Effect of particle adhesion and interactions on motion by traveling waves on an electric curtain

A discrete-element/boundary-element method is developed for simulation of adhesive particle transport by traveling waves on an electric curtain. The study shows that both wall adhesion and particle-particle collisions have an important influence on particle transport on electric curtains at different wave frequencies. The most significant effect of particle collisions occurs for cases with medium frequencies in which particles with large negative-charge collect in high-concentration bands and move in a synchronous surfing mode, pushing forward particles with lower charge. Cases with higher and lower frequencies exhibited hopping motion, for which adhesion determines the range of non-transported particles. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.