Turbulent Aggregation of Nanoparticles
Application ID: 142681
Nanoparticles have become widely used in a range of applications. For example, in pharmaceuticals, particles on the nanoscale, such as nanocrystals, are often used as an effective means of drug delivery. Meanwhile in material sciences, nanoparticle coating is an increasingly common way to improve or change the properties of materials. Understanding the factors affecting the size of these particles is an important step to develop production processes that optimize the desired particle properties.
This example models the turbulence-induced aggregation of nanoparticles in a beaker fitted with a square blade impeller to predict the size distribution of volume-equivalent spherical particle diameters. The model is set up with a 2D geometry describing the aggregation and movement of particles in a turbulent flow in the mixing plane.
This model example illustrates applications of this type that would nominally be built using the following products:
however, additional products may be required to completely define and model it. Furthermore, this example may also be defined and modeled using components from the following product combinations:
- COMSOL Multiphysics® and
- Chemical Reaction Engineering Module and
- either the CFD Module, or Heat Transfer Module and
- either the CFD Module, or Polymer Flow Module
The combination of COMSOL® products required to model your application depends on several factors and may include boundary conditions, material properties, physics interfaces, and part libraries. Particular functionality may be common to several products. To determine the right combination of products for your modeling needs, review the Tabella delle Funzionalità and make use of a free evaluation license. The COMSOL Sales and Support teams are available for answering any questions you may have regarding this.