Aerodynamic generation of electric fields in turbulence laden with charged inertial particles

Di Renzo, Mario; Urzay, J.

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03958-7

Title: Aerodynamic generation of electric fields in turbulence laden with charged inertial particles

Journal Article · Thu Apr 26 00:00:00 EDT 2018 · Nature Communications

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03958-7· OSTI ID:1529373

^[1]; Urzay, J. ^[2]

Stanford Univ., CA (United States); Polytechnic Univ. of Bari (Italy)
Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

Self-induced electricity, including lightning, is routinely observed in dusty atmospheres. However, the physical mechanisms leading to this phenomenon remain elusive as they are remarkably challenging to determine due to the high complexity of the multi-phase turbulent flows involved. Using a fast multi-pole method in direct numerical simulations of homogeneous turbulence laden with hundreds of millions of inertial particles, here we show that mesoscopic electric fields can be aerodynamically created in bi-disperse suspensions of oppositely charged particles. The generation mechanism is self-regulating and relies on turbulence preferentially concentrating particles of one sign in clouds while dispersing the others more uniformly. The resulting electric field varies over much larger length scales than both the mean inter-particle spacing and the size of the smallest eddies. Scaling analyses suggest that low ambient pressures, such as those prevailing in the atmosphere of Mars, increase the dynamical relevance of this aerodynamic mechanism for electrical breakdown.

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Research Organization:: Stanford Univ., CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Advanced Simulation and Computing (ASC)

Grant/Contract Number:: NA0002373

OSTI ID:: 1529373

Journal Information:: Nature Communications, Vol. 9, Issue 1; ISSN 2041-1723

Publisher:: Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Cited by: 20 works

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