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EE241 Electromagnetic Field Theory Assignment 1

The document summarizes an experiment on the Rose Window Instability phenomenon using a thin film of machine oil, a needle-point electrode, and a high voltage DC supply. The experiment varied the needle height and oil thickness to determine the critical voltage for instability. It was found that the critical voltage increased linearly with needle height and oil thickness. Thermal images and Schlieren photography confirmed that surface charge accumulation from corona discharge drives the instability by applying electric pressure to the liquid surface. The hexagonal pattern forms as the charges accumulate energy and force openings in the oil to expose more of the grounded electrode surface.

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Haider Ali
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29 views3 pages

EE241 Electromagnetic Field Theory Assignment 1

The document summarizes an experiment on the Rose Window Instability phenomenon using a thin film of machine oil, a needle-point electrode, and a high voltage DC supply. The experiment varied the needle height and oil thickness to determine the critical voltage for instability. It was found that the critical voltage increased linearly with needle height and oil thickness. Thermal images and Schlieren photography confirmed that surface charge accumulation from corona discharge drives the instability by applying electric pressure to the liquid surface. The hexagonal pattern forms as the charges accumulate energy and force openings in the oil to expose more of the grounded electrode surface.

Uploaded by

Haider Ali
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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EE 241 Electromagnetic Field Theory 26-September-2019

EE241 Electromagnetic Field Theory


Assignment 1

Name: Syed Haider Ali


Class: BEE-9C
CMS ID: 207696
Submitted To: Dr. Salman Ghafoor
Submission Date: 27-September-2019
EE 241 Electromagnetic Field Theory 26-September-2019

Introduction
Rose Window Instability (RWI) is the name given to the phenomena in which a thin
film of low conducting liquid forms a polygonal-cell pattern when placed in a very
high electric field, which is formed using a needle and plane electrode. The air-liquid
surface becomes unstable and starts morphing, initially into a single dot and then
spreading as a pattern of cells. The reason cited for RWI is the buildup of charged
ions (surface charge), formed due to corona discharge, which applies an electric
pressure on the liquid surface. This paper explores the RWI phenomena: how does
changing the needle electrodes distance from the thin film and varying the thickness
of the oil surface affect the voltage at which the instability starts, geometry of the
pattern generated and the role of charged ions in it.

Summary
The experiment used machine oil, for the low conducting liquid, a needle-point pin
electrode to ionize the air, a glass electrode coated with fluorinated tin oxide(FTO),
and a high voltage DC supply.
In the first portion of the task the pin height (from the liquid to the tip of the needle)
is varied from 1 to 5 cm, keeping the thickness of the film constant, and the critical
voltage required to initialize instability noted. The start of instability is signaled by
the formation of a dimple below the pin electrode. The critical voltage is seen to
change linearly with the increase in the pin height, thus confirming the results
obtained by Perez.
Next, the pin height is kept constant and the thickness of the oil is varied from 1.9
mm to 6.8mm. The critical voltage required increases almost linearly with the
thickness of liquid. Perez performed this experiment with lower thickness range, 0.6
to 1.6mm, and his results showed a similar trend. Both these observations were
recorded and plotted.
The peculiar property of RWI is the hexagonal pattern formed after the voltage
supplied surpasses critical voltage. The geometry of this shape has been a rather
unexplored territory, and the aim of the next part of the experiment. The instability
radius is the distance from the needle electrode to boundary of the pattern formed. It
is measured for two different values of pin heights while changing the voltage. It is
observed that the radius first increases rapidly and then approaches an almost
constant value.
EE 241 Electromagnetic Field Theory 26-September-2019

The electric field lines converge and diverge while travelling, meaning that there is
a non-uniform distribution of the field on the liquid surface attributing to rapid
increase in radius. As we increase the field strength the number of lines increase and
the deviation between them decreases, and hence the radius approaches a constant
value. The experiment also finds that the cell size grows radially from the center
because the electric field strength decreases radially.
High voltage at the tip of the pin causes corona discharge, which ionizes the air.
These charged ions accumulate on the surface of the liquid. Because of residual gas
heating and ionization causing exothermic reactions, the charges carry energy;
which they transfer to the liquid causing its temperature to change. In a first, for this
phenomenon. thermal images were taken at various instances before and after the
breakdown. These images confirm the presence of an irregular charge, and hence
temperature distribution throughout the surface. The importance of surface charges
to the instability is seen from the fact that when a part of the surface is shielded a
pattern forms everywhere except at the shadowed part. From Schlieren’s method of
photography it can see that the corona streamer and gas flow almost in a straight line
and are stopped from the reaching the portion we shielded.
The liquid film stops the charges from going to the positive electrode. When the
charges have enough energy to breakdown the surface, instability occurs and a large
amount of charges flow; registering a current. The current increases with increase in
voltage. This observation was also experimented and plotted.
It is in nature that everything wants to achieve stability and equilibrium, and when a
system is disturbed it does what is in its power to go back to a steady state. Same is
the case with the charged ions. We retarded/hampered their ability to be grounded
by increasing thickness of film or distance of electrode; they, in turn, due to increase
in voltage, built up such an energy that they were able to break down the barrier by
pushing oil out of their way and reached their destination.
The experiment concluded with a number of important results: The charged ions are
the main culprit causing the instability, and accumulate on the surface till the point
they have enough energy to apply electric pressure and force to cause the oil to split
into openings, cell size diminishes with increase in voltage causing exposing more
surface area of the grounded plate, after breakdown a current is detected to flow
between the electrodes, and that thermal imaging and Schlieren’s photography
solidified the importance of the role played by charged ions/surface charges.

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