Cookies

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse this repository, you give consent for essential cookies to be used. You can read more about our Privacy and Cookie Policy.


Durham e-Theses
You are in:

Combination coefficients of small ions with aerosol particles

Dixon, A. M. (1976) Combination coefficients of small ions with aerosol particles. Doctoral thesis, Durham University.

[img]
Preview
PDF
2577Kb

Abstract

This work was concerned with the measurement of the variation of the combination coefficient between aerosol particles and small ions, b, with the radius of the particles. The variation of the combination coefficient between uncharged aerosol particles and small ions, ɳo, with radius was also examined. The ion-ion recombination coefficient,ɤ, was first evaluated from plots of small ion decay in an aerosol-free mylar vessel of volume 3.1 m(^3). Small ions were produced from corona discharge around the tip of a steel needle, set at a high voltage. 14 measurements of were made, giving a mean experimental value of 2.39 (-0.14) x l0(^-6)cm(^3)sec(^-l). A technique was developed for simultaneous measurements of the ,combination coefficient b and the aerosol particle size. Particles were produced by blowing filtered air over a glowing nichrome wire. Methods of number concentration and particle size determination are described. The decay of the ions in the presence of the particles in the mylar vessel was recorded and compared with a family of theoretical ion-aerosol decay curves plotted by the computer to determine b. A total of 26 b measurements were made and the value ranged from 0.35 x 10(^-6)cm(^3)sec(^-1) to 2.24 x 10(^-6)cm(^3)sec(^-1),corresponding to radii of 0.41 x 10(^-6)cm to 4.0 x 10(^-6) cm. The variation of ɳo with radius was also investigated in ten of these b measurement experiments. The value of ɳo ranged from 0.33 x l0(^-6)cm(^3)sec(^-1) to 2.39 x l0(^-6)cm(^3)sec(^-1) for corresponding radii of 1.26 x l0(^-6)cm and 4.0 x 10(^-6)cm. Various theoretical models for combination coefficients were discussed. The b and ɳo versus radius results were compared with theoretically computed values. The discrepancy between the generally larger experimental values and theoretical values for the combination coefficients was also discussed.

Item Type:Thesis (Doctoral)
Award:Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis Date:1976
Copyright:Copyright of this thesis is held by the author
Deposited On:13 Nov 2013 16:13

Social bookmarking: del.icio.usConnoteaBibSonomyCiteULikeFacebookTwitter