DocumentCode :
1488538
Title :
Electrical characteristics of an electrostatic valve used for bulk transport of agricultural seeds
Author :
Balachandran, Wamadeva ; Thompson, Sidney A. ; Law, S.Edward ; Machowski, Wojciech
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Manuf. & Eng. Syst., Brunel Univ., Uxbridge, UK
Volume :
35
Issue :
2
fYear :
1999
Firstpage :
339
Lastpage :
345
Abstract :
In an electrostatic valve used for bulk transport of agricultural seeds, the interparticulate electroclamping forces can be established by applying electric potential gradient between a separated pair of conducting electrode grids placed perpendicularly across the flow. The flow control of particulate material is thus achieved using no moving parts. When an electric field is applied, several types of electric field forces are generated, depending on the bulk and surface resistivities of the particles, the geometry of the electrodes, the applied field, and the geometry and the conductivity of the materials used for the transport channel. In this study the current-voltage characteristics of the valve were experimentally investigated for different flow control parameters. The triboelectrification of turnip seeds caused by the frictional contact on the channel walls was investigated and compared with the valve current. A range of wall liner materials with different electrical properties conductive to insulating were tested. The materials used for the wall liner did not significantly influence the current characteristics of the electrostatic valve. The effect of pulse duration of the applied potential on charge-to-mass ratio of the discharged material was studied. The results obtained show that the level of net charge acquired by the particles could be controlled by controlling the duty cycle of the electroclamping field
Keywords :
agriculture; electric fields; electric potential; electrical resistivity; electrostatic devices; flow control; surface charging; agricultural seeds transport; bulk resistivities; bulk transport; charge-to-mass ratio; electric field forces; electric potential gradient; electrode geometry; electrostatic valve; flow control; frictional contact; interparticulate electroclamping forces; pulse duration; surface resistivities; transport channel; triboelectrification; turnip seeds; wall liner materials; Conducting materials; Conductivity; Contacts; Current-voltage characteristics; Electric potential; Electric variables; Electrodes; Electrostatics; Geometry; Valves;
fLanguage :
English
Journal_Title :
Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on
Publisher :
ieee
ISSN :
0093-9994
Type :
jour
DOI :
10.1109/28.753626
Filename :
753626
Link To Document :
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