Computer simulations of triboelectrification of particles and their trajectories in DC electric fields

This study aims to gain a fundamental understanding of the physics of triboelectri- cal charging of solid particles and the separation of the charged particles under an exter- nal DC electric field by computer simulations. A condenser model is used to implement charging mechanism and a soft sphere model is used to account for the Hertzian contact mechanics. The governing nondimensional parameters of the problem are identified and a parametric study is performed to investigate their effects on the charging efficiency and separation. The study finds relevance in a host of technologically important processes, such as recycling of plastic wastes, seed cleaning in agricultural industry and separation of coal from impurities in mining.