Hybrid method of moments with interpolation closure–Taylor-series expansion method of moments scheme for solving the Smoluchowski coagulation equation

Abstract

This paper presents a hybrid method of moments with interpolation closure–Taylor-series expansion method of moments (MoMIC–TEMoM) scheme for solving the Smoluchowski coagulation equation. In the proposed scheme, the exponential function, which arises in the conversion from a particle size distribution space to a space of moments, is expressed in an additive form using the third-order Taylor-series expansion; the implicit moments are approximated using two Lagrange interpolation functions, namely the newly defined normalized moment function and the normalized moment function defined by Frenklach and Harris (1987). The new hybrid scheme allows implementation of the method of moments with an arbitrary type of moment sequence, and it overcomes the shortcomings of the Taylor-series expansion moment method proposed by Frenklach and Harris. The proposed scheme is verified with three aerosol dynamics, namely Brownian coagulation in the free molecular regime, Brownian coagulation in the continuum-slip regime, and turbulence coagulation. The results reveal that the hybrid MoMIC–TEMoM scheme has similar accuracy to currently recognized methods including the quadrature method of moments, MoMIC, and TEMoM, and its accuracy can be further enhanced as the fractional moment sequence type is used for Brownian coagulation in the free molecular regime. Thus, the proposed scheme is a reliable for solving the Smoluchowski coagulation equation.