Characterization of Particle Electrostatic Charging in Vibration and Electric Field

Abstract

A novel system for characterizing particle charging as a function of the distance traveled has been designed and manufactured on the basis of the particle charging induced by repeated contacts with a wall. A vibration of several hundred hertz is applied for effective contact of the particles with the wall. In addition, an electric field is applied to change and control the charge on the particles. Using this system, sample particles with diameters of less than a hundred micrometers are studied under varying conditions of particle material and electric field strength. It is verified that the particles repeatedly contact the wall through the observation of the behavior of the particles on the vibrating wall using a high-speed camera with a zoom lens. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the system has an excellent performance to characterize particle charging from the theoretical and experimental analyses of the particle charge accumulation.