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Modeling the dust size distribution in comets with dust fragmentationA hydrodynamic model was developed of a spherically symmetric dusty gas flow in a cometary atmosphere assuming a single fluid, inviscid, perfect gas. The hydrodynamics for gas and dust, which involves the gas drag force (momentum transfer), heat exchange between gas and dust, photodissociation energy for H2O gas, and radiative heating and cooling terms for dust particles, are solved using the Gear method for stiff, coupled differential equations. Calculations were done with a dust size distribution for radii alpha = 0.01 micron to 10 cm with densities variable with the size. A nucleus size of 4.0 km radius with a density of 0.5 g/cu cm and a total dust-to-gas mass ratio chi = 1 was adopted. There are indications from in situ observations that dust particle fragment into smaller ones. Fragmentation of dust particles was incorporated into the model. This is done by adding source and sink terms in the continuity equations for the dust. Lifetimes for the decay of dust particles were assumed as a function of particle size. It is also assumed that dust particles always fragment only into the next smaller size.
Document ID
19910011729
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Konno, Ichishiro
(Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX, United States)
Huebner, Walter F.
(Southwest Research Inst. San Antonio, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1990
Publication Information
Publication: Workshop on Observations of Recent Comets (1990)
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
91N21042
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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