Abstract
The behavior of charges in polymer powder layers charged by an alternating current (AC) corona discharge were examined by surface potential measurements and the separation of powder layer by applying an electrical field. A commercial epoxy-polyester paint powder was used as the sample polymer powder in this study. The relationship between the surface potential of the powder layers of various particle sizes and charge distributions within the powder layers was studied. The surface potential of the powder layer consisting of small-sized particles was higher than that of the powder layer consisting of large-sized particles. This result was attributable to the difference in charge distribution within the powder layers which was caused by the total surface area of the powder layer. The charge distribution within the powder layer and the surface potential decay rate depended on the AC corona discharge conditions for the large particle-sized powder layer. The surface potential decay rate changed with the fraction of the large particle-sized particles in the powder layer.
