Nonsteady-state theory of droplet growth

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Abstract
A general expression for the nonsteady-state growth or evaporation of droplets in gaseous media is obtained by simultaneously considering vapor diffusion and heat conduction. The results are compared with solutions which assume a quasisteady-state. In the nonsteady-state treatment, the growth rate initially exceeds the quasisteady-state rate, but converges to it at longer times. Methods for estimating the deviations from the quasisteady-state results and the range of applicability of the new theory are described. It is pointed out that neglect of variations in the temperature field in nonsteady-state droplet kinetics leads to a serious error in the corresponding vapor field, as well as in the rate of growth or evaporation.