Numerical Simulation of Thermodynamic, Microstructural, and Electric Characteristics of Convective Clouds at the Growth and Mature Stages

Numerical calculations of convective-cloud formation during unstable atmospheric stratification and background wind are performed using the author’s three-dimensional nonstationary model with detailed allowance for hydrodynamic, thermodynamic, microphysical, and electric processes. Formation of the positive and negative volume electric charges is studied and the electric field is calculated at various cloud-development stages. The obtained electrostatic-field intensity is used for correction of the cloud-particle coagulation coefficient which increases in the presence of the field and the charges. It is found that the precipitation-particle growth time in an intense convective cloud is decreased by 20–30 % due to electric coagulation.