Sedimentation analysis of small ice crystals by Lattice Boltzmann Method

TL;DR

This paper applies the Lattice Boltzmann Method to simulate and analyze the sedimentation and terminal velocity of small, columnar ice crystals, demonstrating good agreement with experimental and theoretical data.

Contribution

It introduces the use of LBM for modeling ice crystal sedimentation, validating its effectiveness against experimental and theoretical benchmarks.

Findings

LBM accurately predicts ice crystal terminal velocities.

Numerical results align well with experimental data.

LBM is a promising tool for ice sedimentation studies.

Abstract

Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) is used to simulate and analyze the sedimentation of small ($15-80 \,\mu m$) columnar ice particles in the atmosphere. We are specially interested in evaluating the terminal falling velocity of columnar ice crystals with hexagonal cross section. The main objective is to apply the LBM to solve ice crystal sedimentation problems. This numerical method is evaluated as a powerful numerical tool to solve ice crystal sedimentation problems in a variety of sizes. LBM results are presented in comparison with laboratory experimental results and theoretical approaches well known in the literature. The numerical results show good agreement with experimental and theoretical results for the analyzed geometrical configurations.