Sling Effect in Collisions of Water Droplets in Turbulent Clouds

Abstract

Abstract The effect of turbulence on the collision rate between droplets in clouds is investigated. Because of their inertia, water droplets can be shot out of curved streamlines of the turbulent airflow. The contribution of such a “sling effect” in the collision rate of the same-size water droplets is described and evaluated. It is shown that already for turbulence with the dissipation rate 103 cm2 s−3, the sling effect gives a contribution to the collision rate of 15-μm droplets comparable to that due to the local velocity gradient. That may explain why the formulas based on the local velocity gradient consistently underestimate the turbulent collision rate, even with the account of preferential concentration.