Electric wind and fibrous flow development near the active electrode in alternating field electrospinning

Electric wind generated in AC electric field-enabled electrospinning (or alternating field electrospinning, AFES) of nanofibers is considered a critical parameter of the process but it remains unexplored. In this study, the electric wind in proximity of active electrode (AC-spinneret) in AFES process is investigated using customized cantilevers to detect the x- and y-components of the electric wind force and calculate the electric wind distribution around the spinneret. The cantilever approach is dependable and accurate, and it can be refined to expand the measurement range. Electric wind data were correlated with observations of fibrous flow initiation, development, and propagation in AFES process. The interaction between the time-dependent structure of fibrous flow and electric wind velocity spatial distribution strongly affects the initial stages of fibrous flow development and propagation as well as the overall process efficiency. It is suggested that known AFES processes may utilize only a fraction of available electric wind energy. Future studies are needed on fibrous flow structure analysis and electric wind - fibrous flow interaction in AFES depending on the AC spinneret design and process parameters to advance the AC electric field-enabled electrospinning instrumentation and technology.