This work is concerned with the interaction between condensing aerosol dynamics and hydrodynamic mixing within ow configurations in which aerosol particles form (nucleate) from a supersaturated vapor and supersaturation is induced by the mixing of two streams (a saturated stream and a cold one).
Two canonical hydrodynamic configurations are proposed for the investigation. The First is the steady one-dimensional opposed-ow configuration. The setup consists of the two (saturated and cold) streams owing from opposite nozzles. A mixing layer is established across a stagnation plane in the center where nucleation and other aerosol dynamics are triggered. The second is homogeneous isotropic turbulence in a three-dimensional periodic domain. Patches of a hot saturated gas mix with patches of a cold one. A mixing layer forms across the growing interface where the aerosol dynamics of interest occur.
In both configurations, a unique analogy is observed. The results reveal a complex response to variations in the mixing rates. Depending on the mixing rate, the response of the number density falls into one of two regimes. For fast mixing rates, the maximum reached number density of the condensing droplets increases with the hydrodynamic time. We refer to this as the nucleation regime. On the contrary, for low mixing rates, the maximum reached number density decreases with the hydrodynamic time. We refer to this as the consumption regime. It is shown that vapor scavenging by the aerosol phase is key to explaining the transition between these two regimes.
Date of Award | Dec 15 2015 |
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Original language | English (US) |
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Awarding Institution | - Physical Sciences and Engineering
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Supervisor | Fabrizio Bisetti (Supervisor) |
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- Turbulence
- Aearosol
- Dispersed Flows