Corona inception in typical electrode configurations for electrostatic processes applications

• Published in: IEEE transactions on industry applications Vol. 37; no. 3; pp. 766 - 771
• Main Authors: Rafiroiu, D., Suarasan, I., Morar, R., Atten, P., Dascalescu, L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.05.2001; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Computation; Corona; Coronas; Cylinders; Electric fields; Electric wire; Electrical equipment industry; Electrodes; Electrostatic processes; Electrostatics; Industry Applications Society; Ionization; Laboratories; Mathematical models; Particle separators; Voltage; Wire
• ISSN: 0093-9994; 1939-9367
• DOI: 10.1109/28.924757

The corona inception electric field at the surface of a wire electrode is usually evaluated by an empirical formula established by Peek. That formula was found to be valid in several simple electrode configurations (wire cylinder, wire plate), which are typical to electrostatic precipitators. The aim of this paper is to extend the study to other situations encountered in electrostatic applications. The experimental setup specifically modeled the several electrode arrangements which are commonly used with roll-type electrostatic separators. It consisted of wire-type corona electrodes, connected to a regulated DC high-voltage supply, and a rotating roll electrode, connected to the ground. The effect of associating the corona wire to one or several tubular electrodes of various shapes and sizes was investigated. The experimentally determined corona inception voltage was used as input data of a boundary-element-method program for the electric field computation. The computed values of the electric field were compared with those given by Peek's formula for wire electrodes of the same radius. The derived conclusions can be of help in the custom design of the corona electrode arrangements for various electrostatic applications.