Using 3D-printed analogues to investigate the fall speeds and orientations of complex ice particles

Westbrook, C. D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2889-8815 and Sephton, E. K. (2017) Using 3D-printed analogues to investigate the fall speeds and orientations of complex ice particles. Geophysical Research Letters, 44 (15). pp. 7994-8001. ISSN 0094-8276 doi: 10.1002/2017gl074130

Abstract/Summary

The terminal velocity vt and preferred orientations of ice particles has been investigated using 3D-printed analogues sedimenting in glycerine solutions at Reynolds numbers typical of natural ice particles falling in air. Twenty two different particle geometries were investigated: these included both simple shapes, such as hexagonal plates, as well as more complex particles, such as bullet rosettes, plate-polycrystals and aggregates. Two widely-used prescriptions for ice particle fall speed were tested against the new experimental data, to determine the accuracy of their predictions. We show that for open particles, such as bullet rosettes and aggregates, one of these prescriptions systematically overestimates vt, by as much as 80%.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/71730
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	American Geophysical Union
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