Abstract

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) actuators offer a promising approach for active particulate matter (PM) control in heavy-duty and marine exhaust systems. However, continuous DC corona discharge often leads to excessive energy consumption and is susceptible to aerodynamic re-entrainment in high-velocity flows. This study introduces an idealized transient advection mechanism combining a macroscopic corrugated duct geometry with high-frequency pulsed EHD actuation. A fully coupled, time-dependent multiphysics model—integrating RANS turbulent flow, Poisson-Nernst-Planck space charge transport, and Lagrangian discrete particle tracing—was developed to analyze the physical kinetics of 0.2 µm soot particles. The results demonstrate that the corrugation troughs act as effective aerodynamic dead zones with partial electrostatic shielding, creating aerodynamic and electrostatic dead zones. During active microsecond voltage pulses (25 kV peak), intense Coulombic forces rapidly overcome turbulent drag, driving kinetic injection of particles into the corrugation troughs. During the resting phase, particles remain securely trapped by aerodynamic shielding, significantly mitigating the risk of aerodynamic re-entrainment under the simulated conditions. A comprehensive parametric analysis revealed that an optimized 500 Hz pulse with a 5% duty cycle maintains a robust 82.7% trapping efficiency. Compared to standard continuous DC precipitators, this pulsed actuation strategy requires an idealized active corona power of 15.3 mW. This study provides fundamental physical insights into transient EHD flows and establishes optimized design criteria for fundamental EHD transport models.

IPC Classification

Keywords