Classification of the modes of EHD spraying

The liquid flowing from a capillary maintained at high electric potential can be dispersed in different ways, depending on the Bow rate and the voltage. The paper is a qualitative study of jet structure and droplet formation in the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) spraying. The geometrical forms of the meniscus and/or jet have been proposed as distinguishing criteria in classification of the known spraying modes. Tell modes have been distinguished and interpreted in terms of physical processes that take place in the spraying system. The principal electrical and mechanical forces and stresses on the liquid jet in the EHD spraying are considered. The time constants describing the dynamics of the spraying are determined from the fundamental equations of electrohydrodynamics. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.