Exponential scaling in early-stage agglomeration of adhesive particles in turbulence

Abstract

We carry out direct numerical simulation together with an adhesive discrete element method calculation (DNS-DEM) to investigate agglomeration of particles in homogeneous isotropic turbulence (HIT). We report an exponential-form scaling for the size distribution of early-stage agglomerates, which is valid across a wide range of particle inertia and inter-particle adhesion values. Such scaling allows one to quantify the state of agglomeration using a single scale parameter. An agglomeration kernel is then constructed containing the information of agglomerate structures and the sticking probability. An explicit relationship between the sticking probability and microscale particle properties is also proposed based on the scaling analysis of the equation for head-on collisions. Our results extend Smoluchowski's theory to the condition of non-coalescing solid adhesive particles and can reproduce DNS-DEM results with a simple one-dimensional simulation.