Numerical Analysis and Experiments on the Electromechanical Behavior of Wired-Shape Conducting Particles

This paper presents the numerical analysis and experiments on the electromechanical behavior of conducting wired-shape particles. We investigate the effects of particle ending profiles and orientation on the initial motion. The boundary element method is used to analyze the electric field, forces, and torques on the particles. The calculated liftoff electric field is smaller than the estimated value based on a model of infinitely long cylinder, and slightly decreases for a particle with a sharp end when the sharp tip is separated from the electrode. The measured liftoff electric field agrees with the tendency obtained from the numerical analysis. Particles mostly began the motion at either end. When the sharp tip was separated from the electrode, the initial motion almost exclusively took place at the sharp end. On the other hand, the probability was slightly higher for the motion at the rounded end when the sharp tip was close to the electrode. The numerical calculation clarifies that the electrostatic and gravitational torques contribute to such liftoff behavior.