Numerical and Experimental Analysis of the Electrostatic Separation of a Metal/Polymer Mixture Based on Electro-Adhesive Force

This article describes numerical and experimental modeling of the electro-adhesion force and its application for the electrostatic sorting of a metal/polymer granular mixture, using an interdigitated electrode network covered with a dielectric layer. Based on Maxwell stress tensor formulation, a numerical simulation is carried out to study the properties of the electro-adhesion force in the presence of conductive and dielectric particles, for different electrical and geometrical parameters. Moreover, experimental analysis was performed to study the effect of the electrical factors on the electro-adhesion force. Numerical results indicate that the adhesion force applied on the metal particles is at least two decades higher than the one applied on the dielectric particles. Furthermore, the experimental study shows that the electro-adhesion actuator attracts the conductive granules without any effect on the dielectric particles when a square ac signal is applied.