Abstract View
Open-Hardware Design and Characterization of an Electrostatic Aerosol Precipitator
SABIN KASPAROGLU, Timothy Wright, Markus Petters, North Carolina State University
Abstract Number: 252
Working Group: Instrumentation and Methods
Abstract
Electrostatic precipitators (EPs) are devices that remove charged particles from an air stream. In EPs, charged particles are passed between two electrodes that create an electrostatic field. Charged particles are deflected toward or away from the electrode. Some fraction of those particles will be removed from the stream. In this study, we present the design and characterization of an EP. The assembly of the device is simple enough that non-engineering graduate students can build the device from scratch. All components can be directly purchased from vendors, and the device can be assembled with standard tools. Generic components are used to allow the repurposing of parts for other uses. The computer-controlled high-voltage power supply box associated with the project can be used for other common high-voltage applications in Aerosol Science and Technology, including serving as data acquisition and control system for scanning mobility particle sizers. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are used to quantify the 3D flow field through the device. The transfer function describing the transmission efficiency as a function of electrical mobility is characterized through modeling and experiments. Observed deviations of the transfer function from the theoretical prediction are attributed to distortions of the flow near the inlet and outlet of the instrument. Singly charged particles up to 624 nm and 253 nm can be completely removed at a flow rate of 0.5 L min−1 and 1 L min−1, respectively. We provide several options to further reduce the cost which we believe would significantly increase the accessibility of the technique to a broader audience.