Magnetic and Electrical Separation 
Volume 4 (1993), Issue 2, Pages 75-90
doi:10.1155/1993/95823

A New Type of Corona Electrode for High - Tension Separators

Al. Iuga, R. Morar, L. Dascalescu, A. Samuila, and D. Rafiroiu

Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, 15 C. Daicoviciu Street, Cluj-Napoca 3400, Romania

Received 25 May 1992

Abstract

The corona discharge represents the main physical mechanism involved in the charging of granular materials in high-tension separators. This is why an attempt has been made to formulate several criteria for choosing the most adequate electrode. A crude evaluation of the required corona current for an efficient charging has been considered as a necessary starting point for a wellgrounded decision on the type of electrode to be employed with a certain application. The specific features of several models of corona electrodes are briefly discussed, in order to justify the need for a new design. The original corona electrode proposed by the authors is characterized by lower corona on-set voltage, better stability of the corona discharge during long-time operation, and shorter maintenance time, as compared to "classical" solutions. Systematic experiments made on a laboratory model of this electrode enable several design considerations that could be easily extended to other similar devices. Two industrial high-tension separators are already provided with the new type of electrode.