Numerical Method for Calculation of Two-Phase Electrohydrodynamic Flows in Electrostatic Precipitators

Abstract

This article presents a detailed description of the numerical method for fully coupled calculation of two-phase electrohydrodynamic flows in electrostatic precipitators (ESPs). The method takes into consideration all the relevant processes involved in an industrial ESP; namely, flow of gas, particle dynamics and electrostatics. It employs the finite volume discretization of the governing equations of the gas flow and electrostatics, and an iterative segregated procedure to solve the resulting set of nonlinear algebraic equations. The behavior of solid particles is described in a Lagrangian manner. Particles of different sizes were tracked. Several interphase interactions, including the turbulence modulation, were modeled. As a result, a simple, accurate and efficient numerical technique, applicable to complex geometries as encountered in ESPs, is obtained. The method is applied to the analysis of the precipitation processes in an ESP with shaped collecting plates.