Particle Deposition on Spheres by Inertial and Electrostatic Forces

Abstract

The theoretical collision efficiency of a sphere is examined considering the simultaneous effects of inertial impaction and electrostatic attraction. The competition between these two mechanisms is discussed. Electrostatic attraction is found to be much more effective in terms of energy consumption than inertial impaction. Also the effects of the use of a more accurate non-Stokesian drag and interception are examined under typical industrial conditions. A well-defined experimental system was designed and constructed to investigate the combined effects of inertial impaction and electrostatic attraction on particle collection by spheres. The experimental results were compared with theoretical predictions with and without the non-Stokesian drag correction. Good agreement between experiment and the model with the non-Stokesian drag correction was obtained.