Aggregation, diffusion-limited

Meakin P 1983 Formation of fractal clusters and networks by irreversible diffusion-limited aggregation Phys. Rev. Lett. 51 1119-22... 

Actually, this is not really diffusion-XimiiQd, but rather Laplacian growth, since the macroscopic equation describing the process, apart from fluctuations, is not a diffusion equation but a Laplacian equation. There are some crucial differences, which will become clearer below. In some sense DLA is diffusion-limited aggregation in the limit of zero concentration of the concentration field at infinity. 

More than 20 years ago, Matsushita et al. observed macroscopic patterns of electrodeposit at a liquid/air interface [46,47]. Since the morphology of the deposit was quite similar to those generated by a computer model known as diffusion-limited aggregation (D LA) [48], this finding has attracted a lot of attention from the point of view of morphogenesis in Laplacian fields. Normally, thin cells with quasi 2D geometries are used in experiments, instead of the use of liquid/air or liquid/liquid interfaces, in order to reduce the effect of convection. 

Witten, T. A. and Sander, L. M. (1981) Diffusion-limited aggregation, A kinetic critical phenomenon. Phys. Rev. Lett., 47, 1400-1403. 

Let us illustrate first how different (idealized) aggregation processes may result in different structures. There is extensive literature on diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) (for a comprehensive review, see Meakin, 1988). Three methods of simulation are common (standard) diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA), reaction-limited aggregation (RLA), and linear trajectory aggregation (LTA). DLA structures are generated by placing a seed particle in the middle of a lattice. Other particles are placed in the lattice... 

Fig. 37. Typical clusters obtained by diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA). Top Two-dimensional diffusion-limited aggregation. Bottom Reaction-limited hierarchical cluster-cluster aggregation (HCCA) (Meakin, 1988 with permission, from the Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 39. by Annual Reviews www.Annual/Reviews.org).

CA in which many filled cells execute a random walk but never interact with one another, cannot give rise to stable pattern formation since the cells will move at random forever. However, if cells can interact when they meet, so that one diffusing cell is allowed to stick to another, stable structures can be created. These structures illustrate the modeling of diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA), which is of interest in studies of crystal formation, precipitation, and the electrochemical formation of solids. 

For example, in the case of PS and applying the Smoluchowski equation [333], it is possible to estimate the precipitation time, fpr, of globules of radius R and translation diffusion coefficient D in solutions of polymer concentration cp (the number of chains per unit volume) [334]. Assuming a standard diffusion-limited aggregation process, two globules merge every time they collide in the course of Brownian motion. Thus, one can write Eq. 2 ... 

Most researchers attribute slow kinetics to some sort of diffusion limitation (e.g., diffusion is random movement under the influence of a concentration gradient [193]), because sorbing molecules are subject to diffusive constraints throughout almost the entire sorption/desorption time course due to the porous nature of particles. Particles are porous by virtue of their aggregated nature and because the lattice of individual grains in the aggregate may be fractured. 

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