Collision Rates of Cloud Droplets in Turbulent Flow

Abstract

Abstract Direct numerical simulations of an evolving turbulent flow field have been performed to explore how turbulence affects the motion and collisions of cloud droplets. Large numbers of droplets are tracked through the flow field and their positions, velocities, and collision rates have been found to depend on the eddy dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy. The radial distribution function, which is a measure of the preferential concentration of droplets, increases with eddy dissipation rate. When droplets are clustered there is an increased probability of finding two droplets closely separated; thus, there is an increase in the collision kernel. For the flow fields explored in this study, the clustering effect accounts for an increase in the collision kernel of 8%–42%, as compared to the gravitational collision kernel. The spherical collision kernel is also a function of the radial relative velocities among droplets and these velocities increase from 1.008 to 1.488 times the corresponding gravitational value. For an eddy dissipation rate of about 100 cm2 s−3, the turbulent collision kernel is 1.06 times the magnitude of the gravitational value, while for an eddy dissipation rate of 1500 cm2 s−3, this increases to 2.08 times. Therefore, these results demonstrate that turbulence could play an important role in the broadening and evolution of the droplet size distribution and the onset of precipitation.