Reconstructing the electrical structure of dust storms from locally observed electric field data

Abstract

While the electrification of dust storms is known to substantially affect the lifting and transport of dust particles, the electrical structure of dust storms and its underlying charge separation mechanisms are largely unclear. Here we present an inversion method, which is based on the Tikhonov regularization for inverting the electric field data collected in a near-ground observation array, to reconstruct the space-charge density and electric field in dust storms. After verifying the stability, robustness, and accuracy of the inversion procedure, we find that the reconstructed space-charge density exhibits a universal three-dimensional mosaic pattern of oppositely charged regions, probably due to the charge separation by turbulence. Furthermore, there are significant linear relationships between the reconstructed space-charge densities and measured PM10 dust concentrations at each measurement point, suggesting a multi-point large-scale charge equilibrium phenomenon in dust storms. These findings refine our understanding of charge separation mechanisms and particle transport in dust storms.

Large-scale structures of wall-bounded turbulence in single- and two-phase flows: advancing understanding of the atmospheric surface layer during sandstorms

“…fluidized beds (Sippola et al 2018)), nature (e.g. volcanic eruptions and dust storms (Mather & Harrison, 2006;Zhang & Zhou, 2020b)), and even interplanetary and interstellar space (e.g. protoplanetary disks and dusty plasmas (Blum & Wurm 2008)).…”

“…of the wind velocity, PM10 dust concentration and electric field were performed at the QLOA (Zhang, Bo, & Zheng, 2017;Zhang & Zhou, 2020b). First, as shown in Figure 18, the space charge density and dust mass concentration 5 m above the ground are weakly correlated at short time scales (i.e.…”

“…Error bars represent the standard deviation of the relative error over 10 random subsampling reconstructions. This figure was adapted from Zhang and Zhou (2020b).…”

Effects of 3D electric field on saltation during dust storms: an observational and numerical study

“…where e = 1.602 × 10 −19 C is the elementary charge, ρ i h is the density of the electrons trapped in the high energy states on the surface of particle i (assuming that all particles have an identical initial value, i.e., ρ i h = ρ 0 h ), which is modified as follows (Zhang et al, 2013):…”

Effect of long-range Coulomb repulsion on adhesive particle agglomeration in homogeneous isotropic turbulence

“…Such systems can be found in the particle-laden flue gas in electrostatic precipitators (Jaworek et al. 2018), the sandstorms and dust devils on Earth or Mars (Di Renzo & Urzay 2018; Zhang & Zhou 2020) and the plumes after volcanic eruptions (Gilbert et al. 1991).…”