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O. Manero, R. F. Rodríguez

A Thermodynamic Description of Coupled Flow and Diffusion in a Viscoelastic Binary Mixture

We use an irreversible thermodynamics approach to derive hydrodynamic equations which govern the flow-induced concentration changes produced by inhomogeneous stresses in a viscoelastic binary mixture. The most relevant effects arising from these inhomogeneous flows are manifested in the migration of the dispersed phase and as flow-induced concentration fluctuations. Coupled constitutive equations for the mass flux and the stress tensor are derived self-consistently from our formalism. We show that our approach is consistent with different existing isothermal formalisms which predict the growth of concentration fluctuations and shear-induced diffusion of mass. Finally, we also comment on the possibility of extending our approach to incorporate nonisothermal effects and on the limitations and advantages of our description.

Journal of Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamics, Walter de Gruyter

Print ISSN: 0340-0204
Volume: 24, 09/1999
Pages: 177 - 195

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