Comparison of different methods used in integral codes to model coagulation of aerosols

The methods for calculating coagulation of particles in the carrying phase that are used in the integral codes SOCRAT, ASTEC, and MELCOR, as well as the Hounslow and Jacobson methods used to model aerosol processes in the chemical industry and in atmospheric investigations are compared on test problems and against experimental results in terms of their effectiveness and accuracy. It is shown that all methods are characterized by a significant error in modeling the distribution function for micrometer particles if calculations are performed using rather “coarse” spectra of particle sizes, namely, when the ratio of the volumes of particles from neighboring fractions is equal to or greater than two. With reference to the problems considered, the Hounslow method and the method applied in the aerosol module used in the ASTEC code are the most efficient ones for carrying out calculations.