Wj. Liang et Th. Lin, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF IONIC WIND AND ITS EFFECT ON ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATORS, Aerosol science and technology, 20(4), 1994, pp. 330-344
The ionic wind and turbulent flow field formed in a nonconservative el
ectric force field have long been recognized to have a significant eff
ect on an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). To simulate the flow field
in an ESP, one should include the electric force term in the momentum
equation. We considered the flow field in an ESP to be a turbulent fl
ow and applied two- and three-dimensional models of k-epsilon-A and k-
epsilon-E to close turbulence. The SIMPLE-C numerical scheme was appli
ed to investigate the characteristics of the ionic wind and its influe
nce on an ESP. The collecting efficiency of an ESP for a particle diam
eter of each grade was calculated to understand how the ionic wind int
erferes with the collecting efficiency. The results indicate that unde
r normal operating conditions the effect of ionic wind is not pronounc
ed. However, as the flow velocity becomes smaller, especially when the
flow velocity is < 0.6 m/s, the ionic wind becomes pronounced and has
a significant influence on the flow field and the collecting efficien
cy. The collecting efficiency is substantially diminished and the turb
ulent intensity is enlarged. When the main flow velocity is < 0.23 m/s
, the collection efficiency may decrease about 12% owing to the ionic
wind effect.