Charge injection with multiple blade-plane configurations in a quiescent dielectric liquid

Two electrically insulating fuels of mineral and biological origins have been tested for electrostatic charging in single and multiple blade-plane configurations. The aim is to investigate methods to dramatically increase the total injected current, with a view to developing an atomization system where the charge injection and atomization units are separate. In this study, the fuel is quiescent and only the injected current is measured. Current flux - electrode surface electric field (J-E) characteristics at different blade-electrode gaps are presented. A current density of 6.5 A/m² is obtained at a surface electric field of 100 MV/m using the 1-blade configuration. From the measured data, the relation between the blade-electrode gap (d) and the injected current flux is found as Jα d^-m at constant voltage, where m is found to be 2 for flat charge collectors and as high as 4 for rounded collectors. The physics of the swirl motion caused by the Coulomb forces are discussed. The size of this induced flow is correlated to the performance of the multiple blade design.