Control of bubble motion in dielectric liquid by traveling-wave nonuniform electric fields
Toru Oda1, *, Toshiyuki Kawasaki1, Seiji Kanazawa2
* The author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
1 Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nishinippon Institute of Technology, Japa
2 Department of Science and Technology, Oita University, Japan
Abstract
The dynamic behavior of air bubbles in liquid has recently attracted interest in space utilization. Although the motion of bubbles is not easy to control in a terrestrial environment due to strong buoyant force, we have succeeded in regulating their movement in kerosene by applying a low-frequency traveling-wave electric field through an electric curtain that is installed horizontally in the kerosene. The bubbles ascending due to buoyant force are obstructed by the electrodynamical gradient force from the electric curtain and transported by Coulomb's force in the direction parallel to the traveling-wave at a velocity about five times higher than the ascending velocity. Air bubbles accumulate near the electrode train at approximately three times the electrode pitch and move together as a group. The results of electrodynamical computer simulations of bubbles under buoyancy exhibit favorable agreement with the experimental results.
Keywords - Electrohydrodynamics, traveling-wave electric field, bubble motion, electric field curtain, kerosene.