Stratified layer formation in particle suspensions

DOI10.1016/0167-2789(85)90133-2MaRDI QIDQ1069831zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Patrick S. Hagan, Donald S. Cohen

Publication date 1985

Published in Physica D (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-2789(85)90133-2

zbMATH Keywords

colloidal particlesconcentration profilediffusion against the concentration gradientInitially homogeneous suspensionslayers of nearly constant concentrationlinear gradient-energy termphase separationRayleigh-Taylor instabilitysedimentationsharp boundariesspinodal decompositionuphill diffusion

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Diffusion and convection (76R99) Multiphase and multicomponent flows (76T99) Reaction effects in flows (76V05)

Review text

Initially homogeneous suspensions of colloidal particles often develop patterns during sedimentation. Commonly, the concentration profile of the particles evolves into a staircase: layers of nearly constant concentration, separated by sharp boundaries between successive layers, with the concentration of each successive layer increasing with depth. \textit{D. B. Siano} [J. Colloid Interface Sci. 68, 111 ff. (1979)] has demonstrated experimentally that uphill diffusion, diffusion against the concentration gradient, occurs during this pattern formation. Thus, these patterns appear to be the result of spinodal decomposition. We find that these staircase patterns cannot be explained by the classical spinodal decomposition theory of \textit{J. W. Cahn} and \textit{J. E. Hilliard} [J. Chem. Phys. 28 258 ff. (1958)], but that they can be explained if the linear gradient-energy term of \textit{W. A. Tiller}, \textit{G. M. Pound}, and \textit{J. P. Hirth} [Acta Met. 18, 225 ff. (1970)] is added to the free energy. Such a term plays a central role in the faceting of crystals. In the present application we believe that the physical origin of this extra term may be the Rayleigh-Taylor instability.

Recommendations

• Layer formation in monodispersive suspensions and colloids
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• Modelling Rayleigh-Taylor instability of a sedimenting suspension of several thousand circular particles in a direct numerical simulation

Cites work

• Free energy of a nonuniform system. I: Interfacial free energy
• scientific article; zbMATH DE number 3230110 (Why is no real title available?)
• Some Theorems on the Free Energies of Crystal Surfaces

Cited in

(6)

• Chemical reactor theory and problems in diffusion
• Existence for the Cahn-Hilliard phase separation model with a nondifferentiable energy
• Layer formation in monodispersive suspensions and colloids
• The Structure of Internal Layers for Unstable Nonlinear Diffusion Equations
• On particle fountains in a stratified environment
• Layer formation in sedimentary fingering convection

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