Particle precipitation by bipolar corona discharge ion winds

The paper reports the development of a particle precipitation based aerosol sampler using bipolar corona discharge ion winds with collected particles of minimized net charge. For the new approach, neutralized particles move towards a sampler under the effect of electric field and dual ion winds. Since there is no electrode or sampling chip installed inside the air-flow channel, impediments to airborne particle flow or ion winds are removed along the flow direction. In addition, the isolation of ion winds, which generate circuit, allows using various materials for the sampling chip including non-conductors and also protecting collected particles from any discharge ignition on the chip. The device mechanism is numerically simulated in OpenFOAM to study the electrofluidodynamic interaction of charged particles and bipolar ion winds. The efficiency of the new approach has been investigated by experiment with a maximum efficiency of 94%. The effects of flow rate, discharge voltage and electrode distances on the method are also evaluated.