Electrohydrodynamic Swirl-Flow Generators for Application in Thermal Management

The arrangement of electrodes in an electrohydrodynamic (EHD) gas pump inside a square channel is experimentally examined for its effective use in thermal management. Particularly, the study looks into modifying the characteristics of flow produced by an EHD gas pump through the arrangement of its electrodes. The aim is to produce swirl flow, which can effectively increase the flow mixing inside the channel and leads to the desired outcome. To this end, a two-stage gas pump powered by direct-current voltages ranging from 24 to 26 kV with electrodes flush mounted on two neighboring walls is devised. In addition to the volume flow rate produced, the performance of the pump is evaluated using an energy efficiency factor, which is defined as the volume flow rate delivered by a unit power input. It is found that the EHD gas pump with offset electrodes can not only produce more volume flow rate but also has a larger value for energy efficiency, which may be more favorable for the application in thermal management. The present results reveal that the EHD gas pump has great potential for applications in thermal management and can be more energy efficient when operated with uneven applied voltages.