AAAR 33rd Annual Conference
October 20 - October 24, 2014
Rosen Shingle Creek
Orlando, Florida, USA
Abstract View
The Impact of Radioactive Charging on the Microphysical Evolution and Transport of Radioactive Aerosols
PETROS VASILAKOS, Yong-Ha Kim, Sotira Yiacoumi, Costas Tsouris, Jeffrey Pierce, Athanasios Nenes, Georgia Institute of Technology
Abstract Number: 150 Working Group: Aerosol Sources from Emerging Energy Technologies and Production
Abstract This study focuses on the influence of radioactive charging on the vertical transport of radioactive aerosols in the atmosphere. The TwO-Moment Aerosol Sectional (TOMAS) microphysics model was extended to account for radioactive charging effects in a computationally efficient way. Simulations of the deposition of radioactive aerosols were performed, as well as sensitivity analyses to evaluate effects of radioactive charging on the transport patterns of radioactive aerosols, using a one-dimensional version of the TOMAS model. Here, we present results of vertical transport characteristics of aerosols containing 131I and 137Cs, assumed to be released from radioactive sources in cases of radiological events, in a column consisting of 5 layers.
The results indicate that radioactive charging may facilitate or suppress coagulation of radioactive aerosols, thus influencing the amount of mass deposited on the ground and suggesting that no consideration of the radioactive charging may introduce uncertainties in the modeling of radioactive aerosol transport.