Effects of electrode and filter element shapes on characteristics of charge injection type of electrostatic oil filter

•The effect of filter configuration is examined by simulation and experiment.•Experimental results are discussed on the basis of numerical simulation results.•The numerical simulation can contribute in predicting a better filter structure.

This paper reports on an improvement of the filtration speed of charge injection type of electrostatic oil filter. Numerical simulations of the ion drag flow field and electric field are performed to compare the charge density distribution, ion drag flow pattern, and electric field strength distribution for different electrode and filter element shapes. Filtration experiments are conducted and the experimental results are discussed in relation to the simulation results. It is shown that the numerical simulations used in this study can contribute in predicting a better structure for electrostatic oil filters.