Polarization and corona discharge threshold field calculation of electrospraying point-to-plane geometries

An analytical model is proposed for the calculation of the polarization fields of point-to-plane electrospraying geometries. The electrospraying process is limited by corona discharges, due to these highly inhomogeneous electric fields generated by point-to-plane geometries. The results of this work agree with an earlier obtained model, which was derived using numerical and dimensional analysis. Using these proposed models, the corona discharge field thresholds can be calculated. Further, when comparing the thresholds of these models, with several experimental studies reported in the literature, the relative percentage errors were approximately 15% on average for both models. The proposed model suggests that electrospraying is constrained by the capillary-tip radius, the relative permittivities, and the liquid surface tensions. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.