| In this paper, we study a population balance equation (PBE) where flocs are distributed into classes according to their mass. Each class i contains i primary particles with mass m p and size L p. All differently sized flocs can aggregate, binary breakup into two equally sized flocs is used, and the floc’s fractal dimension is d 0 = 2, independently of their size. The collision efficiency is kept constant, and the collision frequency derived by Saffman and Turner (J Fluid Mech 1:16–30, 1956) is used. For the breakup rate, the formulation by Winterwerp (J Hydraul Eng Res 36(3):309–326, 1998), which accounts for the porosity of flocs, is used. We show that the mean floc size computed with the PBE varies with the shear rate as the Kolmogorov microscale, as... |
