Phased Exciter Arrays for EHD Drop Generators

Electrohydrodynamic drop generators often produce long breakup lengths associated with relatively weak electrostatic forces. The excitation can be increased, however, by cascading individual exciters with properly phased drive voltages. Multielectrode exciters using this principle are analyzed and the effects of phasing and electrode separation calculated. These predictions are tested experimentally and found to be valid. For optimum conditions the exciter output is multiplied by the number of sections in the cascade, giving a significant reduction in breakup length.