Research article: "Advancing threshold-inception modeling for predictive simulation of ionic wind fan performance"
Authors:
Journal: Results in Engineering (Volume 32)
To test how accurately computer simulations can predict the performance of ionic wind fans, which use electric fields to move air without conventional moving parts, and to understand how small imperfections on the electrode surface affect these predictions.
The simulations generally matched the experimental results and correctly predicted how airflow changes with voltage and the distance between electrodes. The experiments showed that an electrode gap of 10 mm produced the highest airflow speed, reaching about 1.55 m/s. However, simulations assuming perfectly smooth electrode wires became less accurate under certain operating conditions. Microscopic imaging revealed tiny surface protrusions on the real wires. When these imperfections were included in the model, prediction accuracy improved considerably, showing that even very small changes in electrode surface shape can influence the electric field, ion generation and resulting airflow.
More realistic computer models could make it easier to design and optimize ionic wind devices without relying as heavily on physical testing. Accounting for small surface imperfections is a noteworthy factor for improving prediction accuracy and supports the development of ionic wind technologies for applications such as cooling, propulsion, aerodynamic flow control and drag reduction. The latter is the first application that the group focuses on. The concept uses an ionic fan to speed up the boundary layer thereby helping to reduce the airflow reaction with the surface causing the drag to decrease.