A Free Volume Theory Of Multicomponent Fluid Mixtures

An exposition of the derivation and use of equations of motion for two-phase flow. The approach taken derives the equations of motion using ensemble averaging, and compares them with those derived from control volume methods. Closure for dispersed flows is discussed, and some fundamental solutions are given. The work focuses on the fundamental aspects of two-phase flow, and is intended to give the reader a background for understanding the dynamics as well as a system of equations that can be used in predictions of the behavior of dispersed two-phase flows. The exposition in terms of ensemble averaging is new, and combining it with modern continuum mechanics concepts makes this book unique. Intended for engineering, mathematics and physics researchers and advanced graduate students working in the field.

The high pressure phase behaviour of binary fluid mixtures has been extensively studied during the last three decades. There is ample experimental data for a wide variety of binary mixtures and extensive methods for prediction have been developed. In contrast, the investigation of ternary and other multicomponent fluids is in its infancy. Experimental ternary mixture critical data are very rare and theoretical studies have been limited to data correlation rather than genuine prediction. The phase behaviour of ternary and other multicomponent fluid mixtures has many novel aspects which are not manifested in binary mixtures. The properties of ternary mixtures are also likely to be more difficult to characterize experimentally. It is in this context that calculated phase diagrams have an important role in leading the discovery of new phenomena and guiding experimental work. The criteria for phase equilibria of multicomponent fluids with particular emphasis on the critical state are examined in this book, and models for predicting fluid equilibria (e.g., different equations of state) are compared. Particular attention is paid to the critical state of ternary mixtures which has hitherto been largely neglected. The problems associated with predicting ternary equilibria are discussed, and some novel aspects of ternary critical phenomena are illustrated. The books also describes a novel type of critical transition which appears to be a common feature of the equilibria of ternary mixtures. Extensive phase diagrams of a wide range of ternary mixtures including systems containing carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen and tetrafluoromethane as one or more component are presented. The theoretical treatment is detailed in the appendix and a computation of known experimental critical points is also included.

Existing texts on liquid theory are limited to simple liquids of spherical molecules, but nearly all liquids of practical interest have molecules that are non-spherical, resulting in more diverse phenomena. This text is the first to provide the molecular theory for such liquids, and describes applications to a wide range of physical properties.

Information necessary to solve scientific or engineering problems is often so vast, that the need arises to lump information together into a more manageable subset in order to proceed. The idea of lumping is one which is used, more or less consciously, in a large variety of fields. The thermodynamics and kinetic behavior of multicomponent mixtures is an area where the requirements of lumping have been clearly identified and the techniques and results of lumping have been analyzed in considerable detail. This book comprises the proceedings of a Symposium on Kinetic and Thermodynamic Lumping of Multicomponent Mixtures which was held at the American Chemical Society Meeting in Atlanta, GA, in April 1991. Papers presented at the symposium consisted of both invited and contributed papers. Each invited paper was a review of a subfield within the landscape of the symposium while the contributed papers contain detailed analyses of specific problems. The symposium brought together active researchers in this field to report on and discuss the progress which has been made in the lumping of mixtures of very many components for a number of different applications, and to identify the important problem areas which still remain. This volume will serve both as an introduction to anyone entering the field, and as a reference work for more experienced researchers.