An experimental study on the characterization of electric charge in electrostatic dust removal
Automatic dust removal using the electrostatic forces of electrodynamic screen (EDS) is an emerging method for mitigation of energy yield losses caused by dust accumulation on solar collectors. Both electric field distribution and dust particles' charge acquired during the removal process play pivotal roles in thorough evaluation of EDS performance. Previous studies have comprehensively analyzed the electric field distribution in EDS. In this paper we have conducted a number of experiments to examine how two EDS design parameters, electrode width and inter-electrode spacing, and two operational parameters, applied voltage and relative humidity, affect dust particles' charge. Sixteen EDS prototypes inmore »