Efficiency of Electrodynamic Dust Shield at Dust Loading Levels Relevant to Solar Energy Applications

In this study, laboratory measurement of dust removal efficiency of electrodynamic dust shield (EDS) prototypes was carried out using a real-world dust at mass loading levels relevant to solar energy applications. A removable dielectric cover method was employed to gravimetrically determine the dust removal efficiency. Three EDS prototypes with the same electrode configuration but different areas were used. The results suggest that scale-up does not negatively affect the EDS dust removal efficiency. However, the EDS dust removal efficiency decreased with decreasing dust loading, and it dropped significantly when the total dielectric cover thickness increased from 0.27 to 0.37 mm. Much of the persistent dust consisted of particles <;20 μm, but these small particles constitute a large fraction of dust in the field. Depositing dust through a mesh sieve led to unnatural apparent size distribution, due to particle agglomeration. Future EDS studies need to use dust deposition methods that better simulate natural dust accumulation.