Thermophoretic deposition of aerosol particles in laminar mixed-convection flow in a channel with two heated built-in square cylinders

Abstract

The thermophoretic deposition of aerosol particles in laminar mixed-convection flow in a channel with two heated built-in square cylinders was studied numerically. The objective of this research was to study the effect of free convection and the distance between cylinders, on deposition of particles. Continuity, momentum and energy equations were solved to determine the velocity and temperature profiles in the channel. The particle trajectories were evaluated by solving the Lagrangian equation of motion that included the drag, Brownian diffusion and thermophoresis forces. It was found that the temperature gradient near the channel wall, in mixed flow regime, is higher than the temperature gradient in forced convection regime. Increasing the temperature gradient increased the effect of thermophoresis on deposition of particles. It was observed that the deposition was increased with the Richardson number. The distance between cylinders is a parameter that influences the deposition of particles. Temperature gradient decreases with increasing the cylinders’ distance; on the other hand, the length of the high temperature gradient zone, which is located in the region between the cylinders where the most deposition occurs, will be increased. These two opposite phenomena cause the fact that at a distance which is four times longer than the cylinders’ length, a maximum cumulative deposition fraction occurs. It was eventually concluded that the thermophoresis and the inertial impaction are dominant deposition mechanisms of particles on the channel wall.