Charge transfer in a sharply nonuniform electric field mediated by swirling liquid flow with minimal hydraulic resistance

A scheme of a fuel nozzle with “needle-plane” electrode system, the location of which enables one to minimize the imparted hydraulic resistance, is proposed. We consider the processes of charge transfer in a sharply inhomogeneous electric field in order to estimate the amount of charge coming out of the channel. For this purpose, we used the OpenFOAM software package, modified to account for the electrohydrodynamic effects. By using the $k$–$\omega$ SST turbulence model within an axial-symmetrical RANS problem, the vortex liquid flow and charge transfer are calculated. The impact of vorticity degree on the processes of charge transfer is studied. It is found that the charge flowing out of the calculation domain is about 80% of the injected charge. The vorticity degree in the above range of values has little effect on the process of charge transfer.