Return to search

Aerosol Condensational Growth in Cloud Formation

A code for the quasi-stationary solution of the coupled heat and mass transport
equations for aerosols in a finite volume was developed. Both mass and heat are
conserved effectively in the volume, which results in a competitive aerosol condensation
growth computational model.
A further model that couples this competitive aerosol condensation growth
computational model with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software (ANSYS
FLUENT) enables the simulation of the realistic atmospheric environment. One or more
air parcels, where the aerosols reside, are placed in a very big volume in order to mimic
the large atmospheric environment. Mass (water vapor) and heat transportat between the
air parcels and the environment facilitates the growth and prevents the parcels from
unrealistically overheating.
The suppression of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) growth by high number
densities was quantified by our model study. Model study with organic particles (Lmalic
acid and maleic acid) indicates that when these organic species and ammonium
sulfate are internally mixed, the particles can grow much more than if they are separately
associated with distinct particles. Moreover, by using more multiple air parcels, which
are randomly assigned with different initial relative humidity values according to a power
law distribution, we studied the effects of atmospheric stochastic RH distribution on the
growth of CCN.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2010-08-8207
Date2010 August 1900
CreatorsGeng, Jun
ContributorsMarlow, William H.
Source SetsTexas A and M University
Languageen_US
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeBook, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text
Formatapplication/pdf

Page generated in 0.0099 seconds