Bubble Transfer by Electrostatic Force.

Abstract

The behaviors of a single droplet and bubble in dielectric liquid on which the dielectrophoretic (DEP) force was imposed, were studied. It is possible to apply the DEP force to the bubble elimination device under the reduced gravity condition because the bubbles could be moved without contact or disturbance by the DEP force. It was shown that the A. C. (alternating current) electrical field is more preferable than the D. C. (direct current) one because the effect of the electrophoretic (EP) force, whose strength is not definite, is often considerable under the D. C. electrical field. Furthermore, it was observed that the droplets and bubbles in the dielectric liquid moved along a straight path under the nonhomogeneous A. C. field. One-dimensional motion of a single bubble was analytically investigated by solving equation of the motion for the bubble. It was shown that the experimental results were consistent with analytical ones in the region where the electric field was strong.