On the theory of Brownian coagulation

Abstract

The traditional diffusion approach for calculation of the collision frequency function for coagulation of Brownian particles is critically analyzed and shown to be valid only in the particular case of coalescence of small particles with large ones and inapplicable to calculation of the coalescence rate for particles of comparable sizes. It is shown that coalescence of Brownian particles generally occurs in the kinetic regime (realized under condition of homogeneous spatial distribution of particles), however, the expression for the collision frequency function in the continuum mode of the kinetic regime formally coincides with the standard expression derived in the diffusion regime for the particular case of large and small particles. This explains the validity of the traditional form of the coagulation rate equation in a wide range of parameters, corresponding to the continuum mode. Transition from the continuum to the free molecular mode can be described by the interpolation expression derived within the new analytical approach with fitting parameters that can be specified numerically, avoiding semi-empirical approach of existing models.