Viscosity and electric properties of water aerosols

Abstract

The flow of water mist in a narrow duct has been studied experimentally. The profile of the velocity of drops has been measured, and the viscosity of the mist has been calculated using the Navier–Stokes equation. It has been found that at low gradients of the rate of shear the viscosity of the mist can exceed that of clean air by tens and even hundreds of times. The electric charge of the drops has been measured. It has been found that the viscosity of the mist differs from that of clean air at gradients of the rate of shear that are less than the frequency of the establishment of electric equilibrium between the drops. A comparative analysis of the viscosities of the mist and a drop cluster has been carried out, and the dependence of the viscosity of the water aerosol on the radius and the charge of the drops has been predicted. The possible role of aerosols that contain submicron drops in the known “clear air turbulence” problem has been shown.