Analysis of Constant-Rate Aerosol Reactors

Abstract

Aerosol nucleation and growth in constant-rate aerosol reactors are considered for the free-molecular and continuum limits. Asymptotic techniques are used to predict supersaturation histories, nucleation rates, and particle number densities in nucleation bursts that result from increasing the supersaturation by continuously adding condensable monomer. A variable present in expressions for homogeneous nucleation is treated as a large parameter, and asymptotic analyses are developed in terms of this parameter. Scaling relations for average particle sizes, particle number densities, and onset times and durations of nucleation bursts are presented. Numerical and asymptotic solutions compare well, demonstrating the usefulness of asymptotic techniques for analyzing problems of this type.