Controlled and efficient electrohydrodynamic spraying of water in an electrostatic wind energy converter (EWICON)

Abstract

In this paper, the optimisation of an electrohydrodynamic atomisation based spraying system is discussed which is able to spray charged water droplets in a controlled way. Spraying of charged water droplets is a means to efficiently and ecologically convert wind energy into electrical energy using a method called electrostatic wind energy conversion (EWICON). The new spraying implementations have successfully been tested in an EWICON system yielding higher spraying currents than previous water spraying systems. Using newly designed electrode configurations, 30-50 mum diameter droplets have consistently been produced as opposed to the chaotic distribution found in conventional EHDA-based water spraying systems.