Critical scaling law for the deposition efficiency of inertia-driven particle collisions with a cylinder in high Reynolds number air flow

The Earth's atmosphere is an aerosol; it contains suspended particles. When air flows over an obstacle such as an aircraft wing or tree branch, these particles may not follow the same paths as the air flowing around the obstacle. Instead, the particles in the air may deviate from the path of the air and so collide with the surface of the obstacle. It is known that particle inertia can drive this deposition and that there is a critical value of this inertia, below which no point particles deposit. Particle inertia is measured by the Stokes number St. We show that near the critical value of the Stokes number Stc, the amount of deposition has the unusual scaling law of exp[-1/(St - Stc)1/2]. The scaling is controlled by the stagnation point of the flow. This scaling is determined by the time it takes the particle to reach the surface of the cylinder, varying as 1/(St - Stc)1/2, together with the distance away from the stagnation point (perpendicular to the flow direction), increasing exponentially with time. The scaling law applies to inviscid flow, a model for flow at high Reynolds numbers. The unusual scaling means that the number of particles deposited increases only very slowly above the critical Stokes number. This has consequences for applications ranging from rime formation and fog harvesting to pollination.

Automated summary

The Earth's atmosphere contains suspended particles, which may deviate from the air's path and collide with obstacles. Particle inertia, measured by the Stokes number St, drives this deposition, with a critical value Stc. The deposition amount near Stc follows an unusual scaling law of exp[-1/(St - Stc)1/2], controlled by the flow's stagnation point.