Application of fractal geometry in quantitative characterization of aerosol morphology

The aerosol morphologies of six types of particles plus another from a different source were characterized quantitatively in terms of fractal dimensions based on boundary, projected area and surface roughness. Except for the particle with a smooth boundary, multifractal features were observed on the projected boundary of aerosols. Aerosol topological features retrieved from the gray levels of a microimage were used to illustrates the difference in surface roughness or distinguish particle deposition on the substrate from that of agglomeration. Finally, a coordinate system was established by employing the computed fractal dimensions as axes to accommodate the particles characterized in this work; the Euclidean distance of a point from the origin was shown to be a potential composite index for aerosol morphology.