- Author
- Mulholland, G. W. | Samson, R. J. | Mountain, R. D. | Ernst, M. H.
- Title
- Cluster Size Distribution for Free Molecular Agglomeration.
- Coporate
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, Washington, DC
- Journal
- Journal of Energy and Fuels, Vol. 2, No. 4, 481-486, 1988
- Book or Conf
- American Chemical Society. 194th National Meeting. Symposium on Advances in Soot Chemistry. August 31-September 4, 1987, New Orleans, LA, 534-543 p., 1988
- Keywords
- agglomerates | size distribution | molecular structure
- Abstract
- The growth of soot agglomerates in a flame was simulated by solving Langevin equations for 8000 spheres in a cubic space with the condition that two particles stick whenever they touch. The particle structures can be characterized with a fractal dimension in the range 1.89-2.07 independent of initial particle density. The exponent z characterizing the cluster growth kinetics has a value of about 2.0 based on long time analysis including a time offset for initial particle densities of 0.005 particle/(diameter)3 or less. The cluster size distribution function is found to have a self-preserving form. It is shown that using a kinetic rate kernel based on fractal geometry of soot leads to a size distribution in agreement with the computer simulations.