the electrostatic discharge in terms of current–voltage relationships of the corona ionizer, including the effects of discharge electrode cone angle and air flow rate were presented. It was found that the charging current and ion concentration in the charging zone increased monotonically with corona voltage. Conversely, discharge currents decreased with increasing angle of the needle cone. The negative corona was found to have higher current than the positive corona. At higher air flow rates, the ion current and concentration were found to be relatively high for the same corona voltage. The effect of air flow rate was more pronounced than the corona voltage. It was also shown that the ion penetration through the ionizer decreased with increasing corona voltage, and increased with increasing air flow rate. The highest ion penetration through the ionizer of the 10° needle cone angle was found to be about 93.7 and 7.7% for positive and negative coronas, respectively. The highest ion penetration for the needle cone angle of 20° was found to be 96.6 and 6.1% for positive and negative coronas, respectively.     

The correlation between corona current distribution and collection of fine particles in a laboratory-scale electrostatic precipitator

An analysis of the electrostatic gas cleaning fundamental phenomenon shows an essential influence of discharge electrode construction on the gas cleaning process efficiency.In the physical model tests there were used rigid discharge electrodes with corona emitting elements of various geometries. Different constructions of discharge electrode were tested in the aspect of discharge current uniform distribution on collecting electrode surfaces. Measurements of discharge current distribution has been carried out for discharge electrodes with different spike shapes and in different electric field geometry. The research aim was to determine the optimal discharge electrode construction ensuring high collection efficiency of fine particles. Collection efficiency measurements of selected fly ash samples (from coal fired boilers) were carried out on a laboratory testing bench in a horizontal electrostatic precipitator model.     

Modeling of an EHD corona flow in nitrogen gas using an asymmetric capacitor for propulsion

The present work intends to identify the nature of the propulsive force that occurs during a positive corona discharge in nitrogen gas using an asymmetric capacitor geometry. We are going to apply the known theory of electrohydrodynamics (EHD) and electrostatics in order to compute all hydrodynamic and electrostatic forces that act on the considered geometry in an attempt to provide a physical insight on the force mechanism that acts on an asymmetrical capacitor.     

Corona discharge in a cylindrical triode charger for unipolar diffusion aerosol charging

A cylindrical triode charger for unipolar diffusion charging of aerosol particles was designed, constructed, and evaluated. The corona discharge characteristics were studied in this cylindrical triode charger. For the process the current–voltage characteristics were determined, as were the ion number concentration, the n_it product, and the mean charge per particle as a function of particle diameter. The discharge and charging currents, and ion number concentration in the charging zone of the charger increased monotonically with corona voltage. The negative corona had a higher current than the positive corona. At the same corona voltage, the ion number concentration in the discharge zone was larger than the charging current for positive and negative coronas, with values of about 197 and 32 times and 645 and 99 times for the ion-driving voltages of 0 and 310 V, respectively. The average ion penetration for positive and negative coronas was 0.64 and 0.19% and 3.62 and 1.93% for the ion-driving voltages of 0 V and 310 V, respectively. The higher flow rate, shorter residence time, gave a lower N_it product. By calculation 14% of charged particles of 10 nm in diameter were lost to the outer cylinder because of the electrostatic field effect. The charger does not use a sheath of air flow along the walls or the perforated screen opening, it has low diffusion and space charge losses due to the short column charging zone, and is a low complexity and inexpensive system. It worked as well as more sophisticated and expensive commercially available chargers.     

Study on both discharge and charging of the earthed atomizing corona discharge and the influence of magnetic fields on them

In the paper, the influences of water flux on both discharge current and onset voltage were studied. Both charging and capturing particles of atomizing corona discharges were investigated when the magnetic field was used or not. The charge number of droplets and their sizes were calculated after some parameters were measured by Millikan oil drop instrument. In addition, the capturing ability of atomizing corona discharge pre-charger with magnetic field was compared with the traditional pre-charger. Eventually, the charging mechanism of atomizing corona discharge with magnetic field was analyzed through the above-mentioned experimentation and comparison. The result shows that the smallest onset voltage will appear with water flow increase in the atomizing corona discharge, and that the ion concentration between electrodes is the highest in the atomizing corona discharge charger with magnetic field than any other pre-charger, which is conducive for charging dust particles. Hence the new pre-charging technique is promising for capturing fine aerosol particles in electrostatic precipitators.     

A domain decomposition method for three species modeling of multi-electrode negative corona discharge – With applications to electrostatic precipitators

The negative corona discharge problem for multi-electrode geometries is modeled by a three species model. The equations are solved using domain decomposition, by recognizing that multiple species are only present in a small part of the domain, and hence only need to be incorporated locally in the model.The method is applied to an industrially relevant three wire electrostatic precipitator geometry. The calculated current density is in good agreement with experimental data. To further illustrate applications of the three species solution, it is used for coupled particle, fluid, and electrostatic simulations to analyze particle collection properties.     

Study of magnetically enhanced corona pre-charger

In this paper, experimental investigations of the discharge characteristics of magnetically enhanced corona discharges, for the purpose of capturing fine aerosol particles, are presented. The discharge mechanism during such a process is analyzed as well. The effects of magnetic enhancement under different magnet flux densities, and in positive- or negative-corona discharges, were experimentally compared. The magnetically enhanced effects in different inter-electrode regions were studied. Experimental results demonstrated that the magnetic field could efficiently increase the concentrations of both the negative ions and the free electrons during negative-corona discharge. The dominant mechanism of magnetic enhancement in a corona discharge involves the Larmor precessions of free electrons which enhance ionization of the gas molecules near the discharge electrode. A convenient configuration for enhancing corona discharge was formed by placing permanent magnets with a local strong magnetic field near the discharge electrode. A magnetically enhanced negative-corona (MNC) pre-charger was assembled in front of an electrostatic enhancement filter. The influence of the MNC pre-charger on the efficiencies of an electrostatic enhancement filter was measured and compared with that of a conventional corona pre-charger. The free-electron-charging mechanism of the MNC pre-charger was preliminarily analyzed. Our results show that the new pre-charging technique is promising for capturing fine aerosol particles in electrostatic enhancement filters or electrostatic precipitators.     

3D numerical model of the electrostatic coating process with moving objects using a moving mesh

In this paper, a full three dimensional FLUENT numerical model of the electrostatic coating process with the embedded moving mesh capability and piecewise linear type target motion is presented. The model includes target geometries that do not exhibit symmetry. All the dominant mechanical and electrical phenomena are taken into account. Mechanical phenomena include shaping air effects, downdraft effects and the motion of the polydispersed particles. Electrical phenomena include the particle space charge distribution, corona discharge and the electrohydrodynamic flow effects. It was demonstrated that the numerical model can accurately mimic the type of the motion used in real world applications.     

线-铝箔电极电晕放电激励器的推力理论与实验研究

空气电晕放电离子风激励器无需旋转部件, 仅通过消耗电能就能直接产生驱动力, 它是一种新型的动力技术, 备受国内外航空航天界的广泛关注. 目前对空气电晕放电离子风激励器的推力产生机理虽有各种解释, 但是现有理论均不能统一各种条件下的实验结果, 仍需要开展进一步的分析与研究. 本文以线-铝箔电极电晕放电激励器为研究对象, 通过实验研究发现作用在线电极与铝箔电极上的静电力不对称, 而且改变铝箔电极纵向高度和气压均能影响激励器的推力大小; 通过理论分析, 考虑电晕层与空间电荷的影响, 建立了线-铝箔电极电晕放电激励器的推力计算模型, 其计算值与实测值比较一致. 基于上述实验现象与理论建模分析, 本文认为线-铝箔电极电晕放电激励器的推力主要来源于线电极电晕产生的空间电荷对电极系统产生了不对称静电力作用, 使激励器出现净静电力作用.     

Influence of the corona-wire diameter and length on corona discharge characteristics of a cylindrical tri-axial charger

In this paper, the corona discharge characterization in terms of current–voltage relationships of a unipolar cylindrical tri-axial charger on the effects of the corona wire diameter and length have been experimentally studied and discussed. A commercial computational fluid dynamics software package, COMSOL Multiphysics™, was used to predict the electric field distribution in the ion generation and charging zones of the charger and the ion penetration through the perforated screen opening on the inner electrode of the charger. It was found from experimental results that both positive and negative charging currents in the charging zone of the charger increased with increasing corona and ion-driving voltages. At the same corona and ion-driving voltages, both positive and negative coronas were decreased with increasing diameter of the corona-wire. Compared with the corona-wire of 22 mm in length, the magnitude of both positive and negative charging currents were markedly higher for corona-wire of 11 mm in length at the same corona voltage. It was found that the charging currents for negative coronas were about 1.2 times higher than those positive coronas at the same corona and ion-driving voltages. Numerical results of the electric field distribution and the ion and charged particles migrations in the discharge and charging zones of the charger is correlated to have the same direction with the experimental results of the current–voltage relationships. Also, this can be used to guidance in describing the electric field distribution and the behavior of ion and charged particle trajectories that cannot be seen from experiments in order to improve the applicably design and refinement of a unipolar cylindrical tri-axial charger.     

Forced corona method for the evaluation of fabrics with conductive fibres

Modern fabrics for protective clothing, used in environment where the level of static charge must be controlled, are composites where a grid or stripes of conductive fibres are present inside a matrix of highly resistive base fabric. In protective clothing, where the conductive fabric elements are not effectively grounded, corona discharge is the major limiting mechanism for fabric charging. In this paper, corona discharge of electrostatic discharge protective fabrics has been studied. A new experimental method, forced corona, was developed for the measurement of corona onset and offset potentials as well as corona current. According to results, the residual level of fabric surface potential after corona discharge was the lowest in fabrics containing core conductive fibres. The behaviour is because of the small dimensions and sharp edges of the core conductive fibres.     

Effect of air flow on corona discharge in wire-to-plate electrostatic precipitator

This paper analyses corona discharge in ambient air with laboratory-scaled wire-to-plate electrostatic precipitator (WPESP). The electric field is behind the electro hydrodynamic (EHD) flow in air. Its measurements provide complementary results for the corona discharge study because the classical theory based on the current and voltage data is unsatisfactory. Taking into account the dynamic air flow velocity is perpendicular to the active wires, measurement method of the positive and negative DC corona current density and electric field, has been introduced. It has been shown also that the dynamic air flow velocity modifies the current density and the electric field distributions on the planes surfaces of the WPESP.     

Numerical models in simulating wire-plate electrostatic precipitators: A review

This paper attempts to review the most important works on numerical simulation of processes in electrostatic precipitators published so far. Only the wire-plate configuration is considered, although the discharge electrode may have different geometries: smooth cylinder, barbed wire of different shape or helical electrode. Different mathematical models and numerical algorithms for gas flow, electric field, corona discharge and particle transport have been compared. The discussion is focused on coupling between different phenomena. A continuous progress has been shown from early works published about 30 years ago, which dealt with much idealized models of the problem, to recent publications, where the numerical predictions show close agreement with the experimental data.     

A peculiarity of silver-based corona wire heating on ozone generation

The effect of corona wire temperature on the ozone generation in the positive dc corona electrostatic precipitator is studied experimentally. The external heating of the corona wire can suppress the ozone generation. In this study, nichrome and two kinds of silver-based wires 0.1 mm diameter were tested as discharges electrodes. The nichrome corona wire heating shows a well-known monotonic decreasing the rate of ozone production. In the case of the tested silver-based wires the rate of ozone production decreases nonlinearly and passes through a local minimum in the range from 35 to 55 °C with increasing the wire temperature. At the wire temperature about 46 °C ozone generation by positive dc corona discharge is decreased by 53% with Ag:Mn = 0.85:0.15 wire and by 25% with Ag:Ni = 0.7:0.3 wire as compared to the same wire at 26 °C. Under these conditions the corona wire heating increases slightly the corona current and speed of airflow.     

Positive discharge from a grounded electrode toward negatively charged particles cloud

In order to understand electrostatic discharges occurring between a grounded electrode and a space charge cloud, the positive discharges were experimentally caused by negatively charged particles cloud. The discharges were initiated by locating a grounded sphere electrode at the inside or outside of the charged powder particles blown by an air flow. The luminous aspect and the discharge current were observed for the grounded sphere electrode with various diameters. Positive streamer corona discharges extended from it. The luminous aspect, peak value of the discharge current and the interval of the discharge significantly depend on the diameter of the grounded sphere electrode as well as its position.     

雷云电场作用下长地线表面正极性辉光电晕放电的仿真研究

在雷云电场的缓慢作用下, 一种无流注的正极性辉光电晕在接地物体表面起始, 向周围空间注入大量正极性空间电荷, 从而改变雷电先导对雷击目的物的选择. 本文对雷云电场作用下起始于长地线表面的正极性辉光电晕放电进行了仿真研究; 考虑了正极性离子与其他离子的附着与碰撞作用, 建立了一种精确的二维正极性辉光电晕模型; 并通过在实验室内开展高压电晕放电试验, 测量了不同背景电场下的电晕电流; 与本文所建模型的仿真结果进行对比, 对模型的正确性进行了验证. 基于上述模型, 对正极性辉光电晕在雷云感应作用下的起始发展过程与电晕特性进行了仿真模拟, 得到了该电晕的电晕电流、正离子密度分布规律以及正离子迁移规律. 发现在雷云电场作用下, 电晕放电产生的正离子在迁移初期于垂直于地线的平面内基本呈圆对称状均匀分布, 但随着离子逐渐远离地线其分布不再均匀, 呈拉长的椭圆形分布, 多数离子最终分布于地线上方区域并逐渐向雷云方向迁移; 由于正离子在地线上方迁移区聚集形成的正空间电荷背景对行进电子束具有衰减和消耗作用, 抑制了电子崩的形成, 并降低了电子崩转化为流注的概率, 阻止了新的电子崩对流注的不断注入, 同时正空间电荷背景使气体的碰撞面增大, 增加了与电子的复合概率, 引起大量电子的消耗, 最终抑制了电子崩的形成与流注的发展, 地线表面的上行先导得到抑制.     

电磁场辐照诱发真空电晕放电模拟试验系统

为研究真空环境下电磁场诱发针-板电晕放电特性,研制了电磁场发生器、真空系统、高压静电源、动态电位测试仪等组成的电磁场辐照诱发真空电晕放电模拟试验系统。该系统可实现真空管内气压为80 Pa的低真空环境,并利用此系统进行在电磁场的作用下的电晕放电试验,初步得到了电磁场辐照诱发电晕放电的阈值电压的变化规律。试验结果表明:当温度、湿度等其他环境因素基本不变,真空管内气压为80 Pa时, 正常放电阈值为-590 V, 利用负极性高压静电放电, 电压取值范围10~20 kV, 产生的电磁脉冲辐射作用于真空管内充电区域,可使放电阈值降低90~180 V。     

5.5 MV静电加速器终端电压稳定系统

 采用对静电加速器终端电压的稳定性进行控制，以提高单离子束流品质。设计了陷波器、低通放大器、带通放大器、误差放大器等信号处理电路。陷波器为双T形结构，其中心频率为50 Hz，此频率用以滤除工频干扰。带通放大器的中心频率为35 Hz，带宽为60 Hz。误差放大器输出0～10 V的控制信号，控制电晕针放电电流。测试了单离子束能谱和束斑。结果表明：静电加速器终端电压稳定性得到明显改善，其不稳定性小于1%，提高了单离子束束流品质。     

棒-板电极直流负电晕放电特里切尔脉冲的微观过程分析

本文基于流体动力学理论改进出一种新的棒-板电极负电晕放电混合数值模型, 模型中加入了27种主要碰撞反应, 并考虑了光电离和二次电子发射过程. 对棒-板间距3.3 mm, 施加电压-5.0 kV情况下进行数值计算, 得到负电晕放电的特里切尔脉冲. 重点分析了单个特里切尔脉冲持续过程中5个关键时刻的微观特征量发展规律, 丰富并量化描述了特里切尔脉冲的微观过程, 主要结论如下: 随着放电时间的发展, 电场集中分布区域向阳极移动且幅值变小, 这对电子崩的发展非常不利. 大部分放电区域都是电中性的, 只有在阴极鞘和阳极鞘附近有带正电的等离子体特性, 带负电的离子云随着放电时间的发展缓慢向阳极发散式移动. 整个特里切尔脉冲持续过程中, 阴极鞘内电子密度几乎为0; 特里切尔脉冲前期, 阴极鞘附近电子密度迅速增加至最大值并保持基本不变; 随着放电时间的增加, 放电间隙内电子密度整体增加, 并且向阳极发展. 在特里切尔脉冲后期, 电子的产生主要来自于N₂和O₂的碰撞电离, 电子的消失则主要由N₂⁺的复合决定, O₄⁺和O₂^-分别是数量最多的正离子和负离子. 关键词： 负电晕 混合模型 特里切尔脉冲 微观特征量     

Numerical analyses of a viscid compressible ionic flow

The aim of the paper is to investigate numerically the effect of a DC positive corona discharge between two parallel wire electrodes of different diameter along an insulating aerofoil surface in low subsonic compressible flow. The modeling takes into account the two characteristic regions of the phenomenon: the corona sheath, surrounding the smaller diameter electrode, and the ion drift zone. The electric force is modeled by a simplified form of the electromagnetic tensor via the coupling between Electrostatic and Navier–Stokes equations. The corona discharge system is effective in preventing flow separation, reducing total aerofoil drag and enhancing the heat and mass transfer between aerofoil and the surrounding flow.