NUCLEATION LABORATORY
TWO-DIMENSIONAL
TRANSPORT AND WALL EFFECTS
IN
THE THERMAL DIFFUSION CLOUD CHAMBER
PART I: ANALYSIS AND OPERATIONS CRITERIA
J.
Chem. Phys. 106 , 610 (1997)
Anne
Bertelsmann and Richard H. Heist
RESEARCH
SUMMARY
As a result of this investigation, we obtained results of a two-dimensional (z,
r) treatment of the mass and energy transfer processes that occur during the
operation of a thermal diffusion cloud chamber. The location of the wall is considered in solving the mass
and energy transport equations, in addition to the vertical distance, z, between
the upper and lower plate surfaces. We
examine the effects on diffusion cloud chamber operation of:
aspect
(diameter to height) ratio;
operation
with either a dry or a wet interior chamber wall and the resulting effects
on the temperature, supersaturation, nucleation rate, and total density
profiles throughout the chamber;
overheating
the interior of the chamber wall on temperature, supersaturation, nucleation
rate, and total density profiles in the chamber; and,
using
different density background gases.
In a related investigation (J. Chem. Phys. 106 , 624 (1997)), we apply the formalism and the solutions developed in this study to address the important problem of buoyancy-driven convection that can accompany (seemingly normal) operation of thermal diffusion cloud chambers in nearly all ranges of total pressure and temperature.
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