The impact of convective flow on thermal diffusion cloud chamber operation

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2001

Abstract

We report here new results that further elucidate the role of buoyancy-driven convective flows in determining the distribution of vapor mole fraction and temperature in the thermal diffusion cloud chamber. A two-dimensional model describing both diffusion and convection in the presence of chamber sidewalls is presented. The model equations are used to analyze 1-butanol and 1-pentanol nucleation data obtained earlier. The results of the investigation show that convective flow is nearly always present and, in the cases considered here, result in a reduction in the value of the calculated critical supersaturation (as compared to the one-dimensional case). The dependence of critical supersaturation with total pressure reported earlier is smaller but is not eliminated.

Comments

Copyright 2001 American Chemical Society. A link to full text has been provided for authorized subscribers.

Publication Title

The Journal of Physical Chemistry B

Published Citation

Ferguson, F., & Heist, R. H. (2001). The impact of convective flow on thermal diffusion cloud chamber operation. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 105(47), 11828-11833. doi:10.1021/jp011863x.

DOI

10.1021/jp011863x

Peer Reviewed

Link to Full Text

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