ADVANCE IN LUNAR SURFACE DUST REMOVAL METHOD BY ELECTRODYNAMIC FIELD

Abstract

The adhesive dust particles on lunar surface can easily deposit on surfaces of detecting devices, which poses serious problems for moon surface explorations. Dust removal by electrodynamic field is recently considered as an effective method to mitigate dust pollution for future lunar or Mars surface missions. However, lack of full understanding about the mechanism of dust removal limits practical applications of this technique. In this paper, the realization of electrodynamic field by electric curtain (EC) is firstly introduced, then electric field distribution and forces acting on the particles along the EC surface, tribo-charge distribution during particle flow movement, particle movement simulation methods, dust removal efficiency and energy consumption of EC have been discussed. Particle initial leaping processes, generation of tribo-charge within particle flows and factors influencing the dust removal efficiency have been explained and analyzed in detail. The emphasis is also placed on the contribution of static particle charge to its initial leaping process. At last, the future trend of this technique has also been discussed.