The effect of boundary absorption on longitudinal dispersion in steady laminar flows (Q794533)

The long-time longitudinal dispersion of particles suspended in a flowing fluid is calculated for both absorbing and semi-absorbing boundary conditions. The fluid is assumed to be in uniaxial steady inhomogeneous motion between two horizontal plane parallel plates, and the probability density for the position of a suspended particle is assumed to obey a Fokker Planck equation. Firstly, the case in which one or both boundaries are absorbing is examined, both for a fluid at rest and for a flowing fluid. It is shown that the dispersion of absorbtion times gives rise to an increase in the longitudinal dispersion of the absorbed particles. Secondly, the increase in longitudinal dispersion due to the presence of semi-absorbing boundary conditions is calculated. The relative importance of this dispersion versus Taylor diffusion is discussed.