Fractal Simulation of Flocculation Processes Using a Diffusion-Limited Aggregation Model

In flocculation processes, particulates randomly collide and coagulate with each other, leading to the formation and sedimention of aggregates exhibiting fractal characteristics. The diffusion-limited aggregation (DLA) model is extensively employed to describe and study flocculation processes. To more accurately simulate flocculation processes with the DLA model, the effects of particle number (denoting flocculation time), motion step length (denoting water temperature), launch radius (representing initial particulate concentration), and finite motion step (representing the motion energy of the particles) on the morphology and structure of the two-dimensional (2D) aswell as three-dimensional (3D) DLA aggregates are studied. The results show that the 2D DLA aggregates possess conspicuous fractal features when the particle number is above 1000, motion step length is 1.5-3.5, launch radius is 1-10, and finite motion step is more than 3000; the 3D DLA aggregates present clear fractal characteristics when the particle number is above 500, the motion step length is 1.5-3.5, the launch radius is 1-10, and the finite motion step exceeds 200. The fractal dimensions of 3D DLA aggregates are appreciably higher than those of 2D DLA aggregates.