Effects of Moisture Content in a Dielectric Liquid on Electrohydrodynamic Pumping

The effects of various moisture contents (ranging from 50 to 2500 ppm) in a dielectric liquid on electrohydrodynamic (EHD) pumping have been investigated. The static pressure and the flow rate induced by the EHD pump were examined using dibutyl sebacate (DBS) as the working fluid. One of the additives in DBS was deionized water. It was found that the pressure head induced by the EHD pump was significantly sensitive to different moisture contents. A simple predictive model was derived using the Coulomb force and a linear dielectric increment approximation. This model predicted that the static pressure increases linearly in line with the greater moisture contents due to the high dielectric constant of deionized water. It was observed that the pressure, as a function of moisture content, behaves in a similar manner.