Evolution of Charged Aerosols: Role of Charge on Coagulation

Abstract

The role of charge on aerosol evolution and hence the nuclear source term has been an issue of interest, and there is a need for both measurements and modeling for quantifying this role. We focus here on simulations of charged-aerosol evolution considering coagulation alone. We have used the direct simulation Monte Carlo technique and benchmarked it by comparing the results for monodisperse aerosols as obtained by deterministic techniques where the particles are charged but are assumed to remain monodisperse even after coagulation. We then further explore simulations of polydisperse and charged aerosols and compare the results with those obtained when the charge effects are ignored. We find that charge effects can be significant.