Numerical simulation and optimization of electrostatic air pumps

Electrostatic air propulsion is a promising technology with such potential applications as energy-efficient ventilation, cooling of electronics, and dehumidification. The challenges of existing designs include the need to increase air speed, backpressure, energy efficiency, heat exchange capability, and longevity. This paper presents the numerical simulation results of an electrostatic air pump for the purpose of optimizing device characteristics through control of the inner pump electric field profile. A sharp-edge-to-parallel-plane electrode geometry with unipolar positive corona is chosen to generate linear electric field distribution and minimize energy loss. Simulations were performed for multiple collector electrode voltage distributions. A method to quantify the change in pump performance between different voltage distributions is presented. The influence of space charge on pump performance is also discussed. The ultimate goal is to create multi-channel energy efficient ionic pumps, however, single cell analysis is conducted in this study as a building block of future designs.