the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 13 May 2024
Modeling Inertial Deposition of Aerosol Particles in Geometrically Complicated Flow Systems Using Finite Element Methods
Abstract. This work presents a modeling approach for calculating the trajectories of aerosol particles in geometrically complicated flow systems. The finite-element based modeling is first validated by comparing the calculated inertial deposition with literature values for two cases of laminar flow: a 90-degree bend and an abrupt contraction of a pipe. The approach is then applied on a multi-part aerosol instrument used for Cantilever-Enhanced-Photo-Acoustic-Spectroscope (CEPAS) measurements. The particle transmission of the CEPAS is experimentally measured and compared to the modeling results. It is demonstrated that the model provides valuable insight on the inertial deposition losses by pinpointing their physical locations within the measurement instrument.
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1242', Anonymous Referee #1, 12 Jun 2024
The manuscript presents a finite-element modeling approach for calculating the trajectories and inertial deposition losses of aerosol particles in flow systems. The authors validate their approach by comparing their results with literature values for two simple geometries (a 90-degree bend and an abrupt contraction) and then apply the model to a multi-part aerosol instrument used for Cantilever-Enhanced Photo-Acoustic Spectroscopy (CEPAS) measurements. The modeling results are compared to experimental measurements of particle transmission through the CEPAS.
I do not have concerns with the modeling itself. However, I think the novelty of this paper is not clear. The authors need to clearly state what is new in this paper. The modeling was done using COMSOL and its particle module, which is commercially available, and the modeling results are similar to those from empirical equations. I feel this paper is just applying commercial software to calculate a well-studied problem.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1242-RC1 -
RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1242', Anonymous Referee #2, 22 Jul 2024
This manuscript used finite element methods to simulate particle deposition in two cases of laminar flow and a third case of a multi-part aerosol instrument. The simulation results of the first two cases were comparable to empirical equations. The simulation results of the third case had an offset compared to the experimental results and showed where the particles deposited.
The reviewer does not see much novelty in modeling the first two cases because the methods for them are mature. There might be novelty in modeling the multi-part aerosol instrument, but the introduction section does not emphasize enough the need for this research. The authors identified and explained the offset between the model and experimental results (the under pressure of the particle counter pump) in the third case, but no action was taken to resolve this issue. The authors mentioned that removing tube fittings improved particle transmission as a contribution of the modeling work without presenting this in the manuscript, making the importance not quite clear.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1242-RC2 -
RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-1242', Anonymous Referee #3, 10 Aug 2024
The authors present finite-element modeling of a few aerosol sampling ducts, including a 90-degree bend, a contracted pipe, and a Cantilever-Enhanced-Photo-Acoustic-Spectroscope (CEPAS). The particle tracing module is used to evaluate the aerosol transmission efficiency. The authors demonstrated the finite-element based modeling is capable of simulating particle losses and pinpointing their physical locations in the CEPAS.
Identifying particle losses is a well-studied engineering problem, and finite-element modeling using commercially available software is a common practice in this field. Therefore, this manuscript does not appear to offer new insights or significant advancements in measuring techniques. Nevertheless, I would encourage the authors to look into the discrepancy between model simulation and experimental characterization on the CEPAS, to make this a well-performed work.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1242-RC3
Model code and software
COMSOL models for inertial deposition of particles in laminar flow Patrick Grahn https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11003261
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