A Technique for Pressure Measurement in the Active Electrical Zone of a Wire-Cylinder Electrostatic Precipitator

Probe techniques are discussed which have proven useful in the measurement of the current induced pressure distribution in the active electrical zone of a wire-cylinder electrostatic precipitator. The cylindrical electrode configuration is somewhat unique in that the pressure distribution is exactly known in the case of negligible axial flow and thus provides a check on the experimental technique. The measurement strategy combines alignment of the probe on an equipotential surface, control of probe current drainage to a level consistent with the probe's size and location in the field, and use of a guard electrode near the probe insertion point. Pressure measurements made with probe electrical characteristics indicating a minimally perturbed electric field are in close agreement with analytical prediction, and the experimental techniques appear to be applicable to other types of flow measurement in cylinder and duct precipitators.