Experimental results and computer simulation of impurity particles motion in N-hexane under D.C. and A.C. conditions

Abstract

The study of impurity particles motion in a dielectric fluid under the action of an electric field can be of interest in the analysis of conduction and breakdown processes, especially in order to assess the changes in impurity concentrations. To this aim, rather sophisticated models of particle motion are required. In this paper, on the basis of a theory of electro-dielectrophoretic forces previously developed by the authors for spherical particles, a simulation algorithm of impurity particles motion is implemented by proposing models of the charge exchange mechanism at the particle-electrode contact. Experimental identification procedures of some model parameters are outlined and performed, and simulations of particle trajectories under a.c. and d.c. voltages for a sphere plane geometry, in the case of both conducting and dielectric particles in n-hexane, are compared with experimental results obtained by high-speed movie.