Ehd-Enhanced Drying With Wire Electrode

The enhancement of drying rate by electrostatic field (corona wind) has been experimentally evaluated in this study. The samples used are 3 mm and 6 mm glass beads saturated with water. Two sets of experiments were conducted, with and without cross-flow, at 1 kV increment from the corona threshold voltage until the occurrence of sparkover. For each case a companion experiment was carried out simultaneously under the same ambient conditions but without the application of electric field. The result of which is used as a basis in the evaluation of drying enhancement using electric field (with or without cross-flow). Each experiment lasted for at least 5 h. The weight loss of water as well as the ambient temperature and humidity were measured. For EHD drying without cross-flow, the enhancement in drying rate increases with the applied voltage. With the presence of cross-flow, the enhancement in drying rate is nearly independent of the applied voltage and is close to the result obtained by drying with cross-flow alone.