Enhanced EHD and Electrostatic Propulsion Devices Based on Polarization Effect Using Asymmetrical Metal Structure

Abstract

Electro hydro dynamic (EHD) and electrostatic propulsion devices were developed in the 1920s by ThomasTownsend Brown. One such device, called a "lifter", has no moving parts and, in the air, operates on electrical energy. It is a fashionable device and has a very simple structure, basically consisting of a narrow wire electrode and a large, flat one. However, it has a low ratio of propulsion force to unit electrical input power. According to theory, the propulsion force it generates depends on the interaction between the ion density of the ionized air and the charges on the surface of the large electrode. EHD and electrostatic propulsion models using the polarization effect are proposed to improve the ratio of the propulsion force to unit electrical input power. The propulsion device generates propulsion force through the use of an asymmetrical metal structure with charges generated by the polarization effect. The propulsion force the new devices generated for the same electric energy was 5.7 times higher than that of a basic type lifter owing to additional propulsion force being generated by the maximum polarization effect in the experiments. It was found that combining other effects with this polarization effect results in the ratio of generated propulsion force to electric power being close to 100N/kW when the electric power is high. This value is as high as that of a helicopter. We also performed numerical analysis was also performed for capacitances and charges for various kinds of EHD and electrostatic propulsion devices. An optimized system was developed and is discussed in this paper.

Analysis for Levitation of EHD and Electrostatic Propulsion Device in Direction of Gravity using Optical Flow Method

“…From results of a series of thrust generation experiments testing the Brown effect at high voltage, the principle of ion craft was reported to be propulsion caused by the imbalance of electrostatic force and attraction caused by space charge [1,2]. Many experimental results from other papers support this finding [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. It is considered that the propulsion principle is determined not by the ion wind but by the external electric field (applied voltage) and the amount of electric charge accumulated in the electrode.…”

“…Up to now, many attempts have been made to explain the causes of levitation force analytically [5][6][7][8]10]. Methods have been discussed for improving levitation force, electric field distribution, and ion distribution characteristics for EHD and propulsion systems with static electricity [13][14][15]. However, detailed analyses for the levitation property have not been reported.…”