ISSN:
1573-4846
Keywords:
sintering theory
;
silica aerogels
;
fractals
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
Notes:
Abstract Following recent scaling theories, the sintering of silica aerogels in modeled starting from computer generated gel structures obtained by diffusion-limited cluster-cluster aggregation on a cubic lattice. Two steps compose the sintering process model: a “dressing” step in which all particles are replaced by overlapping larger particles and a “contraction” step in which an adequate length rescaling is performed in order to conserve the total mass. Several quantities are computed during sintering as a function of the aerogel density such as the two characteristic cut-off lengths (lower and upper limits of the fractal regime) and the specific interface area. Comparison is made with results of similar off-lattice calculations when available. Some of the numerical results are compared with experiments on partially densified base-catalysed aerogels.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1018346427047
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