Clearing Fog by Seeding with Charged Water Drops: A Numerical Study

Abstract : A numerical study of the use of highly charged water drops to clear warm fog has been conducted. The polarization of neutral fog droplets and their capture by the charged drops is the mechanism studied. A multi-leveled microphysical model is used to investigate the degree of visibility improvement resulting from variations in seeding drop size and charge, the type of fog being seeded, and the concentration of seeding material. An evaluation of this technique is made by comparing model results to comparable numerical experiments of hygroscopic seeding, a technique that has been field tested on several occasions.