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Abstract

An environmentally compliant triboelectric applicator and process for coating or ablating a substrate and for retrieving excess or ejected material from the substrate. The applicator comprises an inner supersonic nozzle for accelerating triboelectrically charged projectile particles entrained in a supersonic gas to speeds sufficiently high to coat or ablate a substrate and an outer evacuator nozzle coaxially surrounding the inner supersonic nozzle for retrieving excess projectile particles, ablated substrate powders, or other environmentally hazardous materials. A fluid dynamic coupling uses the efficacy of the Mach turning angle associated with a supersonic boundary layer of carrier gas to aspirate the central core of the supersonic two-phase jet. This fluid coupling and spacing between the outlet of the supersonic nozzle and the substrate also permits the projectile particles and substrate to triboelectrically charge to levels which induce electrostatic discharges at the substrate simultaneous to the impacts.

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First Claim