Application of Electrostatic to Paint Sprayer

Regidor L. Petiluna
Electrical Engineering Department
Cebu Institute of Technology University
gbostolits@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT This research paper contains information

about electrostatic theory and its application to paint sprayer.
This covers background theory of electrostatics which is
coulombs law and electric field. This research paper contains
information about how electrostatic painting worlds. Also,
this research paper aims to explain how electrostatics is
applied to paint sprayers.

1.INTRODUCTION
There are things that we cant see in our eyes but can be
observed in something relevant to that phenomenon. An
example is that charged particles. Even now while youre
reading this research paper youre surrounded by hundreds
and thousands of charged particles. You cant see them but it
can be observed by few experiments. You can even create
charges on your own by conducting one. An example of that is
when you rub a comb onto your hair the comb will attract bits
of paper when you put the comb against the papers. This
might be a small experiment but it helps scientist and
engineers all the time.
Ever wonder why a material attracts or repel another material?
Its because there are different kind of charges that is contain
in a matter. When a positively charged particle is held towards
another positively charged particle it will repel each other but
if the charged is opposite in charge then it will attract to each
other. So, how can we apply such theory in everyday activity?
Electrostatic paint sprayers have been invented in order to
make an eco friendly and more efficient paint. As it is called,
electrostatic paint sprayers, charged particles are also applied
to this gadget. So what is electrostatic? Electrostatic will be
further discussed below.

2.ELECTROSTATIC
Electrostatic is a branch of physics that deals with the
phenomena and properties of stationary or slow-moving
electric with no acceleration.
Electrostatic phenomena are created the forces that electric
charges exert on each other. These forces are described by
coulombs law. Even though this induced forces seem to be
rather weak, the electrostatic force between e.g.
an electron and
a proton,
that
together
make
up
a hydrogen atom,
is
about
36
stronger
than
the gravitational force acting between them.

Electrostatics involves the buildup of charge on the surface of

objects due to contact with other surfaces. Although charge
exchange happens whenever any two surfaces contact and
separate, the effects of charge exchange are usually only
noticed when at least one of the surfaces has a
high resistance to electrical flow. This is because the charges
that transfer to or from the highly resistive surface are more or
less trapped there for a long enough time for their effects to be
observed. These charges then remain on the object until they
either bleed off to ground or are quickly neutralized by
a discharge. The familiar phenomenon of a static 'shock' is
caused by the neutralization of charge built up in the body
from contact with insulated surfaces.

3. COULOMBS LAW
Like charges repel each other while unlike charges attract each
other. If the charges are at rest then the force between them is
known as the electrostatic force. The electrostatic force
between charges increases when the magnitude of the charges
increases or the distance between the charges decreases.
The electrostatic force was first studied in detail by CharlesAugustin de Coulomb around 1784. Through his observations
he was able to show that the magnitude of the electrostatic
force between two point-like charges is inversely proportional
to the square of the distance between the charges. He also
discovered that the magnitude of the force is proportional to
the product of the charges. That is:

Q1 Q2
r2

Where Q1 and Q2 are the magnitudes of the two charges

respectively and r is the distance between them. The
magnitude of the electrostatic force between two point-like
charges is given by Coulomb's law.
Coulombs law states that the magnitude of the electrostatic
force between two point charges is directly proportional to the
product of the magnitudes of the charges and inversely
proportional to the square of the distance between them.

F=k

Q1 Q2
r2

The proportionality constant k is called the electrostatic

constant and has a value of

k =9 x 109 N m2 C2

5. ELECTROSTATIC PAINT SPRAYER

4. ELECTRIC FIELD
Scientists understood why forces acted the way they did when
objects touched. The idea that confused them was forces that
acted at a distance without touching. Think of examples such
as gravitational force, electric force, and magnetic force. To
help them explain what was happening, they used the idea of
"field". They imagined that there was an area around the
object, and anything that entered would feel a force. We say,
for example, that the Moon has a gravitational field around it,
and if you get close to the Moon, it will pull you down to its
Surface.

There is a small electrode at the tip of the paint sprayer which

creates high voltage electricity. The paint travels at a very
slow pace through the opening which makes it negatively
charged. The paint surface is grounded and its positively
charged so it is attracted to the negatively charged paint. The
paint will stick to any surface that is conductive. It would even
stick to wood because of the water concentrated in it. This is
because of the water inside the wood is positively charged so
the wetter the wood the better chance of the paint sticking to
it.

ELECTRIC FIELDS

An electric field describes the area near any electricallycharged object. It could also be called an electrostatic field.
Any other charge that enters that area will feel a force, and the
original object will also feel that force.
A normal field is a vector, and is represented by arrows. The
Earths gravitational field would be drawn as arrows pointing
toward the ground. A field vector shows the direction of the
effect on an object entering the field. Gravity acts downward.
For an electric field, things are a little more complicated, since
there are two kinds of charges and some combinations attract
while others repel. In order to be in agreement with each
other, physicists decided that they would always use positive
charges to determine the direction of the effect of a field. So, if
the central charge was positive, and you put another positive
charge near it, that second charge would be repelled outward.
So the field vectors for a central positive charge point
outward. If the central charge is negative, a positive charge
placed nearby would be attracted toward the center charge, so
the field vectors for a central negative charge point inward.

Electrostatic paint sprayers use oil or water based paint. This

is because water has a more positive charge than oil. The paint
needs to be able to hold a charge but it should not be
conductive for the paint sprayer to use it. The paint inside the
sprayer rubs against the side of the sprayer giving the paint a
positive charge and the sprayer acquiring a negative charge.
The negatively charged paint sticks to the neutral wall.

6.CONCLUSION
Electrostatic can be applied in painting. It is more
effective than ordinary painting techniques even though
there are disadvantages such as that the material to be
painted should be grounded.
Electrostatic painting involves coulombs law and
electric or electrostatic field theory. The paint separates
from other particle of paint because when they travel
from the spray going out they are charged with negative
charged causing them to separate because they have the
same charge and same charged particle repel each other.
It causes the paint to be evenly distributed on to the
surface. The negatively charged paint then sticks to the
grounded surface. It is more efficient because the paint is
negatively charged while the sprayed surface is
positively charge causing them to attract each other like
a magnet.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I thank myself for learning something new through this

research.
REFERENCES

www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com