A new computational algorithm for the interaction between electrically charged particles

Abstract

In industrial applications, the dynamics of particles is frequently controlled through electrical charges, e.g., in electrostatic precipitators or during powder coating. However, the electrification of particulates can also cause the formation of deposits, hazardous sparks, and dust explosions. The objective of our work is to propose a new computational method which captures accurately the dynamics of interacting electrically charged particles during their approximation. This model focuses especially on the precise prediction of the contribution of the electrostatic and collisional forces whose time-scales are typically much smaller than the numerical time-step used to compute forces other than the Coulomb force. To this end, binary particle interaction is calculated through the local adaptive refinement of the time-step. We present results that demonstrate the capability of the method to accurately and efficiently describe binary and multiple particle interaction. Further, through comparison with benchmark solutions we elaborate on the conditions, in terms of particle charges and sizes, for which our model is superior to previously employed approaches.