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Charge Decay Of A Powder Surface Will Partly Decay

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3.5. Storage
Over time, the charge accumulated on a powder surface will partly decay (dissipate) (Malave-Lopez and Peleg, 1985). Charge decay is a complex phenomenon that has been measured by different techniques (Paasi et al., 2001). The timescale for electrostatic charge decay is an important factor. For example, there will be a higher probability of considerable charge build-up on the material when charge decay occurs slowly. The charge decay rate is a measure of the rate at which the electrostatic charge present on the surface of a material can migrate away (Chubb, 2002). The charge decay rate is dependent on many factors, including material’s electrical resistivity, the resistivity of the other material on contact, RH of the surrounding air and hold time (Bailey, 1993; Sharma et al., 2001a). The lower the material electron conductivity the longer the time needed for charge decay. A powder in contact with a conductive material will dissipate the charge quicker than the same powder in contact with an insulator. It is anticipated that moisture adsorption will make the material more conductive. (Paasi et al., 2001) showed the charge decay rate to increase with increasing RH due to a concurrent decrease in surface resistivity. The hold time (defined as the time passed between the end of processing and dispensing the sample into the Faraday cup for charge measurement) was shown as the most effective option of dissipating charge following blending (Engers et al., 2006).

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