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Simulation of an Electrostatic Precipitator
Gallery spotlightElectric
Electrostatic precipitators are widely used in various industries to control emission levels. These are particulate collection devices that remove particles from a flowing gas using the force induced on ions. Using ElecNet with the particle trajectory tracking tool, it is possible to carry out realistic design and simulations of engineering devices such as the electrostatic precipitator.
Consider the architecture of an actual precipitator as shown here. This device consists of an inlet-outlet casing through which particulate laden gas flows into an area where a series of particulate collection sheets are placed. These sheets of metal are maintained at certain voltages, after passing through which, clean air is deposited at the other end of the casing. The model has been solved using ElecNet's 3D electrostatic solver and particle trajectory has been followed using the Trajectory Evaluator.
METHODS and RESULTS
Potential and field view
The electrode potentials and electric field between the two collection plates are shown here.
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Particle trajectory tracking
Using the Trajectory Evaluator tool, we track the path of charged particles which are simulated from the entrance of the inlet in the model. Consider a particle with mass 5e8 amu with a net charge of -1.602e-19 C placed in the air gap between the metal sheets. The collection plates are set to be between -5 and + 5 V. The z coordinates of the position, velocity and acceleration of this particle, evaluated using the Trajectory evaluator are shown in the figures below.
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Position plot of the charged particle
The position of the charged particle along the z-axis inside the precipitator versus time.
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Velocity plot of the charged particle
The velocity of the charged particle along the z-axis inside the precipitator versus time.
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Acceleration plot of the charged particle
The acceleration of the charged particle along the z-axis inside the precipitator versus time.
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Summary
Given a uniform, linear voltage distribution and separation of 1mm between the collection plates, a constant force is expected to be imparted on the charge, as is confirmed by the results. Also, the Trajectory Evaluator contains an in-built collision detection mechanism so that once the particle has been collected by the collection plate (at t=.014 s and z=1 mm), the tracker automatically stops computing the trajectory further.
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Position plot of the de-ionized particle
To complement the results shown here, consider the same particle but this time, de-ionized. The results on the right show that this particle is not affected by the electric field, as is expected. Coupled with the previous results, this illustrates the fact that when multiple particles are considered, the Trajectory evaluator is able to handle them simultaneously.
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