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Phoretic forces on convex particles from kinetic theory and nonequilibrium thermodynamics.

Hütter M, Kröger M

Polymer Physics, ETH Zürich, Department of Materials, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 10, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland. markus.huetter@mat.ethz.ch

In this article we derive the phoretic forces acting on a tracer particle, which is assumed to be small compared to the mean free path of the surrounding nonequilibrium gas, but large compared to the size of the surrounding gas molecules. First, we review and extend the calculations of Waldmann [Z. Naturforsch. A 14A, 589 (1959)] using half-sphere integrations and an accommodation coefficient characterizing the collision process. The presented methodology is applied to a gas subject to temperature, pressure, and velocity gradients. Corresponding thermophoretic, barophoretic, and rheophoretic forces are derived, and explicit expressions for spherical particles are compared to known results. Second, nonequilibrium thermodynamics is used to join the diffusion equation for the tracer particle with the continuum equations of nonisothermal hydrodynamics of the solvent. So doing, the distinct origin of the thermophoretic and barophoretic forces is demonstrated. While the latter enters similarly to an interaction potential, the former is given by flux-flux correlations in terms of a Green-Kubo relation, as shown in detail.

Published 7 February 2006 in J Chem Phys, 124(4): 044511.
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