Experimental study of the effects of droplet number density on turbulence-driven polydisperse droplet size growth

Interaction of polydisperse droplets in a turbulent air flow features prominently in a wide range of phenomena, such as warm rain initiation as an example. In the current study, we present an experimental investigation on the effects of initial droplet field characteristics on the maximum droplet size growth. By performing experiments in a vertically oriented air flow facility, the air flow turbulence was able to be controlled through the mean flow velocity and an active turbulence generator. The initial droplet field characteristics (droplet diameter range of 0–120 . This mechanism potentially explains how droplet collisions can be enhanced in small droplets if the droplet field is sufficiently polydisperse.