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A Numerical Study on the Aerodynamics of Freely Falling Planar Ice Crystals



Details

  • Journal Title:
    Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
  • Personal Author:
  • NOAA Program & Office:
    NWS (National Weather Service)
  • Description:
    Fluid flow fields and fall patterns of falling planar ice crystals are studied by numerically solving the unsteady, incompressible Navier–Stokes equations using a commercially available computational fluid dynamics package. The ice crystal movement and orientation are explicitly simulated based on hydrodynamic forces and torques representing the 6 degrees of freedom. This study extends the current framework by investigating four planar-type ice crystals: crystals with sector-like branches, crystals with broad branches, stellar crystals, and ordinary dendritic crystals. The crystals range from 0.2 to 5 mm in maximum dimension, corresponding to Reynolds number ranges from 0.2 to 384. The results indicate that steady flow fields are generated for flows with Reynolds numbers less than 100; larger plates generate unsteady flow fields and exhibit horizontal translation, rotation, and oscillation. Empirical formulas for the drag coefficient, 900-hPa terminal velocity, and ventilation effect are given. Fall trajectory, pressure distribution, wake structure, vapor field, and vorticity field are examined.
  • Source:
    Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 75(9), 2849-2865
  • DOI:
  • ISSN:
    0022-4928 ; 1520-0469
  • Format:
    PDF
  • Publisher:
    American Meteorological Society
  • Document Type:
    Journal Article
  • Rights Information:
    Other
  • Compliance:
    Library
  • Main Document Checksum:
    urn:sha-512:a70dd11d852a48deb06a9abb5e2ba5f53c11620c5b878f8f95ea8d735ef32f9cc33a5ba2c2493bb6cc99125b795a994168a7e38878d12c2157631ad98add2b41
  • Download URL:
  • File Type:
    Filetype[PDF - 2.65 MB ]
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