Electrohydrodynamic gas pump with both insulated electrodes driven by dielectric barrier discharge

In this paper, we report the use of a surface dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) for the generation of unidirectional flow inside a glass tube, using external ring electrodes. The electrodes were made of thin metal stripes mounted on the external wall of the glass tube and insulated with resin. One of the electrodes was grounded, the other was connected to an AC power supply. The DBD discharge was generated between the electrodes on the internal wall of the glass tube. As a result, pumping of air through the glass tube occurred. The presented discharge geometry is attractive for electrohydrodynamic (EHD) gas pumping since there is no direct contact between the external discharge electrodes and the pumped medium. The flow rate generated by the EHD pump was calculated using the measured flow velocity maps at the outlet of the pump. The flow velocity maps were obtained using 3D Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique. It was found that the increase in frequency of the ac voltage caused an increase of the flow rate generated by the EHD pump. Accordingly, the increase in the flow rate occurred when the distance between the electrodes had been increased.