AC Corona Charging of Particles

Measurements of the mobility statistics of dioctyl-phthalate (DOP) particles leaving an ac corona charger with various electrode configurations are reported. Mobilities are determined using a laser-Doppler velocimeter (LDV) to measure particle migration velocities in response to a transverse electric field imposed downstream of the charger. Charging models, which do not include effects of finite ion transit times, nonuniform fields, or differences between the distributions of positive and negative wire coronas, predict some of the mobility statistics, especially below 100 Hz, but cannot explain the high-frequency charging. In the turbulent flow with significant corona wind effects the disparate corona current distributions are shown to have a significant effect on the ac corona charging processes.