Distribution of the Local Electric Field during Electrophoretic Deposition of an Alumina Suspension on a Membrane

The spatially distributed local electric field strength during the electrophoretic deposition (EPD) of alumina suspensions on a membrane is within the scope of the present article. The water-based alumina suspensions were optimized in order to achieve stable suspensions, high deposition rates and maximum green densities of the deposited bodies. In-situ measurements of the local potential drop inside the EPD-cell were carried out using a computer assisted process control set-up with electronic data acquisition. The behaviour of the spatial- and time-dependent electric field distribution was calculated from measured potential drops. The influence of varrying input voltages on the output parameters, such as deposition rate and green density for EPD on membranes was investigated and is discussed. It is shown that the distribution of the local electric field depends on the applied voltage and on time for the case of higher voltages. A dependance of the local electrical fields on the deposition rate is suggested as well.