Fractal dimension of soot aggregates

Soot particles are dominant aerosol particles responsible for absorption and scattering of solar radiation. Soot particles created during combustion processes are composed of small primary spherules combined in aggregates. In this study the morphology of soot aggregates was investigated. Based on fractal formalism the structure of soot aggregates was analyzed by the values of fractal dimension. The projected soot images acquired by scanning electron microscopy techniques were used to estimate the fractal dimension. Observed soot aggregate types were cluster and chain-like structures. In total 59 cluster type aggregates and 57 chain-like aggregates were analyzed. Average values of fractal dimension for aggregates composed of 400-500 primary spherules were 1.84 and 1.56 for cluster and chain-like aggregates respectively.