The simultaneous aggregation and surface growth of soot particles formed in an ethylene laminar premixed flame

Soot aggregation and surface grow this numerically simulated based on a Monte Carlo discrete element method where each individual aggregate is tracked intime. Surface growth does not highly influence the fractal morphology of aggregates while it leads to a high increase inlocal compacity as quantified by the packing factor, overlapping, and coordination number of primary particles. The generated aggregates are in remarkable resemblance with those experimentally measured. Finally, neglecting surface growth leads to an underestimation of soot volume fraction by a factor of 8-10.