Numerical computation of corona space charge and V-I characteristic in DC electrostatic precipitators

A procedure is presented for the numerical computation of the corona space-charge density and characteristics in DC electrostatic precipitators in the absence of fly ash. To this end, an iterative numerical procedure, based on the finite-element method, is implemented for solving the Poisson and continuity equations. The mathematical model is applied to a duct of an electrostatic precipitator; the ion charge density, electric potential, and electric field distributions are computed. The characteristics obtained by means of the proposed procedure are compared with measured results obtained by ENEL (Italian Electricity Authority) in a pilot precipitator placed in the slipstream of the flue gas duct of a 35 MWe coal boiler. The agreement between computed and experimental values shows the efficiency of the numerical procedure.<>