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Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 3, 5803-5829, 2003
www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/3/5803/2003/ doi:10.5194/acpd-3-5803-2003 © Author(s) 2003. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. |
Volatile particles formation during PartEmis: a modelling study
1Centre de Géochimie de la Surface, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France
2Central Institute for Aviation Motors, Moskow, Russia
3Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
4QinetiQ, Farnborough, UK
*now at: Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, UK
Abstract. A modelling study of the formation of volatile particles in a combustor exhaust has been carried out in the frame of the PartEmis European project. A kinetic model has been used in order to investigate nucleation efficiency of the H2O-H2SO4 binary mixture in the sampling system. A value for the fraction e of the fuel sulphur S(IV) converted into S(VI) has been indirectly deduced from comparisons between model results and measurements. In the present study, e ranges between roughly 2.5% and 6%, depending on the combustor settings and on the microphysical approach used. Soot particles hygroscopicity has also been investigated as their activation is a key parameter for contrail formation. Growth factors of monodisperse particles exposed to high relative humidity (95%) have been calculated and compared with experimental results. The modelling study confirms that the growth factor increases as the soot particle size decreases.
Citation: Vancassel, X., Sorokin, A., Mirabel, P., Petzold, A., and Wilson, C.: Volatile particles formation during PartEmis: a modelling study, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 3, 5803-5829, doi:10.5194/acpd-3-5803-2003, 2003.