Finite element simulation of corona in wire-duct precipitators

The finite element method has been adopted to model the corona characteristics in duct-type electrostatic precipitators. The study involves the evaluation of the electric potential, electric field and the charge density in the interelectrode space. The calculated I-V characteristics, electric field and potential distributions agreed well with those published before. Moreover, the I-V characteristics were measured for different values of wire-to-wire separation, wire diameter and wire-to-plate spacing for both single- and three-wire precipitators. The current density at the collecting plates was also measured and compared with those calculated by the proposed method. Fast convergence and simplicity characterize the proposed method.