Ion–soot interaction: a possible mechanism of ion removal in aircraft plume

Abstract

The phenomenon of the ion–soot interaction in the aircraft plume at the ground conditions is investigated. The ion–soot attachment coefficients, taking into account the polarization of the soot particles in the ion electric field, are calculated. It is shown that the ion–soot attachment may play the important role in the evolution of the ion concentrations in the plume. Comparison of the model results with the ground-based measurements for the ion depletion along the plume demonstrates that the concentration of the positive and negative ions at the nozzle exit for these observations is close to 1.2 × 10⁸ cm⁻³.