Zhou Xu

Experimental Study on EHD Flow Transition in a Small Scale Wire-plate ESP

Abstract The electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow induced by the corona discharge was experimentally investigated in an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). The ESP was a narrow horizontal Plexiglas box (1300 mm×60 mm×60 mm). The electrode set consisted of a single wire discharge electrode and two collecting aluminum plate electrodes. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) method was used to visualize the EHD flow characteristics inside the ESP seeded with fine oil droplets. The influence of applied voltage (from 8 kV to 10 kV) and primary gas flow (0.15 m/s, 0.2 m/s, 0.4 m/s) on the EHD flow transition was elucidated through experimental analysis. The formation and transition of typical EHD flows from onset to the fully developed were described and explained. Experimental results showed that the EHD flow patterns change depends on the gas velocity and applied voltage. EHD flow starts with flow streamlines near collecting plates bending towards the wire electrode, forming two void regions. An oscillating jet forming the downstream appeared and moved towards the wire electrode as voltage increased. For higher velocities (≥0.2 m/s), the EHD transition became near wire phenomenon with a jet-like flow structure near the wire, forming a void region behind the wire and expanding as voltage increased. Fully developed EHD secondary flow in the form of counter-rotating vortices appeared upstream with high applied voltage.