Cleaning dielectric surfaces by the electrical fields of the linear electrodynamic Paul trap

A method against dust pollution of dielectric surfaces has been proposed. The dust removal is achieved applying alternating electric fields of special geometry created by the linear electrodynamic Paul traps, which polarize dust particles on the surface of the dielectric and draw them into the interelectrode space of the trap. The captured dust can be moved without contact with the solar panel surface toward the electrodes ends in a special container by an additional constant electric field. The feasibility of the approach was demonstrated by a series of experiments on the removal of aluminium oxide and sand particles of various sizes from a glass surface and solar panels. The cleaning rate for 7090 μm particles uniformly scattered on the glass substrate inclined at 20∘ was 92%. The capture of a single particle was analyzed using numerical simulations and the conditions necessary for its capturing and levitating were determined. •Sand can be removed from the surface of solar panels using the Paul trap.•Particles are removed without contact with surface due to levitation in the trap.•Cleaning surface by Paul trap is effective for particles smaller 200 microns