The present thesis deals with two-phase electrohydrodynamic simulations of bubble and droplet dynamics under externally applied electric fields. We used the Coupled Level-Set and Volume-of-fluid method (CLSVOF) and two different electrohydrody-namic formulations to study the process of bubble and drop formation from orifices and needles, the interactions of two conducting drops immersed in a dielectric medium, and the oscillations of sessile drops under two different ways of applying external elec-tric field. For the process of bubble formation in dielectric liquids due to the injection of air from submerged orifices and needles, we show that a non-uniform electric field pro-duces smaller bubbles while a uniform electric field changes only the bubble shape. We further explain the reason behind the bubble volume reduction under a non-uniform electric field. We show that the distribution of the electric stresses on the bubble inter-face is such that very high electric stresses act on the bubble base due to a non-uniform electric field. This causes a premature neck formation and bubble detachment lead-ing to the formation of smaller bubbles. We also observe that the non-uniform elec-tric stresses pull the bubble interface contact line inside the needle. With oscillatory electric fields, we show that a further reduction in bubble sizes is possible, but only at certain electric field oscillation frequencies. At other frequencies, bubbles bigger than those under a constant electric field of strength equal to the amplitude of the AC electric field, are produced. We further study the bubble oscillation modes under an oscillatory electric field. We implemented a Volume-of-fluid method based charge advection scheme which is charge conservative and non-diffusive. With the help of this scheme, we were able to simulate the electrohydrodynamic interactions of conducting-dielectric fluid pairs. For two conducting drops inside a dielectric fluid, we observe that they fail to coalesce when the strength of the applied electric field is beyond a critical value. We observe that the non-coalescence between the two drops occur due to the charge transfer upon drop-drop contact. The electric forces which initially bring the two drops closer, switch direction upon charge transfer and pull the drops away from each other. The factors governing the non-coalescence are the electric conductivity of the drop’s liquid which governs the time scale of charge transfer relative to the capillary time scale and the magnitude of the electric forces relative to the capillary and the viscous forces. Similar observations are recorded for the interactions of a charged conducting drop with an interface between a dielectric fluid and a conducting fluid which is the same as the drop’s liquid. For the case of a pendant conducting drop attached to a capillary and without any influx of liquid from the capillary, we observed that the drop undergoes oscillations at lower values of electric potential when subjected to a step change in the applied electric potential. At higher values of electric potential, we observed the phenomenon of cone-jet formation which results due to the accumulation of the electric charges and thus the electric forces at the drop tip. For the formation of a pendant conducting drops from a charged capillary due to liquid injection, we observed that the drops are elongated in presence of an electric field. This happens because the free charge which appears at the drop tip is attracted towards the grounded electrode. This also leads to the formation of elongated liquid threads which connect the drop to the capillary during drop detachment. We plotted the variation of total electric charge inside the drops with respect to time and found the charge increases steeply as the drop becomes elongated and moves towards the grounded electrode. For sessile drop oscillations under an alternating electric field, two different modes of operations are studied. In the so called ‘Contact mode’ case, the droplet is placed on a dielectric coated grounded electrode and the charged needle electrode remains in direct contact with the drop as it oscillates. In the ‘Non-contact mode’ case, the drop is placed directly on the grounded electrode and electric potential is applied to a needle electrode which now remains far from the drop. We show that the drop oscillations in the contact mode are caused by concentration of electric forces near the three phase contact line where the electric charge accumulates because of the repulsion from the needle. For the non-contact mode, we observe that the electric charge is attracted by the needle towards the drop apex resulting in a concentration of the electric forces in that region. So the drop oscillates due to the electric forces acting on a region near the drop tip. We also present the variation of the total electric charge inside the drop with respect to time for the two cases studied.

Les Composés Organiques Volatils (COV), émis dans l'atmosphère sous différentes formes par les activités industrielles, sont considérés comme des polluants principaux de l'air. Pour le traitement des forts débits de gaz faiblement concentrés en COV, caractéristiques des principales sources de COV industriels, il n'existe que très peu de procédés adaptés et efficaces d'où le plasma non thermique. Sa faible consommation d'énergie et sa grande compacité font du traitement par plasma non-thermique un candidat prometteur. Ma thèse consiste à élaborer et étudier un dispositif de traitement des COV basé sur l'utilisation de décharges à barrière diélectrique de surface, décharges ayant la caractéristique de produire un vent électrique dirigé. Pour ce faire, nous avons conçu et optimisé une pompe plasma chimiquement active, composée d'un assemblage de cellules à surfaces actives, capable d'aspirer et de traiter simultanément de l'air pollué en COV. Il a fallu d'abord travailler sur l'optimisation paramétrique : électrique, géométrique et matériaux, d'une surface active élémentaire. Puis concevoir un canal actif constitué de deux surfaces actives optimales placées en vis-à-vis, pour finalement aboutir à la construction d'une pompe plasma prototype ayant un débit de pompage de 10 Nm3/h. Cette pompe originale par sa capacité de traitement chimique, constitue le prototype d'étude physique et chimique de cette thèse. Elle a permis d'effectuer des essais d'élimination de 5 COV différents injectés dans l'air : acétone, méthyl-éthyle cétone, butyraldéhyde, méthyl-valérate, méthyl-butyrate et d'en évaluer les taux d'abattement respectifs, mais aussi, d'identifier à l'aide de la chromatographie en phase gazeuse couplée à la spectrométrie de masse, les principaux sous-produits de la dégradation. / The Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emitted in the atmosphere by various forms is considered as principal atmospheric pollutant. In order to treat a high flow of gaz with a low concentration, few efficient methods exist like the non-thermal plasma. Its low power consumption and compactness make the non-thermal plasma treatment a promising candidate. My thesis deals with the development and study of a VOC treatment device based on the surface dielectric barrier discharges which have the characteristic of producing an oriented electric wind. To do this, we have designed and optimized a chemically active plasma pump, composed of an assembly of active surfaces, capable of drawing and treating simultaneously the air polluted in VOC. At first, we had to work on the optimization of the following parameters: electrical, geometric and material of an elementary active surface. And then conceive an active channel consisting of two optimal active surfaces disposed in a mirror effect, eventually leading to the construction of a prototype plasma pump having a flow rate approximately equal to 10 Nm3/h. This original pump by its capacity of chemical treatment consists on the physical and chemical prototype of the thesis. It allowed testing the conversion of 5 different VOCs injected into air which are: ketone, methyl ethyl ketone, butyraldehyde, methyl penatanoate, methyl butyrate and evaluate the respective abatement rates, but also identifying the main by-products of degradation, using the gas chromatography coupled to the mass spectrometry.

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Moving parts cause vibrations and tend to wear out. In applications where maintenance is complicated, solutions without moving parts are therefore advantageous. Electrohydrodynamic pumps are such a solution. Instead of mechanical propulsion, they use strong electric fields to induce movement in a dielectric cooling liquid. These pumps require very little power, but to generate sufficiently strong electric fields, they need to be fed with very high voltage.  This project explored various methods for designing DC/DC-converters which fulfil the demands of an electrohydrodynamic pump. This was done by altering and combining existing topologies that were deemed to be relevant. The main method for testing and evaluation was by simulating in LTspice. The project also briefly investigated methods of overcurrent protection. This was relevant because gas bubbles in the cooling fluid can cause electric arcs which damage the pumps. Three converter topologies were chosen for further evaluation. First, a conventional resonant Royer-based converter that has previously been used by APR Technologies which was altered by the inclusion of a feedback loop. Second, a high-frequency resonant Royer-based converter with a planar air-core transformer. Third, a transformerless converter with a switched boost converter IC. All circuits included a Cockroft-Walton voltage multiplier bridge. The two resonant Royer-based converters fulfilled all requirements except the one on efficiency, while the transformerless converter fulfilled all requirements except the one on cost, set by APR. The more expensive transformerless converter had a significantly higher efficiency and a wider range of acceptable input voltages. Furthermore three general conclusions were drawn. The first was that planar air-core transformers are not beneficial compared to conventional transformers in these type of applications. The second was that a discrete voltage regulator controlled by feedback from the output is more effective than using a voltage regulator without feedback, as it also eliminates temperature and load variations. The third conclusion was that to protect the circuits from overcurrent, a large series resistor is needed, which causes significantly lowered efficiency.