Doctoral Dissertations

Abstract

Temperature scaling of the homogenous vapor-to-liquid nucleation rate, J, is examined in a model Lennard-Jones (LJ) system. The model uses the Bennett Metropolis Monte Carlo technique to determine small cluster growth/decay rate constant ratios ßn-1|αn at four temperatures (T = 40, 50, 60, and 83.6K) below the argon Lennard-Jones critical temperature, Tc. The ßn-1|αn for clusters ranging in size from n = 2 to n = 192 LJ particles are applied to a kinetic steady-state nucleation rate formalism and nucleation rates are determined at the same four temperatures. When these rates are plotted first in the standard way vs. lnS, (where S is the ratio of ambient to coexistence vapor pressure) and then vs. the scaled supersaturation, lnS / [Tc/T-1]3/2, the values of logJ are found to collapse onto a single line. This demonstrates that the nucleation rate is a function of lnS / [Tc/T-1]3/2 -- rather than of the independent variables, S and T. A similar scaling has been observed in the experimental nucleation rate data of water and toluene. The present study is the first simulation based demonstration of vapor to liquid nucleation rate temperature scaling in a model dilute vapor system and provides insight into the "law of mass action" model assumptions which give rise to the scaling.

Advisor(s)

Hale, Barbara N.

Committee Member(s)

Wilemski, Gerald
Peacher, Jerry
Wang, Jee-Ching
Parris, Paul Ernest, 1954-

Department(s)

Physics

Degree Name

Ph. D. in Physics

Publisher

Missouri University of Science and Technology

Publication Date

Fall 2012

Pagination

viii, 155 pages

Note about bibliography

Includes bibliographical references.

Rights

© 2012 Mark Allan Thomaso, All rights reserved.

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

File Type

text

Language

English

Subject Headings

NucleationMonte Carlo method

Thesis Number

T 10104

Electronic OCLC #

828860721

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