A Generic Model for the Resuspension of Multilayer Aerosol Deposits by Turbulent Flow

An idealized lattice structure is considered of multilayer aerosol deposits, where every particle at the deposit surface is associated with a resuspension rate constant depending on a statistically distributed particle parameter and on flow conditions. The response of this generic model is represented by a set of integrodifferential equations. As a first application of the general formalism, the behavior of Fromentin's multilayer model is analyzed, and the model parameters are adapted to experimental data. In addition, improved relations between model parameters and physical input parameters are proposed. As a second application, a method is proposed for building multilayer models by using resuspension rate constants of existing monolayer models. The method is illustrated by a sample of monolayer data resulting from the model of Reeks, Reed, and Hall. Also discussed is the error to be expected if a monolayer resuspension model, which works well for thin aerosol deposits, is applied to thick deposits under the classical monolayer assumption that all deposited particles interact with the fluid at all times.