Particle Dynamics with Aggregation and Fragmentation: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers

Particle dynamics with aggregation and fragmentation occurs in almost every branch of science and engineering. Examples include the formation of stars and planets in astrophysics, the formation of colloids and polymers in chemistry, the formation of raindrops and snowflakes in meteorology, the formation of fuel sprays in mechanical engineering, impact damage to aircraft and satellites in aerospace engineering, and drilling and blasting in civil and mining engineering. This is one of the first textbooks to give particle dynamics with aggregation and fragmentation a full treatment, putting it on an equal footing with fluid dynamics and solid mechanics. To help readers understand the connections to fluid dynamics, this book shows how particle dynamics occurs in ideal gases, granular gases, and fluid turbulence. Instead of relying on empirical results that apply only under specific circumstances, the book uses broad physical principles such as conservation of mass, momentum, and energy. The text draws on rigorous mathematical theory and modern high-performance computing, while avoiding the complex details. The book also provides extensive references for those readers who need them. While intended for a graduate level audience, the book is written in a graphically-rich style which will be accessible to advanced undergraduates. In particular, it includes over 100 figures and over 200 examples, most of which are placed into grey boxes to avoid interrupting the main text. While surveying the relevant research literature, this book also draws on the author's unique insights into particle aggregation and fragmentation, gained from participating in relevant research and development activities in industry and academia for over 25 years.

Table of Contents:
About the Author About the Book ("Frequently Asked Questions") 1: Introduction 2: Basic Properties 3: Distributions and Averages 4: Computational Methods 5: Analytic, Semi-Empirical, and Empirical Methods 6: Particle Shape Distributions 7: Particle Velocity Distributions 8: Particle Energy Distributions 9: Aggregation Cascades Part 1: Mean-Field Governing Equations 10: Aggregation Cascades Part 2: Full Mean-Field Solutions 11: Aggregation Cascades Part 3: Late-Time Mean-Field Solutions 12: Fragmentation Cascades Part 1: Mean-Field Theory for Binary Fragmentation 13: Fragmentation Cascades Part 2: Mean-Field Theory for Random Fragmentation 14: Fragmentation Cascades Part 3: Mean-Field Theory for Collisional Fragmentation 15: Unitary Fragmentation Part 1: Basic Principles 16: Unitary Fragmentation Part 2: Average Sizes 17: Unitary Fragmentation Part 3: Size Distributions 18: Maximum Entropy Theory for Discrete Particle Systems 19: Maximum Entropy Theory for Continuous Particle Systems 20: Conclusions Appendix A: Different Forms of Common Size Distributions