Particle transport processes numerical diffusion

Based on the use of the NARCM regional model of climate and formation of the field of concentration and size distribution of aerosol, Munoz-Alpizar et al. (2003) calculated the transport, diffusion, and deposition of sulfate aerosol using an approximate model of the processes of sulfur oxidation that does not take the chemical processes in urban air into account. However, the 3-D evolution of microphysical and optical characteristics of aerosol was discussed in detail. The results of numerical modeling were compared with observational data near the surface and in the free troposphere carried out on March 2, 4, and 14, 1997. Analysis of the time series of observations at the airport in Mexico City revealed low values of visibility in the morning due to the small thickness of the ABL, and the subsequent improvement of visibility as ABL thickness increased. Estimates of visibility revealed its strong dependence on wind direction and aerosol size distribution. Calculations have shown that increased detail in size distribution presentation promotes a more reliable simulation of the coagulation processes and a more realistic size distribution characterized by the presence of the accumulation mode of aerosol with the size of particles 0.3 pm. In this case, the results of visibility calculations become more reliable, too. 

In physics, the random walk method has already been in use for decades to understand and model diffusion processes. Prickett et al. (1981) developed a simple model for groundwater transport to calculate the migration of contamination. An essential advantage of the methods of random walk and particle tracking is that they are free of numeric dispersion and oszillations (Abbot 1966). 

Substantial differences between solid-phase reactions and hydrothermal synthesis reactions have been stated in numerous investigations. In solid-phase processes, the sequence of intermediate products formation does not depend on reagents ratio in the initial mixture, and the excess product appears to be a compound with the highest crystallization temperature. On contrary, for the formation of a definite product by hydrothermal synthesis, the initial mixture should contain reagents at an exact stoichiometric ratio [19,20]. In solid-phase reactions, the interaction rate is determined by the rate of diffusion processes, while in hydrothermal processes the determining factor is the rate of dissolution of the initial products in the water. Water simplifies diffusion transport of particles in the system the formation of nuclei and crystal growth occur faster than in solids. 

Unlike diffusion, which is a stochastic process, particle motion in the inertial range is deterministic, except for the very important case of turbulent transport. The calculation of inertial deposition rates Is usually based either on a force balance on a particle or on a direct analysis of the equations of fluid motion in the case of colli Jing spheres. Few simple, exact solutions of the fundamental equations are available, and it is usually necessary to resort to dimensional analysis and/or numerical compulations. For a detailed review of earlier experimental and theoretical studies of the behavior of particles in the inertial range, the reader is referred to Fuchs (1964). 

---