Numerical sensitivity studies of axis ratio changes of colliding ice crystals

Numerical sensitivity studies were carried out to investigate the influence of shape variations of colliding ice particles on the collisional behavior. Therefore, two general ice particle shapes were considered: ice plates and ice columns. The changing of the shape of the ice particles was described by the changing of the axis ratio of the particles. Numerical growth calculations with a cloud model were carried out to show the impact of the axis ratio variations on the collectional growth in comparison to calculations with a constant axis ratio. Ice plates show significant differences between the two cases, whereas for ice columns the effect of the axis ratio variations is less important.