An Investigation of Contact Electrification and Triboelectric Charging in Insulating Materials

Triboelectric charging, the electrostatic charging of materials when they are rubbed, is frequently observed in insulating materials, but poorly understood on the fundamental level. Insulating materials by definition do not have free charge carriers and it is not obvious how charge can be transferred. Due to the often deleterious effects of triboelectricity, establishing a fundamental understanding is desired. In this research, we investigated two aspects of triboelectric charging of insulating materials: 1) the influence of material strain, and 2) the influence of humidity. Our results show that both of these issues are important and the variability of these factors may be responsible for the lack of understanding.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Sciences (Engineering)

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Chemical Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Widenor, Ross

Contributors dc:contributor

• Lacks, Daniel
• Sankaran, Ramanathan

• Chemical Engineering

Statement dc:rights

• unrestricted
• This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1364229648

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:case1364229648